Review
Environmental Sciences
Humbelani Silas Mudau, Khuliso Emmanuel Ravhuhali, Nkosomzi Sipango, Hilda Kwena Mokoboki, Bethwell Moyo
Summary: Rangeland deterioration is a significant challenge in developing countries like South Africa, leading to economic losses in agriculture and livestock production. Restoration strategies should consider soil, climate, and grazing management, along with past land use records and rehabilitation resources. The rehabilitation of degraded lands can have substantial environmental, economic, and social benefits.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Development Studies
Javad Motamedi, Hossein Azadi, Ahmad Alijanpour, Abbas Banj Shafiei, Esmaeil Sheidai-Karkaj, Morteza Mofidi-Chelan, Saghi Movahhed Moghaddam, Steven Van Passel, Frank Witlox
Summary: This study assessed the economic indices of exploiting byproduct production in Shahindej, Northwest Iran, highlighting the importance of recognizing byproducts and their economic appraisal in documenting rangeland use prospects. The findings showed that by-product exploitation significantly contributes to the local economy, employment, and reduces grazing intensity, emphasizing the need to consider by-product earnings in range management schemes and comprehensive natural-area management.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Constantin Dushimimana, Michael Ajanja Sakha, Mercy Jebiwott Korir, Joyce Mnyazi Jefwa, Jan Vandenabeele, Titus Magomere, Eunice Wanjiru Mutitu, Jackson Mulatya, Florence Olubayo, Guy Smagghe, Stefaan P. O. Werbrouck
Summary: This study evaluated the effects of biological agents on the growth of in vitro propagated Melia volkensii plants in greenhouse and field conditions. The results demonstrated that the biological agents significantly improved the survival rate, growth, and root structure of the plants. After six months of planting in the field, the in vitro grown plants performed better than the seedlings.
Article
Mathematics, Applied
Qiang Xue, Chen Liu, Li Li, Gui-Quan Sun, Zhen Wang
Summary: This study investigated the formation mechanism of vegetation patterns in semi-arid environments and found that nonlocal water absorption by vegetation roots and feedback of soil-water diffusion have significant impacts on vegetation patterns. Changes in nonlocal water absorption intensity and soil-water diffusion feedback intensity can result in variations in vegetation density and pattern structures.
APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTATION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Chris D. Hasselerharm, Esty Yanco, Jeannine S. McManus, Bool H. Smuts, Daniel Ramp
Summary: By using remote tracking methods to detect vegetation and environmental changes on rangeland farms in South Africa, it was found that wildlife-friendly farming practices had higher vegetation productivity, stronger response to rainfall, and greater vegetation cover and grass cover compared to rotational grazing practices. This study highlights the potential benefits of adopting wildlife-friendly farming practices in rangeland ecosystems.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Palo Francis Loke, Elmarie Kotze, Christiaan Cornelius Du Preez, Linette Twigge
Summary: Increasing carbon content in the top 50 mm of soil can improve ecosystem functioning and stability. This study found that grassland soils in a cool-moist climate were more resilient to carbon losses than sandy savanna soils under hot-dry climatic conditions, regardless of grazing pressure.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Amy Quandt
Summary: This study fills the gap in qualitative research on drought coping strategies by examining narratives from Kenyan farmers, highlighting perceived impacts of drought and various coping strategies used; coping strategies can be classified into four categories, including livelihood diversification, longer-term livelihood strategies, short-term coping activities, and erosive coping strategies.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yahya Kooch, Zahra Mohmedi Kartalaei, Katayoun Haghverdi, Nadine Praeg
Summary: Soil function refers to the roles and services provided by the soil, which can be evaluated through measurements of physical, chemical, and biological properties. In this study, the effects of land use change (specifically from rangeland to orchards) on soil function indicators in a semi-arid region of northern Iran were investigated. The results showed that 25-year-old apple orchards had the most fertile soil and highest biological activity among the land uses studied. Conversion of natural lands to orchards generally has negative feedbacks, but tree species can be used to improve soil conditions in areas with low soil function.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yahya Kooch, Atefeh Shah Piri, Ghasem Ali Dianati Tilaki
Summary: The type of vegetation cover affects the contents of organic matter and soil microbial processes, with Zelkova tree type enhancing soil organic matter levels and microbial population sizes, especially in the summer season. The presence of tree cover in mountain ecosystems strengthens soil function and emphasizes the importance of protecting natural forests for habitat sustainability in semi-arid regions.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Fanao Meng, Xiujuan Liang, Changlai Xiao, Ge Wang
Summary: In arid and semi-arid regions, groundwater is crucial for local economic and population development. This study used improved entropy and catastrophe methods, along with geographic information system-based multi-criteria decision analysis, to assess suitable locations for well drilling. The methods showed high accuracy in groundwater potential evaluation, with cumulative sand thickness, groundwater level, and average rainfall identified as the most influential parameters in the model.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Toshpulot F. Rajabov, R. Douglas Ramsey, Bakhtiyor K. Mardonov, Muhtor G. Nasirov, Tashkhanim Rakhimova, Shuhrat A. Valiev
Summary: This study compares the potential of different vegetation indices (VIs) in monitoring changes in rangeland ecosystems in Uzbekistan. The results indicate that the response of VIs is similar when using multi-season and multi-year vegetation data, but there is variability when using data from different seasons and years.
