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Saha D, Kaye JP, Bhowmik A, Bruns MA, Wallace JM, Kemanian AR. Organic fertility inputs synergistically increase denitrification-derived nitrous oxide emissions in agroecosystems. Ecol Appl 2021; 31:e02403. [PMID: 34231260 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Revised: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Soil fertility in organic agriculture relies on microbial cycling of nutrient inputs from legume cover crops and animal manure. However, large quantities of labile carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in these amendments may promote the production and emission of nitrous oxide (N2 O) from soils. Better ecological understanding of the N2 O emission controls may lead to new management strategies to reduce these emissions. We measured soil N2 O emission for two growing seasons in four corn-soybean-winter grain rotations with tillage, cover crop, and manure management variations typical of organic agriculture in temperate and humid North America. To identify N2 O production pathways and mitigation opportunities, we supplemented N2 O flux measurements with determinations of N2 O isotopomer composition and microbiological genomic DNA abundances in microplots where we manipulated cover crop and manure additions. The N input from legume-rich cover crops and manure prior to corn planting made the corn phase the main source of N2 O emissions, averaging 9.8 kg/ha of N2 O-N and representing 80% of the 3-yr rotations' total emissions. Nitrous oxide emissions increased sharply when legume cover crop and manure inputs exceeded 1.8 and 4 Mg/ha (dry matter), respectively. Removing the legume aboveground biomass before corn planting to prevent co-location of fresh biomass and manure decreased N2 O emissions by 60% during the corn phase. The co-occurrence of peak N2 O emission and high carbon dioxide emission suggests that oxygen (O2 ) consumption likely caused hypoxia and bacterial denitrification. This interpretation is supported by the N2 O site preference values trending towards denitrification during peak emissions with limited N2 O reduction, as revealed by the N2 O δ15 N and δ18 O and the decrease in clade I nosZ gene abundance following incorporation of cover crops and manure. Thus, accelerated microbial O2 consumption seems to be a critical control of N2 O emissions in systems with large additions of decomposable C and N substrates. Because many agricultural systems rely on combined fertility inputs from legumes and manures, our research suggests that controlling the rate and timing of organic input additions, as well as preventing the co-location of legume cover crops and manure, could mitigate N2 O emissions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debasish Saha
- Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA
| | - Jason P Kaye
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA
| | - Arnab Bhowmik
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA
| | - Mary Ann Bruns
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA
| | - John M Wallace
- Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA
| | - Armen R Kemanian
- Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA
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2
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Gil Y, Garijo D, Khider D, Knoblock CA, Ratnakar V, Osorio M, Vargas H, Pham M, Pujara J, Shbita B, Vu B, Chiang YY, Feldman D, Lin Y, Song H, Kumar V, Khandelwal A, Steinbach M, Tayal K, Xu S, Pierce SA, Pearson L, Hardesty-Lewis D, Deelman E, Silva RFD, Mayani R, Kemanian AR, Shi Y, Leonard L, Peckham S, Stoica M, Cobourn K, Zhang Z, Duffy C, Shu L. Artificial Intelligence for Modeling Complex Systems: Taming the Complexity of Expert Models to Improve Decision Making. ACM T INTERACT INTEL 2021. [DOI: 10.1145/3453172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Major societal and environmental challenges involve complex systems that have diverse multi-scale interacting processes. Consider, for example, how droughts and water reserves affect crop production and how agriculture and industrial needs affect water quality and availability. Preventive measures, such as delaying planting dates and adopting new agricultural practices in response to changing weather patterns, can reduce the damage caused by natural processes. Understanding how these natural and human processes affect one another allows forecasting the effects of undesirable situations and study interventions to take preventive measures. For many of these processes, there are expert models that incorporate state-of-the-art theories and knowledge to quantify a system's response to a diversity of conditions. A major challenge for efficient modeling is the diversity of modeling approaches across disciplines and the wide variety of data sources available only in formats that require complex conversions. Using expert models for particular problems requires integration of models with third-party data as well as integration of models across disciplines. Modelers face significant heterogeneity that requires resolving semantic, spatiotemporal, and execution mismatches, which are largely done by hand today and may take more than 2 years of effort.
