ABSTRACT
The purpose of sensitivity analysis is to study the behavior of the model. Sensitivity analysis can also be structured to determine important subsystems, relationships, and inputs . Sensit ivity analysis should be designed wi th respect to the objectives of the study. A sensitivity analysis is the process by which parameters or inputs are evaluated w i t h regard to their effects on simulated results. For example, rainfall w o u l d be an environmental input to a crop water balance model for estimating crop irr igat ion requirements. Soil characteristics such as soil water-holding capacity or rootzone depth are examples of model parameters. One may be interested in the sensitivity of estimated i r r igat ion requirements to changes in rainfal l , changes in soil charactersitics or both (Jones and Luyten, 1998).
