Archive AGMODELS-L: file log9505, part 1/1, size 106437 bytes:

------------------------------ Cut here ------------------------------

Does anyone know of a model for growing seedless cucumbers in
greenhoues?
Thank you, Pete Smits

Is there anyone who has information on lettuce modelling?
I'd be interested to hear from anyone experiences in this field,
specially lettuce ecologycal culture.
Thanks for any contribution.

Pete Smits

Colin Wells at Massey University developed a cucumber model for
his PhD thesis. I don't know if it was seedless...

His email address is: c.wells@massey.ac.nz

Nigel Pickering
Visiting Assistant

Dept. Agric. Engr pick@water.agen.ufl.edu (Internet)
12 Frazier-Rogers Hall pick@nervm (Bitnet)
Museum Road (904) 392-4092 (FAX)
University of Florida (904) 392-7719 (Tues all day and Thurs am)
Gainesville, FL 32611-0570 (904) 378-7372 (rest of the week)

New Subsciber Introduction:

Name, etc: Clifton Blincoe Snail mail: 1041 University Ter.
Professor Emeritus Reno, NV 89503-2722
University of Nevada Reno USA
e-mail: blincoe@unr.edu

Past: Modeling and simulation of large animal physiology.
Published simulations include iodine metabolism (including
nuclear fallout and sensitivity of human thyroid function tests)
and copper metabolism (including a small amount of work on
human diseases).

Future: Continued simulation of large animal physiology including
'environmental' interactions. Simulation of detailed sub-
systems such as blood-spinal fluid transfer of Mg.

'Burning Issue(s)': As an active emeritus (i.e. retired old goat), I've
been scorched by a few 'burning issues'. . .what's hot today
is often very cold next year!

Problems: A major problem I have is a lack of experimental information
to supply needed numbers. Being retired I can't do the
experiments. For example: The data on the solubility and/or
formation constants for the copper-thiomolybdates appears not
to exsit.

>Date: Mon, 01 May 1995 22:32:08 -0400 (EDT)
>From: PSMITS@delphi.com
>Subject: Seedless cucumbers
>
>Does anyone know of a model for growing seedless cucumbers in
>greenhoues?
>Thank you, Pete Smits
>
Dear Pete and other Agmodellers

For my PhD I developed a simulation model of the greenhouse environment and
the growth of cucumbers. The cucumber model is based on several sources.
Plant development and leaf growth are modelled according to the allometric
template developed by Horie (Horie et al., 1979). PAR interception is based
on Campbell (1990) with a few twists of my own. Canopy photosynthesis is
based on the SUCROS model (Gijzen & ten Cate, 1988; Spitters et al., 1989).
Dynamic partitioning is based on Schapendonk & Brouwer (1984). I validated
the model against data collected from a cucumber crop cv 'Sandra'. I am in
the process of writing journal papers at the moment.

Now the bad news! The cucumber model is "hidden" within the code of the
greenhouse simulation model, which is written in ESL, a PC simulation
language. One day I will extract it into Pascal or something more user
friendly. It's all a matter of finding the time.

You should contact researchers in the Netherlands who have also worked on
cucumber models, such as Dr Hans Gijzen, CABO, Box 14, 6700 AA, Wageningen,
The Netherlands. (Sorry don't know his e-mail). Some years ago he showed me
a PC based cucumber simulation model that I think had been developed for
student use at Wageningen. Alternatively try contacting Dr. Ep Heuvelink,
Dept. of Horticulture, Agricultural University, P.O. Box 30, 6700 AA,
Wageningen, The Netherlands. [Ep.Heuvelink@users.tbpt.wau.nl].

Feel free to contact me directly for further information.

Regards Colin

References:

Campbell, 1990. Derivation of a angle distribution function for canopies
with ellipsoidal leaf angle distributions. Agric. For. Met., 36:317-321.

Gijzen & ten Cate, 1988. Prediction of the response of greenhouse crop
photosynthesis to environmental factors by intergration of physical and
biochemical modesl. Acta Hort., 229:251-258.

Horie, de Wit, Goudrian & Bensink, 1974. A formal template for the
development of cucumber in its vegetative stage. Parts I, II, & III.
Proceddigns of the Koninklijke Nederlanse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Series
C, 82:433-479.

Schapendonk & Brouwer, 1984. Fruit growth of cucumber in relation to
assimilate supply and sink activity. Scientia Hort., 23:21-33.

