Abstract: The yield gap and water productivity analysis of key cereal crops in Europe is completed  and results are available through www.yieldgap.org

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.

Abstract: This report provides an overview of how grasslands are represented in six different farmscale  models represented in MACSUR. A survey was conducted, followed by a workshop in  which modellers discussed the results of the survey, and identified research challenges and  knowledge gaps. The workshop was attended by grassland as well as livestock specialists.  The investigated models differed largely with respect to how grasslands were represented,  e.g. as regards weather and management factors accounted for, spatial and temporal  resolution, and output variables. All models had grassland modules that simulate DM yield  and herbage N content (or crude protein (CP) content = N content x 6.25). Many models  also simulate P content, whereas only one simulate K content. About half of the model  simulate herbage energy value and/or herbage fibre content and fibre and/or dry matter  digestibility. Critical input data required from grassland models to simulate ruminant  productivity and GHG emissions at farm scale was identified by the workshop participants.  The different types of input data required were ranked in order of importance as regards  their influence on important system outputs. For simulation of ruminant productivity and  GHG emissions, herbage DM yield was ranked as the most important input variable from  grassland models, followed by CP content together with at least one variable describing  herbage fibre characteristics. These findings suggest that work on improving the ability of  the current grassland models with respect to simulation of fibre/energy should be  prioritized in farm-scale modelling aiming at quantifying livestock production and GHG  emissions under different management regimes and climate conditions. More work is also needed on model evaluation, a task that has not been prioritized yet for some models.