We are developing a modeling framework that uses artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to reduce modeling effort while ensuring utility for decision making. Our work to date makes several innovative contributions: (1) an intelligent user interface that guides analysts to frame their modeling problem and assists them by suggesting relevant choices and automating steps along the way; (2) semantic metadata for models, including their modeling variables and constraints, that ensures model relevance and proper use for a given decision-making problem; and (3) semantic representations of datasets in terms of modeling variables that enable automated data selection and data transformations. This framework is implemented in the MINT (Model INTegration) framework, and currently includes data and models to analyze the interactions between natural and human systems involving climate, water availability, agricultural production, and markets. Our work to date demonstrates the utility of AI techniques to accelerate modeling to support decision-making and uncovers several challenging directions for future work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yolanda Gil
- Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
| | - Daniel Garijo
- Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
| | - Deborah Khider
- Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
| | - Craig A. Knoblock
- Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
| | - Varun Ratnakar
- Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
| | - Maximiliano Osorio
- Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
| | - Hernán Vargas
- Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
| | - Minh Pham
- Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
| | - Jay Pujara
- Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
| | - Basel Shbita
- Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
| | - Binh Vu
- Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
| | - Yao-Yi Chiang
- Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089
| | - Dan Feldman
- Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089
| | - Yijun Lin
- Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089
| | - Hayley Song
- Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089
| | - Vipin Kumar
- Department of Computer Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | - Ankush Khandelwal
- Department of Computer Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | - Michael Steinbach
- Department of Computer Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | - Kshitij Tayal
- Department of Computer Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | - Shaoming Xu
- Department of Computer Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | - Suzanne A. Pierce
- Texas Advanced Computing Center, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78758
| | - Lissa Pearson
- Texas Advanced Computing Center, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78758
| | | | - Ewa Deelman
- Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
| | | | - Rajiv Mayani
- Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
| | - Armen R. Kemanian
- Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
| | - Yuning Shi
- Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
| | - Lorne Leonard
- Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
| | - Scott Peckham
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309
| | - Maria Stoica
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309
| | - Kelly Cobourn
- Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061
| | - Zeya Zhang
- Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061
| | - Christopher Duffy
- Department of Civil Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
| | - Lele Shu
- Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616
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3
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Hunter MC, Kemanian AR, Mortensen DA. Cover crops and drought: Maize ecophysiology and yield dataset. Data Brief 2021; 35:106856. [PMID: 33665252 PMCID: PMC7903299 DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2021.106856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 10/26/2022] Open
Abstract
This dataset supports the research paper "Cover crop effects on maize drought stress and yield" by Hunter et al. [1]. Data is provided on ecophysiological and yield measurements of maize grown following five functionally diverse cover crop treatments. The experiment was conducted in Pennsylvania, USA from 2013-2015 with organic management. Cover crops were planted in August after winter wheat harvest. Cover crops were terminated in late May of the following year, manure was applied, and both were incorporated with full inversion tillage prior to planting maize. The five cover crop treatments included a tilled fallow control, medium red clover, cereal rye, forage radish, and a 3-species mixture of medium red clover, cereal rye, and Austrian winter pea. Drought was imposed with rain exclusion shelters starting in early July. Results are provided for two subplots per cover crop treatment representing ambient and drought conditions. The dataset includes: 1) soil moisture in spring and during the maize growing season; 2) maize height, leaf chlorophyll content, leaf area index, stomatal conductance, and pre-dawn leaf xylem water potential; 3) maize yield and yield components including kernel biomass, total biomass, harvest index, number of plants per subplot, ears per plant, kernel mass, and kernel number per ear, per plant, and per subplot; 4) modeled season-long radiation interception and radiation use efficiency of biomass production; and 5) maize rooting density by depth in one year only. Data was collected in the field and lab using ecophysiological instruments (e.g., SPAD meter, ceptometer, porometer, and pressure chamber). Biomass samples were taken to determine yield. Data presented have been averaged to the subplot level (ambient and drought). This dataset can inform future research focused on using cover crops and other cultural practices to improve climate adaptation in cropping systems and also may be useful for meta-analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitchell C Hunter
- American Farmland Trust, 411 Borlaug Hall, 1991 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108, United States
