|   | 
Details
   web
Records
Author Daccache, A.; Ciurana, J.S.; Diaz, J.A.R.; Knox, J.W.
Title Water and energy footprint of irrigated agriculture in the Mediterranean region Type Journal Article
Year 2014 Publication Environmental Research Letters Abbreviated Journal Environ. Res. Lett.
Volume 9 Issue (up) 12 Pages 124014
Keywords food security; CO2 emissions; nexus; water productivity; water resources; climate-change; southern spain; management; impacts; deficit; grids
Abstract Irrigated agriculture constitutes the largest consumer of freshwater in the Mediterranean region and provides a major source of income and employment for rural livelihoods. However, increasing droughts and water scarcity have highlighted concerns regarding the environmental sustainability of agriculture in the region. An integrated assessment combining a gridded water balance model with a geodatabase and GIS has been developed and used to assess the water demand and energy footprint of irrigated production in the region. Modelled outputs were linked with crop yield and water resources data to estimate water (m(3) kg(-1)) and energy (CO2 kg(-1)) productivity and identify vulnerable areas or `hotspots’. For a selected key crops in the region, irrigation accounts for 61 km(3) yr(-1) of water abstraction and 1.78 Gt CO2 emissions yr-1, with most emissions from sunflower (73 kg CO2/t) and cotton (60 kg CO2/t) production. Wheat is a major strategic crop in the region and was estimated to have a water productivity of 1000 tMm(-3) and emissions of 31 kg CO2/t. Irrigation modernization would save around 8 km(3) of water but would correspondingly increase CO2 emissions by around +135\%. Shifting from rain-fed to irrigated production would increase irrigation demand to 166 km(3) yr(-1) (+137\%) whilst CO2 emissions would rise by +270\%. The study has major policy implications for understanding the water-energy-food nexus in the region and the trade-offs between strategies to save water, reduce CO2 emissions and/or intensify food production.
Address
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 1748-9326 ISBN Medium Article
Area Expedition Conference
Notes CropM, ft_macsur Approved no
Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial 4747
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Mansouri, M.; Dumont, B.; Leemans, V.; Destain, M.-F.
Title Bayesian methods for predicting LAI and soil water content Type Journal Article
Year 2014 Publication Precision Agriculture Abbreviated Journal Precision Agric.
Volume 15 Issue (up) 2 Pages 184-201
Keywords crop model; bayes; data assimilation; extended kalman filtering; particle filtering; variational filtering; leaf-area index; parameter-estimation; crop models; moisture; instruments; management; sensors; state
Abstract LAI of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and soil water content of the topsoil (200 mm) and of the subsoil (500 mm) were considered as state variables of a dynamic soil-crop system. This system was assumed to progress according to a Bayesian probabilistic state space model, in which real values of LAI and soil water content were daily introduced in order to correct the model trajectory and reach better future evolution. The chosen crop model was mini STICS which can reduce the computing and execution times while ensuring the robustness of data processing and estimation. To predict simultaneously state variables and model parameters in this non-linear environment, three techniques were used: extended Kalman filtering (EKF), particle filtering (PF), and variational filtering (VF). The significantly improved performance of the VF method when compared to EKF and PF is demonstrated. The variational filter has a low computational complexity and the convergence speed of states and parameters estimation can be adjusted independently. Detailed case studies demonstrated that the root mean square error of the three estimated states (LAI and soil water content of two soil layers) was smaller and that the convergence of all considered parameters was ensured when using VF. Assimilating measurements in a crop model allows accurate prediction of LAI and soil water content at a local scale. As these biophysical properties are key parameters in the crop-plant system characterization, the system has the potential to be used in precision farming to aid farmers and decision makers in developing strategies for site-specific management of inputs, such as fertilizers and water irrigation.
Address
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 1385-2256 ISBN Medium Article
Area Expedition Conference
Notes CropM, ftnotmacsur Approved no
Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial 4629
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Dono, G.; Raffaele, C.; Luca, G.; Roggero, P.P.