Spitters, van Keulen & van Kraalingen, 1988. A simple and universal crop
growth simulator: SUCROS'87. In: Rabbinge, Ward & van Laar (Eds.).
Simulation and systems management in crop protection. PUDOC, Wageningen.
Dr. Colin Wells (C.Wells@massey.ac.nz)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Department of Agricultural Engineering
Massey University
Private Bag 11222 Phone: +(64)+(6)+3569099
Palmerston North or +(64)+(6)+3505187
New Zealand Fax: +(64)+(6)+3505640
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi,
This is my introductory message to the group. I am a dairy vet, currently
undertaking a PhD in postpartum ovarian function, with a particular
interest in calcium and vitamin D. Apart from this brief intro I would
like to know how I could locate the authors of Dairy Oracle, a modelling
and decision support program. I have used the program at a seminar here
last year, and was very impressed.

Thanks,

Nick Jonsson
University of Queensland
Farm Animal Medicine and Production
PO Box 125 Kenmore 4069
Queensland Australia
Ph (07) 3655761 or 5765 or 5773
fax(07) 3655699

On May-4 Nick Jonsson wrote --

>I would
>like to know how I could locate the authors of Dairy Oracle, a modelling
>and decision support program.
>Thanks,
>
>Nick Jonsson
>University of Queensland
>Farm Animal Medicine and Production

Nick --

Will Marsh at Univ Minnesota, USA, wrote Oracle about a decade ago, and is
involved with PigCHamp as well. I do not have his phone/email, but he is
still there. I am forwarding this to one of his colleagues, Mark Kinsel,
to see if he can help get you in touch with Will. Good luck.

----------------------------------------------
B. D. Slenning (barrett_slenning@ncsu.edu)
Coordinator, Population Medicine Group
Food Animal & Equine Medicine Department
Box 8401 College of Veterinary Medicine
N. Carolina St. Univ., Raleigh, NC 27606 USA
voice: (919) 829-4324 fax: (919) 829-4317
----------------------------------------------

Thanks to those who responded to my request for info on DairyOracle. I
now have an address. As my exposure to the program was limited, I am not
qualified to comment further on the program, other than to say that it
predicts financial effects of changes to the farm status-quo. This seems
to be a very flexible program, with all the variables I could think of
being accounted for. An example which I ran through during my time with
it was to look at the cost of an increase in abortion rate. As most of
the farms I have visited have multiple problems, I generally have
difficulty advising where money should be spent. If I obtain the program,
I might update this message.

Thanks again

Nick Jonsson
Uni of Queensland
Farm Animal Med and Prod
PO Box 125 Kenmore 4069
Queensland Australia
ph(07) 365 5761 or 5765 or 5773
fax (07) 365 5699

Dear colleagues:

I was recently forwarded a request for information regarding the
DairyORACLE simulation model from a member of your group. Since receiving
this request and becoming aware of this list, I have subscribed and thought
I would pass on some general information about the model.

DairyORACLE (Optimization of Reproductive Activity in Commercial Livestock
Enterprises) is a simulation model for studying the effects of various
management strategies in dairy herds. The program is a stochastic computer
simulation of the dairy cow life cycle written in C for the personal
computer. The original version was developed by Dr. Will Marsh at the
University of Minnesota in 1985. The program has been commercially
available, although not aggressively marketed, since that time.

DairyORACLE lets you manipulate management parameters and price levels.
Currently, all herd management parameters have preset or "default" values,
based on data typical of Minnesota dairy herds, that can then be changed to
your current herd situation. It then simulates the behavior of individual
animals based on your choices and produces various economic and herd
performance analyses of the simulated herd. Currently, simulations are
performed for 12-month periods, up to a maximum of 6 years, starting from
any date. The program has a number of built-in range and continuity checks
to ensure that edited values are reasonable and feasible.

I am currently working with Dr. Marsh to make the following changes to
the model:

1) Revising the source code to run with today's computer technology by
switching to a more modern compiler (Borland Turbo C++ v. 3.1).
2) Adding disease probabilities and effects to the original life
cycle model based on data from the University of Minnesota's
DairyCHAMP Datashare database (a collection of ~300 farms using the
DairyCHAMP software).
3) Allowing simulated events to be written to an ASCII file for export
to a herd management software program, spreadsheet, or software.
4) Adding a retention payoff calculation (based on work in the
Netherlands) for ranking cows for culling and replacement decisions.

