Phytogeomorphology

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Phytogeomorphology is the study of how terrain features affect plant growth. [1] It was the subject of a treatise by Howard and Mitchell in 1985, who were considering the growth and varietal temporal and spatial variability found in forests, but recognized that their work also had application to farming, and the relatively new science (at that time) of precision agriculture. The premise of Howard and Mitchell is that landforms, or features of the land's 3D topography significantly affect how and where plants (or trees in their case) grow. Since that time, the ability to map and classify landform shapes and features has increased greatly. The advent of GPS has made it possible to map almost any variable one might wish to measure. Thus, a very increased awareness of the spatial variability of the environment that plants grow in has arisen. The development of technology like airborne LiDAR has enabled the detailed measurement of landform features to better than sub-meter, and when combined with RTK-GPS (accuracies to 1mm) enables the creation of very accurate maps of where these features are. Comparison of these landform maps with mapping of variables related to crop or plant growth show a strong correlation (see below for examples and references for precision agriculture).

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Phytogeomorphology and Precision Agriculture

While phytogeomorphology studies the relationship between plants and terrain attributes in general (see Howard et al., (1985)), it can also apply to precision agriculture by studying crop growth temporal and spatial variability within farm fields. There is already a volume of work, although they don't use the term phytogeomorphology specifically, that considers farm field terrain attributes as affecting crop yield and growth, Moore et al. (1991) [2] provide an early overview of the application of terrain features to precision agriculture, but one of the earliest references to this phenomenon in farming is that of Whittaker in 1967. [3] More recent work includes a six-year study of temporal and spatial yield stability over 11 years (Kaspar et al., (2003), and references therein), [4] and a detailed study of the same on a small patch farm in Portugal (and references therein). [5] This variability can be exploited to produce higher yields and reduce the environmental impact of farming - consequently returning a higher profit to the farmer in terms of higher overall yields and lesser amounts of inputs. The new science of Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture [6] which is addressing the need for higher yields from existing fields can be fulfilled by some of the practical applications of phytogeomorphology applied to precision agriculture.

Work in this area has been happening for some years (see Reuter et al., (2005), [7] Marquas de Silva et al., (2008), and especially Moore et al., (1991)), but it is slow and sometimes tedious work that necessarily involves multiple years of data, very specialized software tools, and long compute times to produce the resulting maps.

Phytogeomorphologically defined Management Zones

Typically, the objective of precision agriculture is to divide the farm field into distinct management zones based on yield performance at each point in the field. 'Variable rate technology' is a relatively new term in farming technology that refers to spreaders, seeders, sprayers, etc. that are able to adjust their rates of flow on the fly. The idea is to create a 'recipe map' for variable rate farm machinery to deliver the exact quantity of amendments required at that location (within that zone of the field). The literature is divided on how to properly define management zones.[ citation needed ]

In the geomorphological approach to defining management zones it is found that topography aids in at least partially defining how much yield comes from which part of the field. This is true in fields where there are permanently limiting characteristics to parts of the field, but not true in fields where the growth potential is the same all over the field (Blackmore et al., (2003) [8] ). It can be shown that an index map of yield (shows areas of consistent over-performance of yield and areas of consistent under-performance) correlates well with a landform classification map (personal communication, Aspinall (2011) [9] ). Landforms can be classified a number of ways, but the simplest to use software tool is LandMapR (MacMillan (2003) [10] ). An early version of the LandMapR software is available through the Opengeomorphometry project hosted under the Google Code project.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organic farming</span> Method of agriculture meant to be environmentally friendly

Organic farming, also known as ecological farming or biological farming, is an agricultural system that uses fertilizers of organic origin such as compost manure, green manure, and bone meal and places emphasis on techniques such as crop rotation and companion planting. It originated early in the 20th century in reaction to rapidly changing farming practices. Certified organic agriculture accounts for 70 million hectares globally, with over half of that total in Australia. Organic farming continues to be developed by various organizations today. Biological pest control, mixed cropping, and the fostering of insect predators are encouraged. Organic standards are designed to allow the use of naturally-occurring substances while prohibiting or strictly limiting synthetic substances. For instance, naturally-occurring pesticides such as pyrethrin are permitted, while synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are generally prohibited. Synthetic substances that are allowed include, for example, copper sulfate, elemental sulfur, and ivermectin. Genetically modified organisms, nanomaterials, human sewage sludge, plant growth regulators, hormones, and antibiotic use in livestock husbandry are prohibited. Organic farming advocates claim advantages in sustainability, openness, self-sufficiency, autonomy and independence, health, food security, and food safety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Precision agriculture</span> Farming management strategy

