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Author Bellocchi, G.; Rivington, M.; Matthews, K.; Acutis, M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Deliberative processes for comprehensive evaluation of agroecological models. A review Type Journal Article
  Year 2015 Publication Agronomy for Sustainable Development Abbreviated Journal Agron. Sust. Developm.  
  Volume 35 Issue 2 Pages 589-605  
  Keywords component-oriented programing; deliberative approach; modeling; model evaluation; multiple metrics; stakeholders; decision-support-systems; environmental-models; performance evaluation; groundwater models; farming systems; climate-change; irene-dll; simulation; validation; integration  
  Abstract The use of biophysical models in agroecology has increased in the last few decades for two main reasons: the need to formalize empirical knowledge and the need to disseminate model-based decision support for decision makers (such as farmers, advisors, and policy makers). The first has encouraged the development and use of mathematical models to enhance the efficiency of field research through extrapolation beyond the limits of site, season, and management. The second reflects the increasing need (by scientists, managers, and the public) for simulation experimentation to explore options and consequences, for example, future resource use efficiency (i.e., management in sustainable intensification), impacts of and adaptation to climate change, understanding market and policy responses to shocks initiated at a biophysical level under increasing demand, and limited supply capacity. Production concerns thus dominate most model applications, but there is a notable growing emphasis on environmental, economic, and policy dimensions. Identifying effective methods of assessing model quality and performance has become a challenging but vital imperative, considering the variety of factors influencing model outputs. Understanding the requirements of stakeholders, in respect of model use, logically implies the need for their inclusion in model evaluation methods. We reviewed the use of metrics of model evaluation, with a particular emphasis on the involvement of stakeholders to expand horizons beyond conventional structured, numeric analyses. Two major topics are discussed: (1) the importance of deliberative processes for model evaluation, and (2) the role computer-aided techniques may play to integrate deliberative processes into the evaluation of agroecological models. We point out that (i) the evaluation of agroecological models can be improved through stakeholder follow-up, which is a key for the acceptability of model realizations in practice, (ii) model credibility depends not only on the outcomes of well-structured, numerically based evaluation, but also on less tangible factors that may need to be addressed using complementary deliberative processes, (iii) comprehensive evaluation of simulation models can be achieved by integrating the expectations of stakeholders via a weighting system of preferences and perception, (iv) questionnaire-based surveys can help understand the challenges posed by the deliberative process, and (v) a benefit can be obtained if model evaluation is conceived in a decisional perspective and evaluation techniques are developed at the same pace with which the models themselves are created and improved. Scientific knowledge hubs are also recognized as critical pillars to advance good modeling practice in relation to model evaluation (including access to dedicated software tools), an activity which is frequently neglected in the context of time-limited framework programs.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language (down) English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1774-0746 1773-0155 ISBN Medium Review  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes CropM, LiveM, ft_macsur Approved no  
  Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial 4551  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Zhen, L.; Deng, X.; Wei, Y.; Jiang, Q.; Lin, Y.; Helming, K.; Wang, C.; König, H.J.; Hu, J. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Future land use and food security scenarios for the Guyuan district of remote western China Type Journal Article
  Year 2014 Publication iForest Abbreviated Journal iForest  
  Volume 7 Issue 6 Pages 372-384  
  Keywords land-use patterns; scenario analysis; dynamics of land systems modeling; food security; guyuan district; north-central china; cultivated land; dynamics; conversion; policy  
  Abstract Government policy is a major human factor that causes changes in land use. Decisions on land management and land-use planning, as well as the analysis and quantification of policy consequences, may greatly benefit from the simulation of the dynamics of land-use systems. In the present study, we predicted land-use changes and their potential impacts on food security in the environmentally fragile Guyuan District, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (north-central China), under the influence of a program to convert sloping agricultural land to conservation uses. Baseline and conservation policy scenarios (2005 to 2020) were developed based on input from local stakeholders and expert knowledge. For the baseline and conservation policies, we formulated high-, moderate-, and low-growth scenarios, analyzed the driving mechanisms responsible for the land-use dynamics, and then applied a previously developed “dynamics of land systems” model to simulate changes in land uses based on the driving mechanisms. We found that spatially explicit policies can promote the conversion of land to more sustainable uses; however, decreasing the amount of agricultural and urban land and increasing grassland and forest cover will increase the risk of grain shortages, and the effect will be more severe under the conservation and high- growth scenarios than under the baseline and low-growth scenarios. The Guyuan case study suggests that, during the next decade, important trade-offs between environmental conservation and food security will inevitably occur. Future land-use decisions should carefully consider the balance between land resource conservation, agricultural production, and urban expansion.  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
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  Language (down) English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1971-7458 ISBN Medium Article  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes CropM Approved no  
  Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial 4547  
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Author Baranowski, P.; Jedryczka, M.; Mazurek, W.; Babula-Skowronska, D.; Siedliska, A.; Kaczmarek, J. doi  openurl
  Title Hyperspectral and thermal imaging of oilseed rape (Brassica napus) response to fungal species of the genus Alternaria Type Journal Article
  Year 2015 Publication PLoS One Abbreviated Journal PLoS One  
  Volume 10 Issue 3 Pages e0122913  
  Keywords Algorithms; Alternaria/*pathogenicity; Brassica napus/microbiology/*physiology  
  Abstract In this paper, thermal (8-13 µm) and hyperspectral imaging in visible and near infrared (VNIR) and short wavelength infrared (SWIR) ranges were used to elaborate a method of early detection of biotic stresses caused by fungal species belonging to the genus Alternaria that were host (Alternaria alternata, Alternaria brassicae, and Alternaria brassicicola) and non-host (Alternaria dauci) pathogens to oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.). The measurements of disease severity for chosen dates after inoculation were compared to temperature distributions on infected leaves and to averaged reflectance characteristics. Statistical analysis revealed that leaf temperature distributions on particular days after inoculation and respective spectral characteristics, especially in the SWIR range (1000-2500 nm), significantly differed for the leaves inoculated with A. dauci from the other species of Alternaria as well as from leaves of non-treated plants. The significant differences in leaf temperature of the studied Alternaria species were observed in various stages of infection development. The classification experiments were performed on the hyperspectral data of the leaf surfaces to distinguish days after inoculation and Alternaria species. The second-derivative transformation of the spectral data together with back-propagation neural networks (BNNs) appeared to be the best combination for classification of days after inoculation (prediction accuracy 90.5%) and Alternaria species (prediction accuracy 80.5%).  
