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Author Kipling, R.P.; Bannink, A.; Bellocchi, G.; Dalgaard, T.; Fox, N.J.; Hutchings, N.J.; Kjeldsen, C.; Lacetera, N.; Sinabell, F.; Topp, C.F.E.; van Oijen, M.; Virkajärvi, P.; Scollan, N.D.
Title Modeling European ruminant production systems: Facing the challenges of climate change Type Journal Article
Year 2016 Publication Agricultural Systems Abbreviated Journal Agricultural Systems
Volume (down) 147 Issue Pages 24-37
Keywords Food security; Livestock systems; Modeling; Pastoral systems; Policy support; Ruminants
Abstract Ruminant production systems are important producers of food, support rural communities and culture, and help to maintain a range of ecosystem services including the sequestering of carbon in grassland soils. However, these systems also contribute significantly to climate change through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while intensi- fication of production has driven biodiversity and nutrient loss, and soil degradation. Modeling can offer insights into the complexity underlying the relationships between climate change, management and policy choices, food production, and the maintenance of ecosystem services. This paper 1) provides an overview of how ruminant systems modeling supports the efforts of stakeholders and policymakers to predict, mitigate and adapt to climate change and 2) provides ideas for enhancing modeling to fulfil this role. Many grassland models can predict plant growth, yield and GHG emissions from mono-specific swards, but modeling multi-species swards, grassland quality and the impact of management changes requires further development. Current livestock models provide a good basis for predicting animal production; linking these with models of animal health and disease is a prior- ity. Farm-scale modeling provides tools for policymakers to predict the emissions of GHG and other pollutants from livestock farms, and to support the management decisions of farmers from environmental and economic standpoints. Other models focus on how policy and associated management changes affect a range of economic and environmental variables at regional, national and European scales. Models at larger scales generally utilise more empirical approaches than those applied at animal, field and farm-scales and include assumptions which may not be valid under climate change conditions. It is therefore important to continue to develop more realistic representations of processes in regional and global models, using the understanding gained from finer-scale modeling. An iterative process of model development, in which lessons learnt from mechanistic models are ap- plied to develop ‘smart’ empirical modeling, may overcome the trade-off between complexity and usability. De- veloping the modeling capacity to tackle the complex challenges related to climate change, is reliant on closer links between modelers and experimental researchers, and also requires knowledge-sharing and increasing technical compatibility across modeling disciplines. Stakeholder engagement throughout the process of model development and application is vital for the creation of relevant models, and important in reducing problems re- lated to the interpretation of modeling outcomes. Enabling modeling to meet the demands of policymakers and other stakeholders under climate change will require collaboration within adequately-resourced, long-term inter-disciplinary research networks
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0308521x ISBN Medium Review
Area Expedition Conference
Notes LiveM, ft_macsur Approved no
Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial 4734
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Author Pulina, A.; Bellocchi, G.; Seddaiu, G.; Roggero, P.P.
Title Scenario analysis of alternative management options on the forage production and greenhouse gas emissions in Mediterranean grasslands Type Conference Article
Year 2016 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume (down) 116 Issue Pages 263-266
Keywords LiveM; MACSUR_ACK
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number TI @ martin.koechy @ Serial 2940
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Author Lardy, R.; Bellocchi, G.; Martin, R.
Title Vuln-Indices: Software to assess vulnerability to climate change Type Journal Article
Year 2015 Publication Computers and Electronics in Agriculture Abbreviated Journal Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
Volume (down) 114 Issue Pages 53-57
Keywords climate change; Java; vulnerability indices; pasture simulation-model; integrated assessment; environmental-change; change impacts; system
Abstract Vuln-Indices Java-based software was developed on concepts of vulnerability to climate change of agro-ecological systems. It implements the calculation of vulnerability indices on series of state variables for assessments at both site and region levels. The tool is useful because synthetic indices help capturing complex processes and prove effective to identify the factors responsible for vulnerability and their relative importance. It is suggested that the tool may be plausible for use with stakeholders to disseminate information of climate change impacts. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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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 LiveM, ft_macsur Approved no
Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial 4648
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Author Sanna, M.; Bellocchi, G.; Fumagalli, M.; Acutis, M.
Title A new method for analysing the interrelationship between performance indicators with an application to agrometeorological models Type Journal Article
Year 2015 Publication Environmental Modelling & Software Abbreviated Journal Env. Model. Softw.
Volume (down) 73 Issue Pages 286-304
Keywords model evaluation; performance indicators; stable correlation; solar-radiation; simulation-model; environmental-models; statistical-methods; crop nitrogen; validation; rice; uncertainty; calibration; software
Abstract The use of a variety of metrics is advocated to assess model performance but correlated metrics may convey the same information, thus leading to redundancy. Starting from this assumption, a method was developed for selecting, from among a collection of performance indicators, one or more subsets providing the same information as the entire set. The method, based on the definition of “stable correlation”, was applied to 23 performance indicators of agrometeorological models, calculated on large sets of simulated and observed data of four agronomic and meteorological variables: above-ground biomass, leaf area index, hourly air relative humidity and daily solar radiation. Two subsets were determined: {Squared Bias, Root Mean Squared Relative Error, Coefficient of Determination, Pattern Index, Modified Modelling Efficiency}, {Persistence Model Efficiency, Root Mean Squared Relative Error, Coefficient of Determination, Pattern Index}. The method needs corroboration but is statistically founded and can support the implementation of standardized evaluation tools. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1364-8152 ISBN Medium Article
Area Expedition Conference
Notes CropM LiveM, ftnotmacsur Approved no
Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial 4503
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Author Pulina, A.; Lai, R.; Salis, L.; Seddaiu, G.; Roggero, P.P.; Bellocchi, G.
Title Modelling pasture production and soil temperature, water and carbon fluxes in Mediterranean grassland systems with the Pasture Simulation Model Type Journal Article
Year 2018 Publication Grass and Forage Science Abbreviated Journal Grass Forage Sci.
Volume (down) 73 Issue 2 Pages 272-283
Keywords grassland production; Mediterranean pastures; model calibration; PaSim; sheep grazing systems; soil respiration
Abstract Grasslands play important roles in agricultural production and provide a range of ecosystem services. Modelling can be a valuable adjunct to experimental research in order to improve the knowledge and assess the impact of management practices in grassland systems. In this study, the PaSim model was assessed for its ability to simulate plant biomass production, soil temperature, water content, and total and heterotrophic soil respiration in Mediterranean grasslands. The study site was the extensively managed sheep grazing system at the Berchidda‐Monti Observatory (Sardinia, Italy), from which two data sets were derived for model calibration and validation respectively. A new model parameterization was derived for Mediterranean conditions from a set of eco‐physiological parameters. With the exception of heterotrophic respiration (Rh), for which modelling efficiency (EF) values were negative, the model outputs were in agreement with observations (e.g., EF ranging from ~0.2 for total soil respiration to ~0.7 for soil temperature). These results support the effectiveness of PaSim to simulate C cycle components in Mediterranean grasslands. The study also highlights the need of further model development to provide better representation of the seasonal dynamics of Mediterranean annual species‐rich grasslands and associated peculiar Rh features, for which the modelling is only implicitly being undertaken by the current PaSim release.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium article
Area LiveM Expedition Conference
Notes LiveM, ft_macsur Approved no
Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial 4973
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