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Ruiu, L. M., Maurizi, S., Sassu, S., Seddaiu, G., Zuin, O., Blackmore, C., et al. (2017). Re-Staging La Rasgioni: lessons learned from transforming a traditional form of conflict resolution to engage stakeholders in agricultural water governance. Water, 9(4), 297.
Abstract: This paper presents an informal process inspired by a public practice of conflict mediation used until a few decades ago in Gallura (NE Sardinia, Italy), named La Rasgioni (The Reason). The aim is twofold: (i) to introduce an innovative method that translates the complexity of water-related conflicts into a “dialogical tool”, aimed at enhancing social learning by adopting theatrical techniques; and (ii) to report the outcomes that emerged from the application of this method in Arborea, the main dairy cattle district and the only nitrate-vulnerable zone in Sardinia, to mediate contrasting positions between local entrepreneurs and representatives of the relevant institutions. We discuss our results in the light of four pillars, adopted as research lenses in the International research Project CADWAGO (Climate Change Adaptation and Water Governance), which consider the specific “social–ecological” components of the Arborea system, climate change adaptability in water governance institutions and organizations, systemic governance (relational) practices, and governance learning. The combination of the four CADWAGO pillars and La Rasgioni created an innovative dialogical space that enabled stakeholders and researchers to collectively identify barriers and opportunities for effective governance practices. Potential wider implications and applications of La Rasgioni process are also discussed in the paper.
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Özkan, Ş., & Hill, J. (2015). Implementing innovative farm management practices on dairy farms:a review of feeding systems. Turkish Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, 39, 1–9.
Abstract: The Australian dairy industry relies primarily on pasture for its feed supply. However, the variability in rainfall negatively affects plant growth, leading to uncertainty in dryland feed supply, especially during periods of high milk price. New feeding (complementary) systems combining perennial ryegrass with another crop and/or pasture species may have the potential to mitigate this seasonal risk and improve productivity and profitability by providing off-season feed. To date, the majority of research studying the integration of alternative crops into pasture-based systems has focused on substitution and utilization of alternative feed sources. There has been little emphasis on the impacts of integration of forage crops into pasture-based systems. This review focuses on pasture-based feeding systems in southeastern Australia and how transitioning of systems contributes to improved productivity leading to improved profitability for dairy farmers.
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Mansouri, M., & Destain, M. - F. (2015). Predicting biomass and grain protein content using Bayesian methods. Stoch. Environ. Res. Risk Assess., 29(4), 1167–1177.
Abstract: This paper deals with the problem of predicting biomass and grain protein content using improved particle filtering (IPF) based on minimizing the Kullback-Leibler divergence. The performances of IPF are compared with those of the conventional particle filtering (PF) in two comparative studies. In the first one, we apply IPF and PF at a simple dynamic crop model with the aim to predict a single state variable, namely the winter wheat biomass, and to estimate several model parameters. In the second study, the proposed IPF and the PF are applied to a complex crop model (AZODYN) to predict a winter-wheat quality criterion, namely the grain protein content. The results of both comparative studies reveal that the IPF method provides a better estimation accuracy than the PF method. The benefit of the IPF method lies in its ability to provide accuracy related advantages over the PF method since, unlike the PF which depends on the choice of the sampling distribution used to estimate the posterior distribution, the IPF yields an optimum choice of this sampling distribution, which also utilizes the observed data. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated in terms of estimation accuracy, root mean square error, mean absolute error and execution times.
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Moraru, P. I., Rusu, T., Guș, P., Bogdan, I., & Pop, A. I. (2015). The role of minimum tillage in protecting environmental resources of the Transylvanian Plain, Romania. Romanian Agricultural Research, 32, 127–135.
Abstract: Conservative tillage systems tested in the hilly area of the Transylvanian Plain (Romania), confirms the possibility of improving the biological, physical, chemical and technologizcal properties of the soil. Conservative components include minimum tillage systems and surface incorporation of crop residues. The minimum tillage soil systems with paraplow, chisel or rotary harrow are polyvalent alternatives for basic preparation, germination bed preparation and sowing, for fields and crops with moderate loose requirements being optimized technologies for: soil natural fertility activation and rationalization, reduction of erosion, increasing the accumulation capacity for water and realization of sowing in the optimal period. The minimum tillage systems ensure an adequate aerial-hydrical regime for the biological activity intensity and for the nutrients solubility equilibrium. The vegetal material remaining at the soil surface or superficially incorporated has its contribution to intensifying the biological activity, being an important resource of organic matter. Humus content increases by 0.41%. The minimum tillage systems rebuild the soil structure (hydrostable macroagregate content increases up to 2.2% to 5.2%), improving the global drainage of soil which allows a rapid infiltration of water in soil. Water reserve, accumulated in the 0-50 cm depth is with 1-32 m(3) ha(-1) higher in the minimum tillage variants. The result is a more productive soil, better protected against wind and water erosion and needing less fuel for preparing the germination bed.
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Stürck, J., Levers, C., van der Zanden, E. H., Schulp, C. J. E., Verkerk, P. J., Kuemmerle, T., et al. (2015). Simulating and delineating future land change trajectories across Europe. Reg. Environ. Change, , in press.
Abstract: Explorations of future land use change are important to understand potential conflicts between competing land uses, trade-offs associated with particular land change trajectories, and the effectiveness of policies to steer land systems into desirable states. Most model-based explorations and scenario studies focused on conversions in broad land use classes, but disregarded changes in land management or focused on individual sectors only. Using the European Union (EU) as a case study, we developed an approach to identifying typical combinations of land cover and management changes by combining the results of multimodel simulations in the agriculture and forest sectors for four scenarios from 2000 to 2040. We visualized land change trajectories by mapping regional hotspots of change. Land change trajectories differed in extent and spatial pattern across the EU and among scenarios, indicating trajectory-specific option spaces for alternative land system outcomes. In spite of the large variation in the area of change, similar hotspots of land change were observed among the scenarios. All scenarios indicate a stronger polarization of land use in Europe, with a loss of multifunctional landscapes. We analyzed locations subject to change by comparing location characteristics associated with certain land change trajectories. Results indicate differences in the location conditions of different land change trajectories, with diverging impacts on ecosystem service provisioning. Policy and planning for future land use needs to account for the spatial variation of land change trajectories to achieve both overarching and location-specific targets.
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