| | - Armen R Kemanian
- 116 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States
| | - David A Mortensen
- Department of Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems, The University of New Hampshire, Kendall Hall, 129 Main St, Durham, NH 03824, United States
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Stachelek J, Weng W, Carey CC, Kemanian AR, Cobourn KM, Wagner T, Weathers KC, Soranno PA. Granular measures of agricultural land use influence lake nitrogen and phosphorus differently at macroscales. Ecol Appl 2020; 30:e02187. [PMID: 32485044 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2019] [Revised: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Agricultural land use is typically associated with high stream nutrient concentrations and increased nutrient loading to lakes. For lakes, evidence for these associations mostly comes from studies on individual lakes or watersheds that relate concentrations of nitrogen (N) or phosphorus (P) to aggregate measures of agricultural land use, such as the proportion of land used for agriculture in a lake's watershed. However, at macroscales (i.e., in hundreds to thousands of lakes across large spatial extents), there is high variability around such relationships and it is unclear whether considering more granular (or detailed) agricultural data, such as fertilizer application, planting of specific crops, or the extent of near-stream cropping, would improve prediction and inform understanding of lake nutrient drivers. Furthermore, it is unclear whether lake N and P would have different relationships to such measures and whether these relationships would vary by region, since regional variation has been observed in prior studies using aggregate measures of agriculture. To address these knowledge gaps, we examined relationships between granular measures of agricultural activity and lake total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations in 928 lakes and their watersheds in the Northeastern and Midwest U.S. using a Bayesian hierarchical modeling approach. We found that both lake TN and TP concentrations were related to these measures of agriculture, especially near-stream agriculture. The relationships between measures of agriculture and lake TN concentrations were more regionally variable than those for TP. Conversely, TP concentrations were more strongly related to lake-specific measures like depth and watershed hydrology relative to TN. Our finding that lake TN and TP concentrations have different relationships with granular measures of agricultural activity has implications for the design of effective and efficient policy approaches to maintain and improve water quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Stachelek
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Road, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA
| | - W Weng
- School of Business, State University of New York College at Geneseo, 1 College Circle, Geneseo, New York, 14454, USA
| | - C C Carey
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, 926 W Campus Drive, Blacksburg, Virginia, 24061, USA
| | - A R Kemanian
- Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, 247 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Bldg., University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA
| | - K M Cobourn
- Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech, 310 W Campus Drive, Blacksburg, Virginia, 24061, USA
| | - T Wagner
- U.S. Geological Survey, Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - K C Weathers
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, 2801 Sharon Turnpike, Millbrook, New York, 12545, USA
| | - P A Soranno
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Road, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA
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5
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Stöckle CO, Kemanian AR. Can Crop Models Identify Critical Gaps in Genetics, Environment, and Management Interactions? Front Plant Sci 2020; 11:737. [PMID: 32595666 PMCID: PMC7303354 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.00737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Increasing food demand under climate change constraints may challenge and strain agricultural systems. The use of crop models to assess genotypes performance across diverse target environments and management practices, i.e., the genetic × environment × management interaction (GEMI), can help understand suitability of genotype and agronomic practices, and possibly accelerate turnaround in plant breeding programs. However, the readiness of models to support these tasks can be debated. In this article, we point out modeling and data limitations and argue the need for evaluation and improvement of relevant process algorithms as well as model convergence. Under conditions suitable for plant growth, without meteorological extremes or soil limitation to root exploration, models can simulate resource capture, growth, and yield with relative ease. As stresses accumulate, the plant species- and genotype-specific attributes and their interactions with the soil and atmospheric environment generate a large range of responses, including conditions where resources become so limiting as to make yields very low. The space in between high and low yields is where most rainfed production occurs, and where the current model and user skill at representing GEMI varies. We also review studies comparing the performance of a large number of crop models and the lessons learned. The overall message is that improvement of models appears as a necessary condition for progress, and perhaps relevancy. Model ensembles help mitigate data input, model, and user-driven uncertainty for some but not all applications, sometimes at a very high cost. Successful model-based assessment of GEMI not only requires better crop models and knowledgeable users, but also a realistic representation of the environmental conditions of the landscape where crops are grown, which is not trivial given the 3D nature of water and nutrient transport. Models remain the best quantitative repository of our knowledge on crop functioning; they contain a narrative of plant, soil, and atmospheric functioning in computer language and train the mind to couple processes. But in our quest to tame GEMI, will they lead the way or just ride along history?
