This collection features five peer-reviewed literature reviews on decision support systems (DSS) in agriculture.The first chapter provides a review of DSS in agriculture, whilst addressing the key questions surrounding their use for farm soil and crop management. The different aspects of agricultural DSS design, implementation and operation are also discussed.The second chapter assesses the role of DSS for pest monitoring and management through information ...

Particular focus on prerequisites required for effective herd health management (HHM) programmes, including understanding bovine disease epidemiology, improving disease surveillance (including the use of sensors), data-driven decision-making based on cow health records, as well as advances in understanding and optimising immune responseReviews HHM issues across the dairy cow life cycle, from reproduction and calf health to the transition stage and replacement of stock...

Focus on development of next generation of whole farm models to improve decision making and support for farmersAddresses the challenges of combining modular sub-systems into whole farm system modelsReviews the performance of specific models such as APSIM and DSSAT

The book summarizes the history of biological control in Latin America and the Caribbean. Few publications provide historical detail and the records are, therefore, fragmented until now. By bringing information together in this book, we offer a more complete picture of important developments in biological control on this continent. There are a wealth of text, tables and references about the history of such projects, and which were successful and which failed. This will help plan future bio...

This book covers water quality indices (WQI) in depth – it describes what purpose they serve, how they are generated, what are their strengths and weaknesses, and how to make the best use of them. It is a concise and unique guide to WQIs for chemists, chemical/environmental engineers and government officials. Whereas it is easy to express the quantity of water, it is very difficult to express its quality because a large number of variables determine the water quality. WQIs seek to resolve ...

This book provides standards and guidelines for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions and removals in smallholder agricultural systems and comparing options for climate change mitigation based on emission reductions and livelihood trade-offs. Globally, agriculture is directly responsible for about 11% of annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and induces an additional 17% through land use change, mostly in developing countries. Farms in the developing countries of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia...

This open access book offers a cross-sectoral reference for both managers and scientists interested in climate-smart forestry, focusing on mountain regions. It provides a comprehensive analysis on forest issues, facilitating the implementation of climate objectives. This book includes structured summaries of each chapter.Funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, CLIMO has brought together scientists and experts in continental and regional focus assessments through a cross-sectoral...

The demand for comparable, long-term, high quality data on forest ecosystems' status and changes is increasing at the international and global level. Yet, sources for such data are limited and in many case it is not possible to compare data from different monitoring initiatives across space and time because of methodological differences. Apart from technical manuals, there is no comprehensive multidisciplinary, scientific, peer-reviewed reference for forest monitoring methods that can serv...

Comprehensive review of the range of water resources, from groundwater and surface water to rainwater, floodwater and waste waterDiscusses advances in irrigation techniques, from surface irrigation to micro/drip irrigation and fertigationAssesses methods for optimising agricultural water use in rainfed and other systems

Focuses on advances in understanding forest ecophysiology which underpin good management, including mechanisms of root and canopy development.Explores the key challenges in ensuring forest management is consistent with forest ecosystem services, particularly managing the transition from monocultures to complex standsHighlights ways of diversifying forest products, including novel uses of timber, biomass, non-timber products and recreational services.

Precision agriculture (PA) involves the application of technologies and agronomic principles to manage spatial and temporal variation associated with all aspects of agricultural production in order to improve crop performance and environmental quality. The focus of this book is to introduce a non-specialist audience to the the role of PA in food security, environmental protection, and sustainable use of natural resources, as well as its economic benefits.The technologies covered in...

Highlights the relationship between climate change and the emergence of invasive insect crop pestsConsiders the key challenges facing the identification of crop insect pests and the role of new, emerging technologies in improving the rate of detection (e.g. image-based, DNA barcoding)Reviews the establishment of successful integrated pest management (IPM) programmes to control and/or eradicate the existence of invasive species