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Author Below, T.B.; Mutabazi, K.D.; Kirschke, D.; Franke, C.; Sieber, S.; Siebert, R.; Tscherning, K.
Title Can farmers’ adaptation to climate change be explained by socio-economic household-level variables Type Journal Article
Year 2012 Publication Global Environmental Change Abbreviated Journal Glob. Environ. Change
Volume 22 Issue 1 Pages 223-235
Keywords Sub-Saharan Africa; Tanzania; Adaptive capacity; Index; Vulnerability; Adaptation; adaptive capacity; environmental-change; south-africa; vulnerability; variability; resilience; tanzania; framework; drought; policy
Abstract A better understanding of processes that shape farmers’ adaptation to climate change is critical to identify vulnerable entities and to develop well-targeted adaptation policies. However, it is currently poorly understood what determines farmers’ adaptation and how to measure it. In this study, we develop an activity-based adaptation index (AAI) and explore the relationship between socioeconomic variables and farmers’ adaptation behavior by means of an explanatory factor analysis and a multiple linear regression model using latent variables. The model was tested in six villages situated in two administrative wards in the Morogoro region of Tanzania. The Mlali ward represents a system of relatively high agricultural potential, whereas the Gairo ward represents a system of low agricultural potential. A household survey, a rapid rural appraisal and, a stakeholder workshop were used for data collection. The data were analyzed using factor analysis, multiple linear regression, descriptive statistical methods and qualitative content analysis. The empirical results are discussed in the context of theoretical concepts of adaptation and the sustainable livelihood approach. We found that public investment in rural infrastructure, in the availability and technically efficient use of inputs, in a good education system that provides equal chances for women, and in the strengthening of social capital, agricultural extension and, microcredit services are the best means of improving the adaptation of the farmers from the six villages in Gairo and Mlali. We conclude that the newly developed AAI is a simple but promising way to capture the complexity of adaptation processes that addresses a number of shortcomings of previous index studies.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0959-3780 ISBN Medium Article
Area Expedition Conference
Notes TradeM Approved no
Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial (up) 4467
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Author Jing, Q.; Bélanger, G.; Baron, V.; Bonesmo, H.; Virkajärvi, P.; Young, D.
Title Regrowth simulation of the perennial grass timothy Type Journal Article
Year 2012 Publication Ecological Modelling Abbreviated Journal Ecol. Model.
Volume 232 Issue Pages 64-77
Keywords biomass; carbohydrate; leaf area index; n uptake; reserve-dependent growth; temperature; nutritive-value; carbohydrate reserves; phleum-pratense; catimo model; leaf-area; nitrogen-fertilization; spring harvest; meadow fescue; tall fescue; growth
Abstract Several process-based models for simulating the growth of perennial grasses have been developed but few include the simulation of regrowth. The model CATIMO simulates the primary growth of timothy (Phleum pratense L), an important perennial forage grass species in northern regions of Europe and North America. Our objective was to further develop the model CATIMO to simulate timothy regrowth using the concept of reserve-dependent growth. The performance of this modified CATIMO model in simulating leaf area index (LAI), biomass dry matter (DM) yield, and N uptake of regrowth was assessed with data from four independent field experiments in Norway, Finland, and western and eastern Canada using an approach that combines graphical comparison and statistical analysis. Biomass DM yield and N uptake of regrowth were predicted at the same accuracy as primary growth with linear regression coefficients of determination between measured and simulated values greater than 0.79, model simulation efficiencies greater than 0.78, and normalized root mean square errors (14-30% for biomass and 24-34% for N uptake) comparable with the coefficients of variation of measured data (1-21% for biomass and 1-25% for N uptake). The model satisfactorily simulated the regrowth LAI but only up to a value of about 4.0. The modified CATIMO model with its capacity to simulate regrowth provides a framework to simulate perennial grasses with multiple harvests, and to explore management options for sustainable grass production under different environmental conditions. Crown Copyright (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0304-3800 ISBN Medium Article
Area Expedition Conference
Notes CropM, LiveM Approved no
Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial (up) 4473
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Author Mansouri, M.; Dumont, B.; Destain, M.-F.