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio O. Stöckle
- Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States
- *Correspondence: Claudio O. Stöckle,
| | - Armen R. Kemanian
- Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
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6
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Ward NK, Fitchett L, Hart JA, Shu L, Stachelek J, Weng W, Zhang Y, Dugan H, Hetherington A, Boyle K, Carey CC, Cobourn KM, Hanson PC, Kemanian AR, Sorice MG, Weathers KC. Integrating fast and slow processes is essential for simulating human-freshwater interactions. Ambio 2019; 48:1169-1182. [PMID: 30569439 PMCID: PMC6722150 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-018-1136-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Revised: 11/10/2018] [Accepted: 12/07/2018] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Integrated modeling is a critical tool to evaluate the behavior of coupled human-freshwater systems. However, models that do not consider both fast and slow processes may not accurately reflect the feedbacks that define complex systems. We evaluated current coupled human-freshwater system modeling approaches in the literature with a focus on categorizing feedback loops as including economic and/or socio-cultural processes and identifying the simulation of fast and slow processes in human and biophysical systems. Fast human and fast biophysical processes are well represented in the literature, but very few studies incorporate slow human and slow biophysical system processes. Challenges in simulating coupled human-freshwater systems can be overcome by quantifying various monetary and non-monetary ecosystem values and by using data aggregation techniques. Studies that incorporate both fast and slow processes have the potential to improve complex system understanding and inform more sustainable decision-making that targets effective leverage points for system change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole K. Ward
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA
| | - Leah Fitchett
- Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech, 310 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA
| | - Julia A. Hart
- Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 680 N Park Street, Madison, WI 53706 USA
| | - Lele Shu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, 212 East College Avenue, University Park, PA 16802 USA
- Department of Land, Air and Water Resource, University of California, Davis, 223 Hoagland Hall, Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Jemma Stachelek
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824 USA
| | - Weizhe Weng
- Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech, 250 Drillfield Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA
| | - Yu Zhang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, 212 East College Avenue, University Park, PA 16802 USA
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, 9 Circuit Drive, Durham, NC 27708 USA
| | - Hilary Dugan
- Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 680 N Park Street, Madison, WI 53706 USA
| | - Amy Hetherington
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA
| | - Kevin Boyle
- Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech, 250 Drillfield Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA
| | - Cayelan C. Carey
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA
| | - Kelly M. Cobourn
- Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech, 310 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA
| | - Paul C. Hanson
- Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 680 N Park Street, Madison, WI 53706 USA
| | - Armen R. Kemanian
- Department of Plant Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, 116 ASI Building, University Park, PA 16802 USA
| | - Michael G. Sorice
- Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech, 310 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA
| | - Kathleen C. Weathers
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, 2801 Sharon Turnpike, Millbrook, NY 12545 USA
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7
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Cobourn KM, Carey CC, Boyle KJ, Duffy C, Dugan HA, Farrell KJ, Fitchett L, Hanson PC, Hart JA, Henson VR, Hetherington AL, Kemanian AR, Rudstam LG, Shu L, Soranno PA, Sorice MG, Stachelek J, Ward NK, Weathers KC, Weng W, Zhang Y. From concept to practice to policy: modeling coupled natural and human systems in lake catchments. Ecosphere 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Kelly M. Cobourn
- Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation Virginia Tech 310 W Campus Dr. Blacksburg Virginia 24061 USA
| | - Cayelan C. Carey
- Department of Biological Sciences Virginia Tech 926 W Campus Dr. Blacksburg Virginia 24061 USA
| | - Kevin J. Boyle
- Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics Virginia Tech 250 Drillfield Dr. Blacksburg Virginia 24061 USA
| | - Christopher Duffy
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering The Pennsylvania State University 231G Sackett Bldg. University Park Pennsylvania 16802 USA
| | - Hilary A. Dugan
- Center for Limnology University of Wisconsin‐Madison 680 N Park St. Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
| | - Kaitlin J. Farrell
- Department of Biological Sciences Virginia Tech 926 W Campus Dr. Blacksburg Virginia 24061 USA
| | - Leah Fitchett
- Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation Virginia Tech 310 W Campus Dr. Blacksburg Virginia 24061 USA
| | - Paul C. Hanson
- Center for Limnology University of Wisconsin‐Madison 680 N Park St. Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
| | - Julia A. Hart
- College of the Environment University of Washington 1492 NE Boat St. Seattle Washington 98105 USA
| | - Virginia Reilly Henson
- Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation Virginia Tech 310 W Campus Dr. Blacksburg Virginia 24061 USA
| | - Amy L. Hetherington
- Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation Virginia Tech 310 W Campus Dr. Blacksburg Virginia 24061 USA
- Department of Biological Sciences Virginia Tech 926 W Campus Dr. Blacksburg Virginia 24061 USA
| | - Armen R. Kemanian
- Department of Plant Science The Pennsylvania State University 247 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Bldg. University Park Pennsylvania 16802 USA