GEOCARTO INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
James M. Muthoka, Edward E. Salakpi, Edward Ouko, Zhuang-Fang Yi, Alexander S. Antonarakis, Pedram Rowhani
Summary: The study successfully detected Opuntia stricta in the ASAL of Kenya using Sentinel-2 multispectral sensors and ensemble machine learning classifiers, achieving high overall accuracies. The combination of topographic and vegetation indices improved classification accuracy.
Article
Soil Science
Eunice A. Mutuku, Bernard Vanlauwe, Dries Roobroeck, Pascal Boeckx, Wim M. Cornelis
Summary: The study found that visual methods are reliable for assessing the structural quality of tropical soils in Africa and can distinguish changes in soil structural quality caused by different land uses. By comparing the performance of different visual methods and correlating them with laboratory-measured soil properties, the study demonstrates an effective way to evaluate soil structural quality.
SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Ilja Vuorinne, Janne Heiskanen, Marianne Maghenda, Lucas Mwangala, Petteri Muukkonen, Petri K. E. Pellikka
Summary: A study was conducted to develop an allometric model for predicting the dry leaf biomass of sisal and to estimate leaf biomass and productivity across different stand ages in a sisal plantation in south-east Kenya. The study found that leaf biomass and productivity were strongly correlated with leaf maximum width and plant height.
BIOMASS & BIOENERGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Kristin B. Hulvey, Cassie D. Mellon, Andrew R. Kleinhesselink
Summary: This study found that in semi-arid rangelands, reducing grazing duration and adjusting grazing timing can effectively mitigate trade-offs between livestock grazing and water quality, without the need to fence off riparian areas or remove cattle from pastures with streams.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Zhenzhong Zeng, Dashan Wang, Long Yang, Jie Wu, Alan D. Ziegler, Maofeng Liu, Philippe Ciais, Timothy D. Searchinger, Zong-Liang Yang, Deliang Chen, Anping Chen, Laurent Z. X. Li, Shilong Piao, David Taylor, Xitian Cai, Ming Pan, Liqing Peng, Peirong Lin, Drew Gower, Yu Feng, Chunmiao Zheng, Kaiyu Guan, Xu Lian, Tao Wang, Lang Wang, Su-Jong Jeong, Zhongwang Wei, Justin Sheffield, Kelly Caylor, Eric F. Wood
Summary: Deforestation in tropical mountain regions causes elevation-dependent warming, with the impact varying depending on altitude's role in albedo and evapotranspiration. The warming effect of deforestation decreases with higher elevation, affecting crop yields, land degradation, and nearby ecosystems, suggesting the need for future assessments to incorporate these additional impacts.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Jingwen Zhang, Kaiyu Guan, Bin Peng, Chongya Jiang, Wang Zhou, Yi Yang, Ming Pan, Trenton E. Franz, Derek M. Heeren, Daran R. Rudnick, Olufemi Abimbola, Hyungsuk Kimm, Kelly Caylor, Stephen Good, Madhu Khanna, John Gates, Yaping Cai
Summary: Irrigation is crucial for sustaining agricultural productivity in dry environments, and center pivots are the most widely used irrigation systems due to their versatility and ruggedness. However, producers currently rely on limited information and experience for irrigation decisions, leading to potential inefficiencies and negative impacts. To address this, there is a need for improved decision-support tools and systems, utilizing high-resolution data and advanced techniques to enhance precision irrigation management and sustainability.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Romy Sabathier, Michael Bliss Singer, John C. Stella, Dar A. Roberts, Kelly K. Caylor
Summary: The study explores the interactions between geologic controls and climate variability on vegetation water availability in a monsoon-driven arid region, highlighting the different responses of plant communities to water distribution and storage under varying local controls. The research reveals the importance of local geologic controls on water availability and plant responses, and suggests implications for the future vulnerability of dryland vegetation to climate change.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Natasha Krell, Frank Davenport, Laura Harrison, William Turner, Seth Peterson, Shraddhanand Shukla, Jessica Marter-Kenyon, Greg Husak, Tom Evans, Kelly Caylor
Summary: Accurate and operational indicators of the start of growing season are crucial for crop modeling and agricultural management. This study investigates the use of agro-meteorological variables and household-level attributes to predict planting dates of small-scale maize producers in central Kenya. The research findings suggest that EO variables perform as well as socio-economic variables in predicting planting dates, and short-term weather conditions may influence farmers' planting decisions.
