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WIMOVAC Plant Growth WizardThe model parameter database is an extremely flexible and powerful method for modifying model parameters. However there are common tasks such as parameterising the model for the growth characteristics of a new vegetation type in which the myriad of parameters associated with mechanistically rich models, that can be changed, are confusing. The parameter database does not attempt to prioritise the presentation of parameters or ascribe a degree of importance to individual parameters. Software wizards are an idea introduced by Microsoft to simplify complex computing tasks by breaking them down into smaller pieces and taking the user through these one step at a time. An analogy has been struck in wimovac in order to create the plant growth wizard which takes the user through the main steps in setting up the key model parameters necessary to run the vegetation growth model. The plant growth wizard itself presents the user with a series of pages, through which they may move backwards and forwards, which contain the minimum series of questions necessary to satisfactorily establish parameters for a vegetation growth simulation. Each page contains a number of controls which allow the user to enter details of the model. Questions, entry boxes and labels in the wizard respond dynamically to user selections. For example if C3 photosynthesis is selected on the photosynthesis properties page the user will only be asked for information pertaining to this model. Similarly if the C4 model is selected the labels and entry boxes are changed automatically to ask for information about the C4 model only. On each page of the wizard there is a Hint window consisting of a scrollable text box containing a simple explanation of the wizard page and its contents. The Hint box also gives some advice on how a number of the parameters may be derived experimentally. Each of the inputs in the wizard has a default value and the user may opt to select the Finish button directly at any time. The Finish button closes the growth wizard, opens the plant growth dialog and starts the growth model using the parameter database settings as a default but overriding these where the user has specified different conditions within the wizard.
Figure 16. The wimovac growth wizard. (i) Growth wizard welcome screen. (ii) The first page of the weather (macroclimate) properties page). (iii) Scrollable text entry containing helpful information about how to derive the required properties experimentally. (iv) Back and Next buttons allow the user to navigate forwards and backwards through the pages of the wizard (v) Dynamic property value entry box with descriptive caption responds to user selections. (vi) Finish button accepts all current wizard property page settings and immediately starts the plant growth module. (vii) Model choice selector, other controls on the page respond dynamically to the selection made by this control and request only the pertinent information required to parameterise the request model module. Plant growth summary tableWhen the full vegetation growth model is run from either the plant growth dialog or the plant growth wizard a considerable number of results are produced by the model. In order to simplify the interpretation of these during the model run a plant growth summary table has been constructed which provides summary information about the simulation time, phenological stage, biomass, leaf area index, nitrogen and water status of the plant and soil. Related meteorological data is also shown on a separate tab sheet with in the summary table. The summary results shown in the table are either running totals or monthly means and have been constructed so as to be easily comparable to typical properties measured experimentally. The table is updated continuously during a model run and allows the user to abort the run at any time if results do not look promising.
Figure 17. Growth summary table. (i) Current simulation date/end date of each plant growth stage. (ii) Growth (phenological) stage description (iii) Key plant growth properties summarising vegetation condition at each stage of growth (iv) Growth/weather summary table selector switch (v) Growth/weather table column index. |
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