|
|
Sharif, B., Mankowski, D., Kersebaum, K. C., Trnka, M., Schelde, K., & Olsesen, J. E. (2015). Empirical analysis on crop-weather relationships (Vol. 6).
Abstract: There have been several studies, where process-based crop models are developed, used and compared in order to project crop production and corresponding model uncertainties under climate change. Despite many advances in this field, there are some correlations between climate variables and crop growth, such as pest and diseases, that is often absent in process-based models. Such relationships can be simulated using empirical models. In this study, several statistical techniques were applied on winter oilseed rape data collected in some European countries. The empirical models were then used to predict yield of winter oilseed rape in the field experiments during more than 20 years, up to 2013. Results suggest that newly developed regression techniques such as shrinkage methods work well both in yield projections and finding the influential climatic variables. Many of regression techniques agree in terms of yield prediction; however, choice of significant climate variables is rather sensitive to the choice of regression technique. No Label
|
|
|
|
Toscano, P., Genesio, L., Crisci, A., Vaccari, F. P., Ferrari, E., La Cava, P., et al. (2015). Empirical modelling of regional and national durum wheat quality. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 204, 67–78.
Abstract: The production of durum wheat in the Mediterranean basin is expected to experience increased variability in yield and quality as a consequence of climate change. To assess how environmental variables and agronomic practices affect grain protein content (GPC), a novel approach based on monthly gridded input data has been implemented to develop empirical model, and validated on historical time series to assess its capability to reproduce observed spatial and inter-annual GPC variability. The model was applied in four Italian regions and at the whole national scale and proved reliable and usable for operational purposes also in a forecast ‘real-time’ mode before harvesting. Precipitable water during autumn to winter and air temperature from anthesis to harvest were extremely important influences on GPC; these and additional variables, included in a linear model, were able to account for 95% of the variability in GPC that has occurred in the last 15 years in Italy. Our results are a unique example of the use of modelling as a predictive real-time platform and are a useful tool to understand better and forecast the impacts of future climate change projections on durum wheat production and quality.
|
|
|
|
Meyer, P. (2015). Epigenetic variation and environmental change. J. Experim. Bot., 66(12), 3541–3548.
Abstract: Environmental conditions can change the activity of plant genes via epigenetic effects that alter the competence of genetic information to be expressed. This may provide a powerful strategy for plants to adapt to environmental change. However, as epigenetic changes do not modify DNA sequences and are therefore reversible, only those epi-mutations that are transmitted through the germline can be expected to contribute to a long-term adaptive response. The major challenge for the investigation of epigenetic adaptation theories is therefore to identify genomic loci that undergo epigenetic changes in response to environmental conditions, which alter their expression in a heritable way and which improve the plant’s ability to adapt to the inducing conditions. This review focuses on the role of DNA methylation as a prominent epigenetic mark that controls chromatin conformation, and on its potential in mediating expression changes in response to environmental signals.
|
|
|
|
Cammarano, D., Rivington, M., Matthews, K., B,, & Bellocchi, G. (2015). Estimates of crop responses to climate change with quantified ranges of uncertainty (Vol. 6).
Abstract: In estimating responses of crops to future climate realisations, it is necessary to understand and differentiate between the sources of uncertainty in climate models and how these lead to errors in estimating the past climate and biases in future projections, and how these affect crop model estimates. This paper investigates the complexities in using climate model projections representing different spatial scales within climate change impacts and adaptation studies. This is illustrated by simulating spring barley with three crop models run using site-specific observed, original (50•50 km) and bias corrected downscaled (site-specific) hindcast (1960-1990) weather data from the HadRM3 Regional Climate Model (RCM). Original and bias corrected downscaled weather data were evaluated against the observed data. The comparisons made between the crop models were in the light of lessons learned from this data evaluation. Though the bias correction downscaling method improved the match between observed and hindcast data, this did not always translate into better matching of crop models estimates. At four sites the original HadRM3 data produced near identical mean simulated yield values as from the observed weather data, despite differences in the weather data, giving a situation of ‘right results for the wrong reasons’. This was likely due to compensating errors in the input weather data and non-linearity in crop models processes, making interpretation of results problematic. Overall, bias correction downscaling improved the quality of simulated outputs. Understanding how biases in climate data manifest themselves in crop models gives greater confidence in the utility of the estimates produced using downscaled future climate projections. The results indicate implications on how future projections of climate change impacts are interpreted. Fundamentally, considerable care is required in determining the impact weather data sources have in climate change impact and adaptation studies, whether from individual models or ensembles. No Label
|
|
|
|
Kim, Y., Seo, Y., Kraus, D., Klatt, S., Haas, E., Tenhunen, J., et al. (2015). Estimation and mitigation of N₂O emission and nitrate leaching from intensive crop cultivation in the Haean catchment, South Korea. Science of the Total Environment, 529, 40–53.
Abstract: Considering intensive agricultural management practices and environmental conditions, the LandscapeDNDC model was applied for simulation of yields, N2O emission and nitrate leaching from major upland crops and temperate deciduous forest of the Haean catchment, South Korea. Fertilization rates were high (up to 314 kg N ha(-1) year(-1)) and resulted in simulated direct N2O emissions from potato, radish, soybean and cabbage fields of 1.9 and 2.1 kg N ha(-1) year(-1) in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Nitrate leaching was identified as the dominant pathway of N losses in the Haean catchment with mean annual rates of 112.2 and 125.4 kg N ha(-1) year(-1), causing threats to water quality and leading to substantial indirect N2O emissions of 0.84 and 0.94 kg N ha(-1) year(-1) in 2009 and 2010 as estimates by applying the IPCC EF5. Simulated N2O emissions from temperate deciduous forest were low (approx. 0.50 kg N ha(-1) year(-1)) and predicted nitrate leaching rates were even negligible (≤0.01 kg N ha(-1) year(-1)). On catchment scale more than 50% of the total N2O emissions and up to 75% of nitrate leaching originated from fertilized upland fields, only covering 24% of the catchment area. Taking into account area coverage of simulated upland crops and other land uses these numbers agree well with nitrate loads calculated from discharge and concentration measurements at the catchment outlet. The change of current agricultural management practices showed a high potential of reducing N2O emission and nitrate leaching while maintaining current crop yields. Reducing (39%) and splitting N fertilizer application into 3 times was most effective and lead to about 54% and 77% reducing of N2O emission and nitrate leaching from the Haean catchment, the latter potentially contributing to improved water quality in the Soyang River Dam, which is the major source of drinking water for metropolitan residents.
|
|