| | - Lars G. Rudstam
- Department of Natural Resources Cornell University 211A Fernow Hall Ithaca New York 54732 USA
| | - Lele Shu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering The Pennsylvania State University 231G Sackett Bldg. University Park Pennsylvania 16802 USA
| | - Patricia A. Soranno
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Michigan State University 480 Wilson Rd. East Lansing Michigan 48824 USA
| | - Michael G. Sorice
- Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation Virginia Tech 310 W Campus Dr. Blacksburg Virginia 24061 USA
| | - Jemma Stachelek
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Michigan State University 480 Wilson Rd. East Lansing Michigan 48824 USA
| | - Nicole K. Ward
- Department of Biological Sciences Virginia Tech 926 W Campus Dr. Blacksburg Virginia 24061 USA
| | - Kathleen C. Weathers
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies 2801 Sharon Tpke. Millbrook New York 12545 USA
| | - Weizhe Weng
- Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics Virginia Tech 250 Drillfield Dr. Blacksburg Virginia 24061 USA
| | - Yu Zhang
- Nicholas School of the Environment Duke University 9 Circuit Dr. Durham North Carolina 27708 USA
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Hoffman AL, Kemanian AR, Forest CE. Analysis of climate signals in the crop yield record of sub-Saharan Africa. Glob Chang Biol 2018; 24:143-157. [PMID: 28892592 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2017] [Accepted: 08/14/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Food security and agriculture productivity assessments in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) require a better understanding of how climate and other drivers influence regional crop yields. In this paper, our objective was to identify the climate signal in the realized yields of maize, sorghum, and groundnut in SSA. We explored the relation between crop yields and scale-compatible climate data for the 1962-2014 period using Random Forest, a diagnostic machine learning technique. We found that improved agricultural technology and country fixed effects are three times more important than climate variables for explaining changes in crop yields in SSA. We also found that increasing temperatures reduced yields for all three crops in the temperature range observed in SSA, while precipitation increased yields up to a level roughly matching crop evapotranspiration. Crop yields exhibited both linear and nonlinear responses to temperature and precipitation, respectively. For maize, technology steadily increased yields by about 1% (13 kg/ha) per year while increasing temperatures decreased yields by 0.8% (10 kg/ha) per °C. This study demonstrates that although we should expect increases in future crop yields due to improving technology, the potential yields could be progressively reduced due to warmer and drier climates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis L Hoffman
- Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Armen R Kemanian
- Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Chris E Forest
- Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
- Department of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
- Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
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9
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Bassu S, Brisson N, Durand JL, Boote K, Lizaso J, Jones JW, Rosenzweig C, Ruane AC, Adam M, Baron C, Basso B, Biernath C, Boogaard H, Conijn S, Corbeels M, Deryng D, De Sanctis G, Gayler S, Grassini P, Hatfield J, Hoek S, Izaurralde C, Jongschaap R, Kemanian AR, Kersebaum KC, Kim SH, Kumar NS, Makowski D, Müller C, Nendel C, Priesack E, Pravia MV, Sau F, Shcherbak I, Tao F, Teixeira E, Timlin D, Waha K. How do various maize crop models vary in their responses to climate change factors? Glob Chang Biol 2014; 20:2301-20. [PMID: 24395589 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 149] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2013] [Accepted: 12/02/2013] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Potential consequences of climate change on crop production can be studied using mechanistic crop simulation models. While a broad variety of maize simulation models exist, it is not known whether different models diverge on grain yield responses to changes in climatic factors, or whether they agree in their general trends related to phenology, growth, and yield. With the goal of analyzing the sensitivity of simulated yields to changes in temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations [CO2 ], we present the largest maize crop model intercomparison to date, including 23 different models. These models were evaluated for four locations representing a wide range of maize production conditions in the world: Lusignan (France), Ames (USA), Rio Verde (Brazil) and Morogoro (Tanzania). While individual models differed considerably in absolute yield simulation at the four sites, an ensemble of a minimum number of models was able to simulate absolute yields accurately at the four sites even with low data for calibration, thus suggesting that using an ensemble of models has merit. Temperature increase had strong negative influence on modeled yield response of roughly -0.5 Mg ha(-1) per °C. Doubling [CO2 ] from 360 to 720 μmol mol(-1) increased grain yield by 7.5% on average across models and the sites. That would therefore make temperature the main factor altering maize yields at the end of this century. Furthermore, there was a large uncertainty in the yield response to [CO2 ] among models. Model responses to temperature and [CO2 ] did not differ whether models were simulated with low calibration information or, simulated with high level of calibration information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Bassu
- Unité d'Agronomie, INRA-AgroParisTech, BP 01, Thiverval-Grignon, 78850, France
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Kemanian AR, Julich S, Manoranjan VS, Arnold JR. Integrating soil carbon cycling with that of nitrogen and phosphorus in the watershed model SWAT: Theory and model testing. Ecol Modell 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2011.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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