Other changes that are planned are:

1) Improving the automated input routines to allow electronic input of
farm specific management parameters directly from herd management
software (i.e. DairyCHAMP, DairyCOMP 305, etc.)
2) Restructuring the simulation process so that simulated data can be
evaluated at any point in the future.
3) Creating a matrix of input and output values and prices to allow
adjustment for seasonal variation.

The timetable for completion of the new version is currently July 1996.
For those of you interested in swine production, revisions are currently
underway on the PigORACLE model as well.

If you have additional questions or any suggestions, please feel free to
contact me at the address listed below.

- Mark Kinsel
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark L. Kinsel, D.V.M., M.S.
Department of Clinical and Population Sciences
University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine
225 Veterinary Teaching Hospitals
1365 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul, MN, USA 55108
Tel: (612) 624-4996, Fax: (612) 625-1210
E-mail: kinse002@maroon.tc.umn.edu

Just a short comment on the new work being done on Oracle. You might consider
including a section on futures and options. With the announcement last week
of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange trading Fluid Milk contracts the timing
would be good. I expect trading will start this Fall. By 1996 producer
interest hopefully will be high. The CCSE in N.Y. have a futures and options
simulation program. If you would like a copy let me know. Mike
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Mike and Velma Downes mdownes@ais.net
9905 W. Thompson Rd. Phone:
Woodstock, IL 60098-7840 (815) 338-2309
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Shane Parson and I am a graduate
student in the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department at Penn
State. My thesis is studying uncertainty in the AGNPS model. A question
came up at a recent committee meeting which I thought might interest
members of the ag-models mailing list.

For what type of regions does the AGNPS model work well? Our discussion
tended to focus on what AGNPS did not model well, such as areas with high
interflow and subsurface flow, or areas which contained large lakes (since
AGNPS does not contain lake routing). The one area we thought it modeled
well was Minnesota, where it was orginally developed. However, this
brought up the question of what kind of region was modeled in Minnesota?
Deep soils, varying slopes, mainly agricultural?

What areas do you think AGNPS models well? These areas may be a particular
region, like for instance the coastal plain of Maryland, or a kind of
region, like a well drained, humid, gentle sloping area. Any comments
would be appreciated.

Shane Parson

*******************************************************
Shane Parson

Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Penn State University
249 Agricultural Engineering Bldg.
University Park, PA 16802
e-mail: scp5@psu.edu
phone: (814) 863-8233
*******************************************************

Shane

AGNPS has been used in Australia to model a small rural catchment (aprox 200
Ha) in northern New South Wales, by the Department of Conservation and Land
Management (NSW). Apparently they had some sucess in using the model to
predict erosion and nutrient mobility with different land management practices .

Currently we (Queensland Department of Primary Industries) are collecting
some of the parameter data for the Tinaroo Dam Catchment (55000 Ha) in North
Queensland. This is different to New South Wales as we have a distinct wet
season with very heavy rain for a few months while the rest of the year is
relatively dry. The land uses vary from urban, grazing and agriculture to
rainforest - so it is quite diverse. We are soon to find out if AGNPS works
well for us, so once we know we will let you know, if you like.

James Gourley

James Gourley
Environmental Engineer
Queensland Department of Primary Industries
28 Peters Street
PO Box 1054
Mareeba Qld 4880
Australia

email: jamesg@salt.ind.dpi.qld.gov.au
(070) 921 555 (voice) (070) 923 593 (fax)

We are looking for a software package that will allow us to model the flow
net in a large fen as the water level changes over time. We also want to
model the flow of chemicals through the fen by overlaying concentration
gradients on the 3-D flow net.

We have monthly data over three years from five depths in each of 30 wells
located on a rough grid pattern in a 20-acre fen. We have tried using 2-D
modeling software but it is proving tedious as the location of the
streamlines changes through time.

We want to look at the flow net for each day that we have data. We also
want to be able to trace flow lines for particles over time as the water
table changes - this may (or may not) look something like a 3-D phase
plane.

Any information will be greatly appreciated regarding:

- shareware programs (including ftp info)
- commercial programs
- how to accomplish this in standard math or graphics programs
(MathCad, Mathematica, etc.)