Precision agriculture (PA) is a farming management strategy based on observing, measuring and responding to temporal and spatial variability to improve agricultural production sustainability. It is used in both crop and livestock production. Precision agriculture often employs technologies to automate agricultural operations, improving their diagnosis, decision-making or performing. First conceptual work on PA and practical applications go back in the late 1980s. The goal of precision agriculture research is to define a decision support system for whole farm management with the goal of optimizing returns on inputs while preserving resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intensive farming</span> Branch of agricultire

Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming, conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of crop plants and of animals, with higher levels of input and output per unit of agricultural land area. It is characterized by a low fallow ratio, higher use of inputs such as capital, labour, agrochemicals and water, and higher crop yields per unit land area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agricultural productivity</span> Quotient between production and productive factors

Agricultural productivity is measured as the ratio of agricultural outputs to inputs. While individual products are usually measured by weight, which is known as crop yield, varying products make measuring overall agricultural output difficult. Therefore, agricultural productivity is usually measured as the market value of the final output. This productivity can be compared to many different types of inputs such as labour or land. Such comparisons are called partial measures of productivity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intercropping</span> Multiple cropping practice involving growing two or more crops in proximity

Intercropping is a multiple cropping practice that involves the cultivation of two or more crops simultaneously on the same field, a form of polyculture. The most common goal of intercropping is to produce a greater yield on a given piece of land by making use of resources or ecological processes that would otherwise not be utilized by a single crop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thinning</span> Removal of some plants to improve the growth of other plants

Thinning is a term used in agricultural sciences to mean the removal of some plants, or parts of plants, to make room for the growth of others. Selective removal of parts of a plant such as branches, buds, or roots is typically known as pruning.

In agriculture, the yield is a measurement of the amount of a crop grown, or product such as wool, meat or milk produced, per unit area of land. The seed ratio is another way of calculating yields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biogeomorphology</span> Study of interactions between organisms and the development of landforms

Biogeomorphology and ecogeomorphology are the study of interactions between organisms and the development of landforms, and are thus fields of study within geomorphology and ichnology. Organisms affect geomorphic processes in a variety of ways. For example, trees can reduce landslide potential where their roots penetrate to underlying rock, plants and their litter inhibit soil erosion, biochemicals produced by plants accelerate the chemical weathering of bedrock and regolith, and marine animals cause the bioerosion of coral. The study of the interactions between marine biota and coastal landform processes is called coastal biogeomorphology.

Geomorphometry, or geomorphometrics, is the science and practice of measuring the characteristics of terrain, the shape of the surface of the Earth, and the effects of this surface form on human and natural geography. It gathers various mathematical, statistical and image processing techniques that can be used to quantify morphological, hydrological, ecological and other aspects of a land surface. Common synonyms for geomorphometry are geomorphological analysis, terrain morphometry, terrain analysis, and land surface analysis. Geomorphometrics is the discipline based on the computational measures of the geometry, topography and shape of the Earth's horizons, and their temporal change. This is a major component of geographic information systems (GIS) and other software tools for spatial analysis.

Controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) -- which includes indoor agriculture (IA) and vertical farming—is a technology-based approach toward food production. The aim of CEA is to provide protection from the outdoor elements and maintain optimal growing conditions throughout the development of the crop. Production takes place within an enclosed growing structure such as a greenhouse or plant factory.

A feature, in the context of geography and geographic information science, is something that exists at a moderate to global scale at a location in the space and scale of relevance to geography; that is, at or near the surface of Earth. It is an item of geographic information, and may be represented in maps, geographic information systems, remote sensing imagery, statistics, and other forms of geographic discourse. Such representations of features consist of descriptions of their inherent nature, their spatial form and location, and their characteristics or properties.

The effect of organic farming has been a subject of interest for researchers. Theory suggests that organic farming practices, which exclude the use of most synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, may be beneficial for biodiversity. This is generally shown to be true for soils scaled to the area of cultivated land, where species abundance is, on average, 30% richer than that of conventional farms. However, for crop yield-scaled land the effect of organic farming on biodiversity is highly debated due to the significantly lower yields compared to conventional farms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agricultural engineering</span> Application of engineering for agricultural purposes

Agricultural engineering, also known as agricultural and biosystems engineering, is the field of study and application of engineering science and designs principles for agriculture purposes, combining the various disciplines of mechanical, civil, electrical, food science, environmental, software, and chemical engineering to improve the efficiency of farms and agribusiness enterprises as well as to ensure sustainability of natural and renewable resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agricultural machinery</span> Machinery used in farming or other agriculture