CLIMATE RISK MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Einara Zahn, Elie Bou-Zeid, Stephen P. Good, Gabriel G. Katul, Christoph K. Thomas, Khaled Ghannam, James A. Smith, Marcelo Chamecki, Nelson L. Dias, Jose D. Fuentes, Joseph G. Alfieri, Hyojung Kwon, Kelly K. Caylor, Zhiqiu Gao, Keir Soderberg, Nicolas E. Bambach, Lawrence E. Hipps, John H. Prueger, William P. Kustas
Summary: The partitioning of evapotranspiration and net ecosystem exchange into different components is crucial for understanding water cycle and carbon dioxide exchange. Different methods, including partitioning models and similarity-based approaches, have been evaluated and compared to provide insights into their strengths and weaknesses.
AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Trenton Franz, Adam Larios, Collin Victor
Summary: In this paper, we adapt the Azouani-Olson-Titi (AOT) algorithm, a continuous data assimilation scheme, to the case of moving observers for the 2D incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. We test different movement patterns and combinations, such as bleeps, sweeps, creeps, and Lagrangian motion, against static observers, and observe significant improvements in terms of the time-to-convergence in several cases. The article concludes with a discussion of the potential applications to real-world data collection strategies that may enhance predictive capabilities.
COMPUTER METHODS IN APPLIED MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Stacey Giroux, Patrick Kaminski, Kurt Waldman, Jordan Blekking, Tom Evans, Kelly K. Caylor
Summary: Smallholder farmers in Africa, particularly in rural Kenya, rely on advice from their peers in making decisions about maize seed choices. This study examines the social networks of maize seed advice seeking, as well as the factors influencing farmers' seeking behaviors, using exponential random graph modeling.
AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Romy Sabathier, Michael Bliss Singer, John C. Stella, Dar A. Roberts, Kelly K. Caylor, Kristin L. Jaeger, Julian D. Olden
Summary: Intermittent and ephemeral streams in dryland environments are important habitats for diverse aquatic and terrestrial life. Understanding the availability of water and its response to external factors is crucial for predicting the impacts of climate change and human activities. This paper analyzes conductivity data from sensors distributed along streams in Arizona, providing insights into flow permanence and its response to seasonal rainfall.
