Code for analyzing AquaCrop outputs, underlying the publication: Optimal Sowing Windows under Rainfall Variability in Rainfed Agriculture in West Africa

This research aims to identify safe sowing windows for smallholder farmers in West Africa. While existing approaches focus on sowing early in the season after the first rain events, we analyzed crop response to water availability for a wide range of sowing dates, covering the entire rainfall season (May to November). AquaCrop, the FAO crop simulation model was used. The model takes as input weather information (rainfall, evapotranspiration, min, and max temperature, all at a daily scale), soil profile and texture, and management practices (no application of fertilizer, rainfed agriculture, etc.). 9 output files are generated after the simulation with different data but 3 are mainly used for the analysis. The Crop file (Crop.out) contains information about crop phenology and most importantly yield and biomass build-up and water stress levels reducing leaf expansion or inducing stomatal closure. The Run file (Run.out) contains the main summary and aggregated variables (yield, water, runoff, transpiration, etc.) of the simulations. The Prof file (Prof.out) contains the water content in the effective root zone, at the field capacity, and the permanent wilting point. The Python codes to analyze Prof and Run outputs of the AquaCrop simulations are in the file AquaCrop_v6.1_Tahmo_Maize_Water Bal.ipynb. The file AquaCrop_v6.1_Tahmo_Maize_Phenology.ipynb contains the codes to analyze the Crop files. Optimal Window.ipynb combines all the different onset approaches together. ET0_analysis - Tahmo.ipynb contains the codes to analyze the weather data, and dry spells and also plot these variables.

本研究旨在为西非的小农户确定安全的播种窗口。现有研究多聚焦于首场降雨后尽早开展播种，而本研究针对覆盖整个雨季（5月至11月）的宽泛播种日期范围，分析了作物对水分可利用性的响应。本研究采用了联合国粮食及农业组织（Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO）的作物模拟模型AquaCrop。该模型的输入数据包括每日尺度的气象信息（降雨量、蒸散量、最低与最高气温）、土壤剖面与质地，以及种植管理措施（不施用肥料、雨养农业等）。模拟完成后共生成9个包含不同数据的输出文件，其中3个主要用于本研究的分析：Crop文件（Crop.out）包含作物物候信息，尤为核心的是产量、生物量积累情况，以及抑制叶片扩展或诱导气孔关闭的水分胁迫水平；Run文件（Run.out）包含模拟的主要汇总与聚合变量，如产量、水量、径流量、蒸腾量等；Prof文件（Prof.out）包含有效根区的含水量、田间持水量以及永久萎蔫点。用于分析AquaCrop模拟所得Prof与Run输出的Python代码位于AquaCrop_v6.1_Tahmo_Maize_Water Bal.ipynb文件中。分析Crop文件的代码则存放于AquaCrop_v6.1_Tahmo_Maize_Phenology.ipynb文件内。Optimal Window.ipynb文件整合了所有不同的播种起始方法。ET0_analysis - Tahmo.ipynb文件包含了气象数据分析、干旱期分析以及相关变量可视化的代码。