If this receives enough interest I will post a summary to the list, and a
review of our experiences in several months.

Thanks in advance.

Charlie Brush

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charles F. Brush, PE Agricultural & Biological Engineering
cfb1@cornell.edu Riley-Robb Hall
(607) 255-2249 Cornell University
(607) 255-4080 FAX Ithaca, NY 14853
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

who agmodels

Intro. & Numerical Library

Hi Agmodelers,

My name is Mauro Antunes and I am pursuing a Ph.D. degree in
Agricultural Meteorology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. My
research interests are remote sensing of canopy structure and processes,
crop growth and yield modeling, and turbulent fluxes above the canopy.

Thanks to this list I knew a few months ago that two companies made
FORTRAN 90 commercially available. Do these packages of FORTRAN 90
come with a numerical library?

Also, I am interested in getting a numerical library either by buying
or by free shareware. Where could I find those numerical
libraries?

Thanks for any help regarding to these questions,

Mauro A. Homem Antunes
Agricultural Meteorology Department
L. W. Chase Hall
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska 68583-0728
Mantunes@unlinfo.unl.edu
Agme023@unlvm.unl.edu

If it is of any assistance to your work, perhaps you could try the Climate
Research Centre at the Uni of Queensland here in Australia.

they have a web page and the URL is : http://www.acru.uq.oz.au

Hope it is of some assistance.

Peter Leroy
peter@scgt.oz.au

>
> My name is Mauro Antunes and I am pursuing a Ph.D. degree in
> Agricultural Meteorology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. My
> research interests are remote sensing of canopy structure and processes,
> crop growth and yield modeling, and turbulent fluxes above the canopy.
..
..
.
> I am interested in getting a numerical library either by buying
> or by free shareware. Where could I find those numerical
> libraries?
>

We use the NAG (Numerical Algorithm Group) numerical library,
which is quite complete (numerical integration, solution of
differential equations, maximization, etc.). It interfaces
with Fortran, including Fortran 90.

The U.S. address I have (which may not be up-to-date) is
NAG Inc., 1400 Opus Place, Suite 200, Downers Grove IL 60515-5702.
Tel: 708-9712337. Fax: 708-9712706.

Good luck

------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------
Daniel Wallach
INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique)
Unite de Biometrie et d'Intelligence Artificielle
B. P. 27
31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex
FRANCE
email: wallach@toulouse.inra.fr
------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------

Is there anybody out there working on crop models in which the storage organ
grows partly at the expense of the leaves, which may completely disappear (e.g.
onions). I've no doubt there are publications on this phenomenon, but it
would be nice to know what's happening right now.

Alan Scaife, HRI Wellesbourne, Warwicks CV35 9EF UK; Fax 01789 470382
alan.scaife@bbsrc.ac.uk

I am looking for information about any research that has
been carried out on the identification of appropriate
sustainable (e.g. avoiding erosion, reducing water
consumption) management practices for particular
agro-ecological zones. I guess this is really the reverse
of models such as EPIC which predict the amount of erosion
given certain management practices.

What I want to be able to do is to identify sustainable
practices and combinations of practices (e.g. that prevent
erosion exceeding a given threshold value) for a given
field (as represented by a combination of climatic zone and
soil type). Sounds like an expert system acting on a set
of rules, some maybe expressed in terms of model output,
and on information stored in a GIS.

Thank you,
Graham

Dr G. Russell
University of Edinburgh
Institute of Ecology & Resource Management (Agriculture Building)
West Mains Road
Edinburgh EH9 3JG
SCOTLAND
International phone +44 131 535 4063 Fax +44 131 667 2601
UK phone 031 535 4063 Fax 031 667 2601

The various potato models seem to meet this description. SIMPOTATO is at
ftp.tricity.wsu.edu in the pub/SIMPOTATO directory.