Title Income Impacts of Climate Change: Irrigated Farming in the Mediterranean and Expected Changes in Probability of Favorable and Adverse Weather Conditions Type Journal Article
Year 2014 Publication German Journal of Agricultural Economics Abbreviated Journal German Journal of Agricultural Economics
Volume 63 Issue (up) 3 Pages 177-186
Keywords discrete stochastic programming; rdp measures to adapt to climate change; economic impact of climate change; irrigated agriculture and climate change; insurance tools for adaptation to climate change; water markets; risk; variability; management; systems
Abstract EU rural development policy (RDP) regulation 1305/2013 aims to protect farmers’ incomes from ongoing change of climate variability (CCV), and the increase in frequency of adverse climatic events. An income stabilization tool (IST) is provided to compensate drastic drops in income, including those caused by climatic events. The present study examines some aspect of its application focussing on Mediterranean irrigation area where frequent water shortages may generate significant income reductions in the current climate conditions, and may be further exacerbated by climate change. This enhanced loss of income in the future would occur due to a change in climate variability. This change would appreciably reduce the probability of weather conditions that are favourable for irrigation, but would not significantly increase either the probability of unfavourable weather conditions or the magnitude of their impact. As the IST and other insurance tools that protect against adversity and catastrophic events are only activated under extreme conditions, farmers may not consider them to be suitable in dealing with the new climate regime. This would leave a portion of the financial resources allocated by the RDP unused, resulting in less support for climate change adaptation.
Address
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 0002-1121 ISBN Medium Article
Area Expedition Conference
Notes CropM, TradeM, ft_macsur Approved no
Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial 4669
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Schönhart, M.; Mitter, H.; Schmid, E.; Heinrich, G.; Gobiet, A.
Title Integrated analysis of climate change impacts and adaptation measures in Austrian agriculture Type Journal Article
Year 2014 Publication German Journal of Agricultural Economics Abbreviated Journal German Journal of Agricultural Economics
Volume 63 Issue (up) 3 Pages 156-176
Keywords land use; modelling; climate change impact; adaptation; integrated analysis; epic; pasma; crop production; land-use; management-practices; model projections; central-europe; soil-erosion; water; variability; strategies; region
Abstract An integrated modelling framework (IMF) has been developed and applied to analyse climate change impacts and the effectiveness of adaptation measures in Austrian agriculture. The IMF couples the crop rotation model CropRota, the bio-physical process model EPIC and the bottom-up economic land use model PASMA at regional level (NUTS-3) considering agri-environmental indicators. Four contrasting regional climate model (RCM) simulations represent climate change until 2050. The RCM simulations are applied to a baseline and three adaptation and policy scenarios. Climate change increases crop productivity on national average in the IMF. Changes in average gross margins at national level range from 0% to + 5% between the baseline and the three adaptation and policy scenarios. The impacts at NUTS-3 level range from -5% to + 7% between the baseline and the three adaptation and policy scenarios. Adaptation measures such as planting of winter cover crops, reduced tillage and irrigation are effective in reducing yield losses, increasing revenues, or in improving environmental states under climate change. Future research should account for extreme weather events in order to analyse whether average productivity gains at the aggregated level suffice to cover costs from expected higher climate variability.
Address
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 0002-1121 ISBN Medium Article
Area Expedition Conference
Notes TradeM, ft_macsur Approved no
Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial 4652
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Legarrea, S.; Velázquez, E.; Aguado, P.; Fereres, A.; Morales, I.; Rodríguez, D.; Del Estal, P.; Viñuela, E.
Title Effects of a photoselective greenhouse cover on the performance and host finding ability of Aphidius ervi in a lettuce crop Type Journal Article
Year 2014 Publication BioControl Abbreviated Journal BioControl
Volume 59 Issue (up) 3 Pages 265-278
Keywords aphidius ervi; macrosiphum euphorbiae; uv-absorbing net; parasitoid; sadie; spatial distribution; integrated pest-management; natural enemies; plastic films; mosaic-virus; insect pests; count data; pea aphid; uv; parasitoids; hymenoptera
Abstract In the search for a durable pest control management, biological control agents and photoselective covers are suitable candidates to be implemented in greenhouse crops. In this work, we studied the effects of a 50 mesh photoselective cover compared to a standard with similar characteristics but without UV-absorbing additives on the performance of Aphidius ervi Haliday (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a widely used parasitoid to control aphids in vegetable crops. Four field experiments were conducted in La Poveda Experimental Farm (Central Spain) where a lettuce crop was grown during the years 2008-2010. Lettuce plants were infested by Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and the parasitoid A. ervi was released and monitored throughout the crop cycle to evaluate any constraint in its performance produced by UV-absorbing nets. The ability of A. ervi to find and parasitize the host was not modified by the photoselective cover during the four seasons studied. Thus, we suggest that both strategies could be combined in the context of IPM in vegetable crops where this natural enemy is released.
Address
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 1386-6141, 1573-8248 ISBN Medium Article
Area Expedition Conference
Notes CropM Approved no
Call Number MA @ admin @ Serial 4509
Permanent link to this record