Title Modeling and prediction of nonlinear environmental system using Bayesian methods Type Journal Article
Year 2013 Publication Computers and Electronics in Agriculture Abbreviated Journal Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
Volume 92 Issue Pages 16-31
Keywords state and parameter estimation; variational filter; particle filter; extended kalman filter; nonlinear environmental system; leaf area index and soil moisture model; extended kalman filter; state-space models; parameter-estimation; particle filters; navigation; tutorial; tracking
Abstract An environmental dynamic system is usually modeled as a nonlinear system described by a set of nonlinear ODEs. A central challenge in computational modeling of environmental systems is the determination of the model parameters. In these cases, estimating these variables or parameters from other easily obtained measurements can be extremely useful. This work addresses the problem of monitoring and modeling a leaf area index and soil moisture model (LSM) using state estimation. The performances of various conventional and state-of-the-art state estimation techniques are compared when they are utilized to achieve this objective. These techniques include the extended Kalman filter (EKF), particle filter (PF), and the more recently developed technique variational filter (VF). Specifically, two comparative studies are performed. In the first comparative study, the state variables (the leaf-area index LAI, the volumetric water content of the soil layer 1, HUR1 and the volumetric water content of the soil layer 2, HUR2) are estimated from noisy measurements of these variables, and the various estimation techniques are compared by computing the estimation root mean square error (RMSE) with respect to the noise-free data. In the second comparative study, the state variables as well as the model parameters are simultaneously estimated. In this case, in addition to comparing the performances of the various state estimation techniques, the effect of number of estimated model parameters on the accuracy and convergence of these techniques are also assessed. The results of both comparative studies show that the PF provides a higher accuracy than the EKF, which is due to the limited ability of the EKF to handle highly nonlinear processes. The results also show that the VF provides a significant improvement over the PF because, unlike the PF which depends on the choice of sampling distribution used to estimate the posterior distribution, the VF yields an optimum choice of the sampling distribution, which also accounts for the observed data. The results of the second comparative study show that, for all techniques, estimating more model parameters affects the estimation accuracy as well as the convergence of the estimated states and parameters. However, the VF can still provide both convergence as well as accuracy related advantages over other estimation methods. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0168-1699 ISBN Medium Article
Area Expedition Conference
Notes CropM Approved no
Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial (up) 4495
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Author Strauss, F.; Moltchanova, E.; Schmid, E.
Title Spatially explicit modeling of long-term drought impacts on crop production in Austria Type Journal Article
Year 2013 Publication American Journal of Climate Change Abbreviated Journal American Journal of Climate Change
Volume 2 Issue 3 Pages 1-11
Keywords Long-Term Drought Modeling; Dry Day Index; Biophysical Impacts; Spatial Variability; EPIC; Austria
Abstract Droughts have serious and widespread impacts on crop production with substantial economic losses. The frequency and severity of drought events may increase in the future due to climate change. We have developed three meteorological drought scenarios for Austria in the period 2008-2040. The scenarios are defined based on a dry day index which is combined with bootstrapping from an observed daily weather dataset of the period 1975-2007. The severity of long-term drought scenarios is characterized by lower annual and seasonal precipitation amounts as well as more sig- nificant temperature increases compared to the observations. The long-term impacts of the drought scenarios on Aus- trian crop production have been analyzed with the biophysical process model EPIC (Environmental Policy Integrated Climate). Our simulation outputs show that—for areas with historical mean annual precipitation sums below 850 mm— already slight increases in dryness result in significantly lower crop yields i.e. depending on the drought severity, be- tween 0.6% and 0.9% decreases in mean annual dry matter crop yields per 1.0% decrease in mean annual precipitation sums. The EPIC results of more severe droughts show that spring and summer precipitation may become a limiting factor in crop production even in regions with historical abundant precipitation.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2167-9495 ISBN Medium Article
Area Expedition Conference
Notes CropM, ft_macsur Approved no
Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial (up) 4507
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Author Semenov, M.A.; Stratonovitch, P.; Alghabari, F.; Gooding, M.J.
Title Adapting wheat in Europe for climate change Type Journal Article
Year 2014 Publication Journal of Cereal Science Abbreviated Journal J. Ceareal Sci.
Volume 59 Issue 3 Pages 245-256
Keywords A, maximum area of flag leaf area; ABA, abscisic acid; CV, coefficient of variation; Crop improvement; Crop modelling; FC, field capacity; GMT, Greenwich mean time; GS, growth stage; Gf, grain filling duration; HI, harvest index; HSP, heat shock protein; Heat and drought tolerance; Impact assessment; LAI, leaf area index; Ph, phylochron; Pp, photoperiod response; Ru, root water uptake; S, duration of leaf senescence; SF, drought stress factor; Sirius; Wheat ideotype
Abstract Increasing cereal yield is needed to meet the projected increased demand for world food supply of about 70% by 2050. Sirius, a process-based model for wheat, was used to estimate yield potential for wheat ideotypes optimized for future climatic projections for ten wheat growing areas of Europe. It was predicted that the detrimental effect of drought stress on yield would be decreased due to enhanced tailoring of phenology to future weather patterns, and due to genetic improvements in the response of photosynthesis and green leaf duration to water shortage. Yield advances could be made through extending maturation and thereby improve resource capture and partitioning. However the model predicted an increase in frequency of heat stress at meiosis and anthesis. Controlled environment experiments quantify the effects of heat and drought at booting and flowering on grain numbers and potential grain size. A current adaptation of wheat to areas of Europe with hotter and drier summers is a quicker maturation which helps to escape from excessive stress, but results in lower yields. To increase yield potential and to respond to climate change, increased tolerance to heat and drought stress should remain priorities for the genetic improvement of wheat.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0733-5210 ISBN Medium Review
Area Expedition Conference
Notes CropM, ft_macsur Approved no
Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial (up) 4543
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