On Fri, 12 May 1995, SCAIFE wrote:

> Is there anybody out there working on crop models in which the storage organ
> grows partly at the expense of the leaves, which may completely disappear (e.g.
> onions). I've no doubt there are publications on this phenomenon, but it
> would be nice to know what's happening right now.
>
> Alan Scaife, HRI Wellesbourne, Warwicks CV35 9EF UK; Fax 01789 470382
> alan.scaife@bbsrc.ac.uk
>

>I am looking for information about any research that has
>been carried out on the identification of appropriate
>sustainable (e.g. avoiding erosion, reducing water
>consumption) management practices for particular
>agro-ecological zones. I guess this is really the reverse
>of models such as EPIC which predict the amount of erosion
>given certain management practices.
>
>What I want to be able to do is to identify sustainable
>practices and combinations of practices (e.g. that prevent
>erosion exceeding a given threshold value) for a given
>field (as represented by a combination of climatic zone and
>soil type). Sounds like an expert system acting on a set
>of rules, some maybe expressed in terms of model output,
>and on information stored in a GIS.
>
>Thank you,
>Graham
>
>Dr G. Russell
>University of Edinburgh
>Institute of Ecology & Resource Management (Agriculture Building)
>West Mains Road
>Edinburgh EH9 3JG
>SCOTLAND
>International phone +44 131 535 4063 Fax +44 131 667 2601
>UK phone 031 535 4063 Fax 031 667 2601

I suggest you get in touch with Professor Rattan Lal at Ohio State
University (rlal@magnus.acs.oh.ohio-state.edu or lal.1@osu.edu) re. the
"West Bank" Watershed Management Project which he ran for about 10 years in
Western Nigeria. Regards,
Nilantha Hulugalle, Australian Cotton Research Institute, Narrabri, Australia

index AGMODELS-L

get AGMODELS-L log9502

unsubscribe

In an effort to avoid re-inventing the wheel, I would like to know where I
might find a simple water-budget model for calculation or simulation on a
PC or Mac at a scale of 0.1to 1.0 ha. The principal input/output parameters
that I am interested in are listed here:

Input variables: unit period precipitation, unit period potential
evapotranspiration, soil porosity (FC, WP, PWP), infiltration threshold,
depth to water table, etc.

Desired outputs: unit period actual evapotranspiration, vegetation
interception, soil water recharge, and surface runoff.

Any help is most appreciated.

unsubscribe agmodels-l

In reply to Sam's enquirey about a water budget model,

I have a simple Soil Water Balance model that runs on a PC which goes by the
imaginative name of BALANCE! The input data required are;

Climate: Daily reference crop (potential) ET and rainfall
Soil: Volume water fractions at saturation, field capacity and
permanent wilting point. The soil can be spilt into two
contrasting layers.
Crop: Dates of planting, emergence, 20% cover, full cover, etc.
Maximum rooting depth

The output can be generated daily, 10-daily monthly or annually and contains
estimated actual ET, soil water content (or deficit) and hydrologically
effective rainfall (i.e. drainage plus surface runoff). Plus an estimate of
evapotranspiration deficit.
The problem here is that is is difficult to model surface runoff separately
in a model with such simple input data. (One option is to use something
like the 'Curve Number'approach to estimate runoff first and adjust the
rainfall accordingly).

The program has been written in Visual BASIC and is available for DOS or
Windows and is available commercially from Cranfield University.
Enquiries can be sent to me.

P.S. It's dead easy to use!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Tim Hess
Department of Water Management
Silsoe College
Cranfield University
Silsoe Tel (0)1525 863292
Bedford, MK45 4DT Fax (0)1525 863000
UK e-mail t.hess@silsoe.cranfield.ac.uk
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Howdy Sam,

I was not sure if the information in my reply would be best sent
to you or the list, so in case there is some hidden information
here that others could use I am posting to the list.

Dr. Saxton (USDA-ARS Extension, Washington State U.) has a fairly
simple water-budget model that when calibrated to a region, has
extreamly good results. Some of the input variables and parameters
are not standard textbook parameters ( mostly in the crop development
input) but for the most part they are easily understood. You can
reach Keith Saxton at ksaxton@mail.wsu.edu.

Dr. Claudio Stockle (Biological Systems Engineering, WSU) and Dr.
Galon Campbell (Soil Physics, WSU) have a simple water budget model
called SWB. It has been a while since I have worked with the model
so it would be best to address any questions to Claudio at
stockle@wsuvm1.csc.wsu.edu.

I hope that this is of some help,
dan

Daniel R. Fuka
Quetzal Computational Associates

Hi,

My name is Gerard BERR. I am new on the net and I subscribed to the
AGMODELS mailing list though, as a chartered public accounttant I have no
direct interest in it. The reason of my subscribing to the AGMODELS mailing
list is that three clients of mine are important apple (and pears to a
smaller extent) producers in France and that they might be interested.

