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Irrigation modelling needs better epistemology

Nature Reviews Earth & Environment volume 4, pages 427–428 (2023)Cite this article

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Modelling of irrigation water withdrawals aims for accurate and relatively objective estimates, but three epistemological obstacles (models’ elusive tie to reality, model plurality and indeterminacy of the target system) make this premise unattainable. However, if used to explore possibilities within the known and unknown, irrigation models can overcome these problems to inform action.

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References

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Larsen for insights on crop evapotranspiration processes. All errors and misinterpretations are our own. This work was funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee (EP/Y02463X/1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Arnald Puy

  2. School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Michela Massimi

  3. School of International Development, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

    Bruce Lankford

  4. Barcelona School of Management, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain

    Andrea Saltelli

Authors
  1. Arnald Puy
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  2. Michela Massimi
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  3. Bruce Lankford
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  4. Andrea Saltelli
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Correspondence to Arnald Puy.

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Puy, A., Massimi, M., Lankford, B. et al. Irrigation modelling needs better epistemology. Nat Rev Earth Environ 4, 427–428 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-023-00459-0

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