  Address  
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  Language (down) English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1932-6203 ISBN Medium Article  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes CropM, ft_macsur Approved no  
  Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial 4549  
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Author Asseng, S.; Ewert, F.; Martre, P.; Rötter, R.P.; Lobell, D.B.; Cammarano, D.; Kimball, B.A.; Ottman, M.J.; Wall, G.W.; White, J.W.; Reynolds, M.P.; Alderman, P.D.; Prasad, P.V.V.; Aggarwal, P.K.; Anothai, J.; Basso, B.; Biernath, C.; Challinor, A.J.; De Sanctis, G.; Doltra, J.; Fereres, E.; Garcia-Vila, M.; Gayler, S.; Hoogenboom, G.; Hunt, L.A.; Izaurralde, R.C.; Jabloun, M.; Jones, C.D.; Kersebaum, K.C.; Koehler, A.-K.; Müller, C.; Naresh Kumar, S.; Nendel, C.; O’Leary, G.; Olesen, J.E.; Palosuo, T.; Priesack, E.; Eyshi Rezaei, E.; Ruane, A.C.; Semenov, M.A.; Shcherbak, I.; Stöckle, C.; Stratonovitch, P.; Streck, T.; Supit, I.; Tao, F.; Thorburn, P.J.; Waha, K.; Wang, E.; Wallach, D.; Wolf, J.; Zhao, Z.; Zhu, Y. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Rising temperatures reduce global wheat production Type Journal Article
  Year 2014 Publication Nature Climate Change Abbreviated Journal Nat. Clim. Change  
  Volume 5 Issue 2 Pages 143-147  
  Keywords climate-change; spring wheat; dryland wheat; yield; growth; drought; heat; CO2; agriculture; adaptation  
  Abstract Crop models are essential tools for assessing the threat of climate change to local and global food production1. Present models used to predict wheat grain yield are highly uncertain when simulating how crops respond to temperature2. Here we systematically tested 30 different wheat crop models of the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project against field experiments in which growing season mean temperatures ranged from 15 °C to 32 °C, including experiments with artificial heating. Many models simulated yields well, but were less accurate at higher temperatures. The model ensemble median was consistently more accurate in simulating the crop temperature response than any single model, regardless of the input information used. Extrapolating the model ensemble temperature response indicates that warming is already slowing yield gains at a majority of wheat-growing locations. Global wheat production is estimated to fall by 6% for each °C of further temperature increase and become more variable over space and time.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language (down) English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1758-678x ISBN Medium Article  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes CropM, ft_macsur Approved no  
  Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial 4550  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Watson, J.; Challinor, A.J.; Fricker, T.E.; Ferro, C.A.T. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Comparing the effects of calibration and climate errors on a statistical crop model and a process-based crop model Type Journal Article
  Year 2015 Publication Climatic Change Abbreviated Journal Clim. Change  
  Volume 132 Issue 1 Pages 93-109  
  Keywords maize; yield; ensemble; impacts; design; heat  
  Abstract Understanding the relationship between climate and crop productivity is a key component of projections of future food production, and hence assessments of food security. Climate models and crop yield datasets have errors, but the effects of these errors on regional scale crop models is not well categorized and understood. In this study we compare the effect of synthetic errors in temperature and precipitation observations on the hindcast skill of a process-based crop model and a statistical crop model. We find that errors in temperature data have a significantly stronger influence on both models than errors in precipitation. We also identify key differences in the responses of these models to different types of input data error. Statistical and process-based model responses differ depending on whether synthetic errors are overestimates or underestimates. We also investigate the impact of crop yield calibration data on model skill for both models, using datasets of yield at three different spatial scales. Whilst important for both models, the statistical model is more strongly influenced by crop yield scale than the process-based crop model. However, our results question the value of high resolution yield data for improving the skill of crop models; we find a focus on accuracy to be more likely to be valuable. For both crop models, and for all three spatial scales of yield calibration data, we found that model skill is greatest where growing area is above 10-15 %. Thus information on area harvested would appear to be a priority for data collection efforts. These results are important for three reasons. First, understanding how different crop models rely on different characteristics of temperature, precipitation and crop yield data allows us to match the model type to the available data. Second, we can prioritize where improvements in climate and crop yield data should be directed. Third, as better climate and crop yield data becomes available, we can predict how crop model skill should improve.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language (down) English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0165-0009 1573-1480 ISBN Medium Article  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes CropM, ft_macsur Approved no  
  Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial 4546  
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