If my approach seems inappropriate to anyone, please say so and I shall
unsubscribe.

Gerard BERR

BARRE, BERR & ASSOCIES
Gerard BERR
151, av. Gallieni
93177 BAGNOLET CEDEX
FRANCE

Tel: 33 1 49 72 82 00

E-mail: berr@world-net.sct.fr

Hi,

My name is Gerard BERR. I am new on the net and I subscribed to the
AGMODELS mailing list though, as a chartered public accounttant I have no
direct interest in it. The reason of my subscribing to the AGMODELS mailing
list is that three clients of mine are important apple (and pears to a
smaller extent) producers in France and that they might be interested.

If my approach seems unappropriate to anyone, please say so and I shall
unsubscribe.

Thanks,

Gerard BERR

BARRE, BERR & ASSOCIES
Gerard BERR
151, av. Gallieni
93177 BAGNOLET CEDEX
FRANCE

Tel: 33 1 49 72 82 00

E-mail: berr@world-net.sct.fr

Just a note of correction. Dr. Saxton is USDA-ARS. We're proud to have him.

On Tue, 16 May 1995, Daniel Fuka wrote:

> Howdy Sam,
>
> I was not sure if the information in my reply would be best sent
> to you or the list, so in case there is some hidden information
> here that others could use I am posting to the list.
>
> Dr. Saxton (USDA-ARS Extension, Washington State U.) has a fairly
> simple water-budget model that when calibrated to a region, has
> extreamly good results. Some of the input variables and parameters
> are not standard textbook parameters ( mostly in the crop development
> input) but for the most part they are easily understood. You can
> reach Keith Saxton at ksaxton@mail.wsu.edu.
>
> Dr. Claudio Stockle (Biological Systems Engineering, WSU) and Dr.
> Galon Campbell (Soil Physics, WSU) have a simple water budget model
> called SWB. It has been a while since I have worked with the model
> so it would be best to address any questions to Claudio at
> stockle@wsuvm1.csc.wsu.edu.
>
> I hope that this is of some help,
> dan
>
> Daniel R. Fuka
> Quetzal Computational Associates
>

BBSRC CASE Ph D Studentship at Biological Sciences Dept, University of East
Anglia, Norwich, UK and Horticulture Research International, Wellesbourne,
Warwick, UK.

TITLE: Mechanisms of plant competition

The studentship will involve training in computer modelling, experiment design
and experimental methods. The aim of the project is to develop models for the
dependence of plant growth growth on soil resources such as water and nitrogen,
and the competition between neighbouring plants for these resources. Attention
will be focused on the effects of variability in plant spacing, the prediction
and control of edge effects, crop and weed interactions and intercropping. The
student will be expected to test the models by conducting field and glasshouse
experiments.

Further Details:
Dr Andrew Watkinson 0 1603 592267 a.watkinson@uea.ac.uk

Dr David Aikman 0 1789 472005 aikman@bbsrc.ac.uk

Dr Laurence Benjamin 0 1789 472024 benjamin@bbsrc.ac.uk

Applications Forms: v.cossey@uea.ac.uk

Date: 5/18/95
From: dbosch@tifton.cpes.peachnet.edu (David Bosch)
Subject: Where does AGNPS work well?

I am a Research Hydraulic Engineer with the USDA ARS, currently located at
the Southeast Watershed Research Laboratory in Tifton, Georgia. From 1991
to 1994 I worked on the initial development of the AGNPS model. Hopefully
I can add some information to the discussion on the strengths and weaknesses
of the AGNPS model.

Several studies have been done comparing AGNPS simulations to both
observed data and to other simulation models. The ARS unit at Morris, MN
(AGNPS_Support@mail.mrsars.usda.gov) can provide a list of references.

A great deal can be gained by examining the basic components of the AGNPS
model.
1) For field runoff, the model uses the curve number approach. While much
has been said about the non-physical nature of the curve number, it still is one
of the better predictors of runoff. Under conditions where the curve number
can be expected to perform well, the AGNPS model will predict runoff volume
well.
2) The model does not account for channel losses. Thus, in watersheds where
this is significant, the model will overpredict watershed yield.
3) The model uses the peak runoff regression equation developed in the
CREAMS model (also used in many other models). This equation has been
found to be fairly accurate for many watersheds located throughout the US.
However, it is a regression equation and there will be exceptions.
4) For erosion, the revised USLE equation is used. Again, this is a fairly
good predictor of erosion, but exceptions do occur.
5) The sediment and chemical transport are dependent upon 1-4, if these
model components are in error, the other predictions will also be.
6) The model does not account for Karst topography, errors can be expected.

