View article

Sustainable intensification practices, such as integrated soil fertility management (ISFM), form a strategy to close yield gaps while maintaining soil fertility and, typically, are locally tested in field trials. However, to estimate the potential impact of ISFM on a regional scale, field trials are insufficient and biogeochemical models are required. These models need to be calibrated and evaluated when applied to new environments. Here, we present a robust calibration of the DayCent agroecosystem model to simulate the impact of ISFM practices on maize productivity in Kenya, using a probabilistic Bayesian calibration technique with data from long-term field trials at four sites in central and western Kenya. We assessed the efficiency of DayCent in simulating: 1) maize grain yield, 2) changes in soil organic carbon (SOC), and 3) nutrient use efficiency of applied nitrogen (N) fertilizer under different ISFM treatments, which …