A review on food subsystem simulation models for the water-food-energy nexus: development perspective

Agricultural crops are the primary food source because livestock and poultry products also indirectly depend on crops. A significant obstacle to adopting the water, food, and energy (WFE) nexus is the lack of a comprehensive and easy-to-use simulation model for the food subsystem focusing on crops. By reviewing the articles in Scopus and Google Scholar databases, WFE nexus studies can be divided into two categories: simulation-based and conceptual-based studies of WFE nexus. Based on the developmental perspective on food subsystem modeling in the WFE nexus, the conceptual studies were excluded, and the modeling studies were reviewed. Two points of view can be used for WFE nexus modeling: 1. hard-link modeling and 2. soft-link modeling. Comparing these two types of modeling showed that hard-link modeling cannot model the interrelations of the food subsystem, and this shortcoming is of great importance. This study reviewed the crop growth models (CGMs) used in the WFE nexus system from the development perspective. The technical characteristics of the CGMs have been evaluated according to the requirements of the CGMs. Finally, a checklist based on the criteria defined for the nexus system has been provided, which can guide researchers in choosing the appropriate CGMs for the food subsystem with the nexus approach. The analysis revealed that none of the CGMs studied alone were sufficient to develop a simulation model for the food subsystem with the WFE nexus. However, the AquaCrop model met more criteria.