Overall, the model has performed well under a variety of conditions. As I
understand, the model has not been tested in the southeast or the southwest.
We are currently examining the possibility of adapting the model to our
conditions in the SE. AGNPS was developed to examine various alternative
management scenarios and to compare the relative results of each scenario. It
is not an absolute predictor.

*****************************************************
* David Bosch *
* Research Hydrologist *
* USDA-ARS *
* Southeast Watershed Research Laboratory *
* PO Box 946 *
* Tifton, Georgia 31793 *
* *
* e-mail: dbosch@tifton.cpes.peachnet.edu *
* phone: 912-386-3515 *
* fax: 912-386-7294 *
*****************************************************

The following message has been cross-posted to multiple discussion lists
and news groups. Our apologies in advance to those readers who have seen
it more than once. Feel free to cross-post this information to RELEVANT
lists we may have missed.

The Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network
(CIESIN) and the World Bank are pleased to announce experimental Internet
access to two major World Bank datasets:

- Social Indicators of Development, 1994
(http://www.ciesin.org/IC/wbank/sid-home.html), and

- Trends in Developing Economies, 1994
(http://www.ciesin.org/IC/wbank/tde-home.html).

A positive response to this experiment from an active user community may
result in providing similar (or enhanced) Internet access to additional
World Bank datasets.

In each case, any user with a forms-capable World Wide Web browser (e.g.,
IBM Web View, Mosaic, Netscape, Prodigy) can directly query the contents
of these two important World Bank datasets. These datasets are also
searchable using CIESIN's Gateway -- a distributed search and retrieval
tool enabling access to a large collection of information about human
interactions in the environment. For more information on the Gateway, see
http://www.ciesin.org/gateway/gw-home.html .

"Social Indicators of Development" contains the World Bank's most detailed
data collection for assessing human welfare to provide a picture of the
social effects of economic development. Data are presented for more than
170 economies, omitting only those for which data are inadequate.
Emphasis in this publication is on country-by-country review. Up to 94
indicators are reported for each country including: size, growth, and
structure of population; determinants of population growth (including
data on fertility and infant mortality); labor force; education and
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housing, fuel and power, transport and communication; and investment in
medical care and education. Each of these indicators is broken into
several subcategories. Footnotes associated with the printed data are
preserved in the hypertext version so that users will be fully aware of
significant nuances associated with particular indicators and countries.

"Trends in Developing Economies" (TIDE) provides brief reports on most of
the World Bank's borrowing countries. This compendium of individual
country economic trends complements the World Bank's World Development
Report, which looks at major global and regional economic trends and their
implications for the future prospects of the developing economies. TIDE
digests information from national sources and adds staff commentary to
explain recent developments for the benefits of readers who are familiar
with macroeconomics but not, perhaps, with every country under review.

For further information contact:

CIESIN User Services telephone: +517-797-2727
2250 Pierce Road facsimile: +517-797-2622
University Center, MI 48710 email: ciesin.info@ciesin.org
United States of America URL: http://www.ciesin.org

The work described in this message was generously supported by the (U.S.)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under grant NAGW-2901.

***********************************************************************
UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE

CHAIR OF AGRICULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS MODELLING
& DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRE FOR LAND USE AND WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH

Applications are invited from persons of high academic standing and proven
expertise in the area of Integrated Systems Modelling and especially in
Multi-disciplinary Quantitative Modelling of Land and Water Systems. The
person appointed will probably be an engineer or physical scientist with a
strong record of interaction with industry. Applicants should have
expertise in formulating research proposals, in presenting them to funding
agencies, in managing research programmes and in delivering the programmes
to time and budget. They will also be capable of developing strategic
multi-disciplinary research plans integrating the expertise of engineers
with that of physical scientists, biologists, ecologists and social
scientists and of developing workable networks of European research teams.