RIVER RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jingwen Zhang, Kaiyu Guan, Wang Zhou, Chongya Jiang, Bin Peng, Ming Pan, Robert F. Grant, Trenton E. Franz, Andrew Suyker, Yi Yang, Xiaohong Chen, Kairong Lin, Zewei Ma
Summary: Accurate estimation of irrigation water use is crucial for sustainable irrigation and studying terrestrial water cycle in irrigated croplands. This study proposes a model-data fusion framework which assimilates satellite-based evapotranspiration observations into an advanced agroecosystem model to estimate irrigation water use at high spatio-temporal resolution. The experiments using synthetic and real evapotranspiration observations show that the proposed framework can provide reliable estimations of irrigation water use, contributing to regional water management and better tracking terrestrial water cycle.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Elizabeth Forbes, Vincent Benenati, Spencer Frey, Mare Hirsch, George Koech, Grace Lewin, John Naisikie Mantas, Kelly Caylor
Summary: Soil carbon flux rates are important for calculating carbon budgets and determining if ecosystems are carbon sources or sinks. However, low-resolution datasets limit our ability to identify small-scale ecological factors that impact soil carbon dynamics. We developed a low-cost, autonomous soil carbon flux measurement method and deployed it in a challenging environment in Kenya, collecting over 10,000 flux measurements over two months. Our findings demonstrate the potential of DIY sensors to improve data resolution and enhance understanding of soil carbon dynamics on local and global scales.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Christopher L. Kibler, Anna T. Trugman, Dar A. Roberts, Christopher J. Still, Russell L. Scott, Kelly K. Caylor, John C. Stella, Michael Bliss Singer
Summary: Evapotranspiration regulates leaf temperature through energy flux partitioning. A mechanistic model is presented to predict leaf temperature based on the evaporative fraction. The model is validated using measurements from infrared radiometers. The study highlights the importance of evapotranspiration in regulating leaf temperature and its impact on plant physiological function.
AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mangesh M. Goswami, Milind Mujumdar, Bhupendra Bahadur Singh, Madhusudan Ingale, Naresh Ganeshi, Manish Ranalkar, Trenton E. Franz, Prashant Srivastav, Dev Niyogi, R. Krishnan, S. N. Patil
Summary: This study investigates the soil water dynamics in the core monsoon zone of India by analyzing the observations of soil moisture. The research reveals that lower soil moisture is associated with depleted convective activity and higher temperatures during the pre-monsoon season, while monsoon rains increase soil moisture. The study highlights the importance of surface-subsurface soil moisture observations in unraveling the complexity of soil water dynamics.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Jeffrey M. Warren, Keita F. DeCarlo, Hassina Bilheux, Jean-Christophe Bilheux, Kelly Caylor
Summary: This study integrated root morphology and soil hydraulic characteristics to illustrate water distribution and uptake at the plant-soil interface. Different species of seedlings were grown in sand, and their root diameter and soil water dynamics were examined using neutron radiography. The rhizosphere showed species-independent processes, with consistently elevated water content at the root-soil edge interface and hysteresis as it transitioned to bulk soil. Water uptake per unit root surface area declined exponentially with root diameter, regardless of species. The findings emphasize the importance of considering species-independent hydrologic characteristics of the rhizosphere in a local spatial context and suggest avenues for improved integration of soil and root characteristics.
Proceedings Paper
Geography, Physical
Matteo G. Ziliani, Muhammad U. Altaf, Bruno Aragon, Rasmus Houborg, Trenton E. Franz, Yang Lu, Justin Sheffield, Ibrahim Hoteit, Matthew F. McCabe
Summary: Early prediction of crop yield has great potential in improving farmers' economic return and achieving digital agricultural goals. This study proposes a yield prediction framework that combines high-resolution satellite imagery with a crop model. The framework uses regression models to accurately predict crop yield based on simulated leaf area index (LAI), and incorporates a particle filter to forecast yield at a high spatial resolution several weeks before the optimum regression date.
XXIV ISPRS CONGRESS: IMAGING TODAY, FORESEEING TOMORROW, COMMISSION III
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Lyndon D. Estes, Su Ye, Lei Song, Boka Luo, J. Ronald Eastman, Zhenhua Meng, Qi Zhang, Dennis McRitchie, Stephanie R. Debats, Justus Muhando, Angeline H. Amukoa, Brian W. Kaloo, Jackson Makuru, Ben K. Mbatia, Isaac M. Muasa, Julius Mucha, Adelide M. Mugami, Judith M. Mugami, Francis W. Muinde, Fredrick M. Mwawaza, Jeff Ochieng, Charles J. Oduol, Purent Oduor, Thuo Wanjiku, Joseph G. Wanyoike, Ryan B. Avery, Kelly K. Caylor
Summary: Mapping the characteristics of Africa's smallholder-dominated croplands is essential for understanding food security and other concerns. However, accurately mapping these systems is challenging due to the mismatch between satellite sensors and smallholder fields, as well as the lack of high-quality labels. This study developed an approach to address these challenges and successfully mapped Ghana's croplands.
FRONTIERS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
(2022)