Agricultural machinery relates to the mechanical structures and devices used in farming or other agriculture. There are many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractors and the countless kinds of farm implements that they tow or operate. Diverse arrays of equipment are used in both organic and nonorganic farming. Especially since the advent of mechanised agriculture, agricultural machinery is an indispensable part of how the world is fed. Agricultural machinery can be regarded as part of wider agricultural automation technologies, which includes the more advanced digital equipment and robotics. While agricultural robots have the potential to automate the three key steps involved in any agricultural operation, conventional motorized machinery is used principally to automate only the performing step where diagnosis and decision-making are conducted by humans based on observations and experience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Climate Corporation</span> American dIgital agriculture services company

The Climate Corporation is a digital agriculture company that examines weather, soil and field data to help farmers determine potential yield-limiting factors in their fields.

The combine grain yield monitor is a device coupled with other sensors to calculate and record the crop yield or grain yield as a modern-day combine harvester operates. Yield monitors are a part of the precision agriculture products available to producers today that provide producers with the tools to reduce costs, increase yields, and increase efficiency. The present day grain yield monitor is designed to measure the harvested grain mass flow, moisture content, and speed to determine total grain harvested. In most cases today this is coupled with global positioning system to record yield and other spatially variable information across a field. This allows for the creation of a grain yield map which provides information on spatial variability and supports management decisions for producers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agricultural technology</span> Use of technology in agriculture

Agricultural technology or agrotechnology is the use of technology in agriculture, horticulture, and aquaculture with the aim of improving yield, efficiency, and profitability. Agricultural technology can be products, services or applications derived from agriculture that improve various input/output processes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andean agriculture</span>

Current agricultural practices of the Andean region of South America typically involve a synthesis of traditional Incan practices and modern techniques to deal with the unique terrain and climatic elements of the area. Millions of farmers in economically impoverished communities make a living producing staple crops such as potato, olluco, and mashua for their own consumption as well as profit in local and urban markets. The Andean region is particularly known for its wide variety of potato species, boasting over about 5,000 varieties identified by the International Potato Center based in Peru. These crops are arranged within the mountains and plateaus of the Andes in four distinct landscape-based units described as Hill, Ox Area, Early Planting, and Valley which overlap one another in a patchwork-styles of plateau surfaces, steep slopes, and wetland patches. Within each of these units, farmers classify soil types as either puna or suni.

Digital agriculture, sometimes known as smart farming or e-agriculture, is tools that digitally collect, store, analyze, and share electronic data and/or information in agriculture. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has described the digitalization process of agriculture as the digital agricultural revolution. Other definitions, such as those from the United Nations Project Breakthrough, Cornell University, and Purdue University, also emphasize the role of digital technology in the optimization of food systems.

This glossary of agriculture is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in agriculture, its sub-disciplines, and related fields, including horticulture, animal husbandry, agribusiness, and agricultural policy. For other glossaries relevant to agricultural science, see Glossary of biology, Glossary of ecology, Glossary of environmental science, and Glossary of botanical terms.

References

  1. ↑ Howard, J.A., Mitchell, C.W., 1985. Phytogeomorphology. Wiley.
  2. ↑ Moore, I.D., Grayson, R.B., Ladson, A.R., 1991. Digital Terrain Modelling: A review of hydrological, geomorphological, and biological applications. Hydrological Processes, Vol. 5, 3-30
  3. ↑ Whittaker, R.H. 1967. Gradient analysis of vegetation, Biological Reviews, 42, 207-264
  4. ↑ Kaspar, T.C, Colvin, T.S., Jaynes, B., Karlen, D.L., James, D.E, Meek, D.W., 2003. Relationship between six years of corn yields and terrain attributes. Precision Agriculture, 4, 87-101.
  5. ↑ Marquas da Silva, J.R., and Silva, L.L., 2008. Evaluation of the relationship between maize yield spatial and temporal variability and different topographic attributes. Biosystems Engineering, 101, 183-190.
  6. ↑ Garnett, T. et al., 2013. Sustainable Intensification in Agriculture: Premise and Policies. Science, Vol. 341, 33-34.
  7. ↑ Reuter, H.I., Giebel, A., Wendroth, O., 2005. Can Landform Stratification Improve Our Understanding of Crop Yield Variability. Precision Agriculture, 6, 521-537.
  8. ↑ Blackmore, S., Godwin, R.J., Fountas, S., 2003. The Analysis of Spatial and Temporal Trends in Yield Map Data over Six Years. Biosystems Engineering, 84(4), 455-466
  9. ↑ Aspinall, D., 2011. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF).
  10. ↑ MacMillan, R.A., VanDeusen, A.A., 2003. The LandMapR User's Guide. Self-Published
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