The post is a permanent appointment located in the Department of Agricultural &
Environmental Science and is initially linked for five years to the
Directorship of the Centre for Land Use and Water Resources Research
(CLUWRR). The present holder of the Chair and Director of CLUWRR is
Professor J.R. O'Callaghan who retires on 30th September 1995. CLUWRR is
an independent Research Centre with a high capacity for inter-disciplinary
research which the appointee must be capable of harnessing to maximise
collaborative research through modelling complex systems. The Departments
of Agricultural and Environmental Science (AES), Agricultural Economics &
Food Marketing (AEFM) and Civil Engineering (CE) are the three major
stakeholders of CLUWRR, with AES being the lead department.

Salary will be at an appropriate point in the Professorial salary range.

Further particulars may be obtained from Miss J M Kidd, Deputy Registrar,
The University of Newcastle, 6 Kensington Terrace, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1
7RU with whom applications, giving the names and addresses of three
referees, should be lodged not later than 16 June 1995.

*************************************************************************

Hello to every body:

My name is Bernardo PAZ BETANCOURT (from Bolivia) living in France.
until 25 june 1995 affter that my adrress will be orstomlp@orstom.bo

My basic formation is agronomics engineering (Bolivia 1986), Msc in Rural
Economics + some courses in statistics (Belgium 1993), actualy I am working
in Phd Project "simulation of a bolivian's hi lands village".
A Multi Agents Qualitative Simulation (MAQS), We are using the C++ R4.0 as
Objec Oriented Programming in a Sun Computer (UNIX as operating system).
Among some agents or actors we have: Family, place (samaller unity),
vegetal culture, market, expert, animal, etc...
All this actors are inside the "Reality" object.
At this stade the principal fact is to determinate the settlement of
contracts bettwen farmers, make a list of them(contracts), and try to
classify.
I'm very interesting to know if somme body is working in this area of MAQS
and to recive suggest about the work.
Sincerely, Bernardo

-------------------------------
Bernardo PAZ BETANCOURT
Centre ORSTOM de Bondy
72 Route d'Aulnay
93143 Bondy cedex
-------------------------------
Email: pazbetan@bondy.orstom.fr
-------------------------------
tel: 48 02 55 24 office
-------------------------------

>I don't know much about MAQS, but I'm trying to see
>why you want to do simulations if you already know
>what the outcomes are (contracts between farmers).

Thank you for your remark, Ranjan Muttiah, rereading may message I see
that I was not concrete, I was thinking in my small contrats.

The Principal objectif of the simulation is to have an discusion's tool
of the comunity (Pumani), based in a model that considers differents
points of view (agronomics, social, economics...).

>What type of scenarios do you want to run

The comunity have a very special way of soil's management inherited
from Incas the "Aynuqa" it is a common lands use.

The Aynuqas have a tendency to the privatisation, so, we would like to
know what could happened if this trends continues.

Inside the community's live there are several non fixed contracts (it
changes in function of the family's needs). We know sommes of these, but
it is important to know more and clasify, because we undestunded that Pumani
juste can not live without these.

The contracts dont follow economics rules but they follow social norms.

>There is a nice survival paradigm called patch selection written by Mangel
>and Clark. Here's some C code that you could run.
>Let me know if you want to discuss this

Of corse want to discuse that about.
I will try to run your C code & thanks again.

Excusme for the barbarian english

Does anyone have any information about the hydraulic and
nitrogen characteristics of andosols? We want to
parameterise a model of grass production and require
information on the available water capacity of these soils
and also the hydraulic conductivity at saturation

The model includes a simple representation of nitrogen
dynamics in the soil. Does anyone have information about
rates of nitrogen mineralisation and leaching on these
soils in relation to organic matter%, temperature and soil
water status? Are andosols well enough drained for
denitrification to be ignored?
Thank you,
Graham Russell

Dr G. Russell
University of Edinburgh
Institute of Ecology & Resource Management (Agriculture Building)
West Mains Road
Edinburgh EH9 3JG
SCOTLAND
International phone +44 131 535 4063 Fax +44 131 667 2601
UK phone 031 535 4063 Fax 031 667 2601

>Return-Path: <root@crcnis1.unl.edu>
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> SMTP; Thu, 25 May 1995 10:38:21 EDT
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> 08:26:06 -0500
>Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 08:26:06 -0500
>Message-ID: <498F5FA3488@srv0.bio.ed.ac.uk>
>Originator: agmodels-l@unl.edu
>Errors-To: jp@unlinfo.unl.edu
>Reply-To: <agmodels-l@unl.edu>
>Sender: agmodels-l@unl.edu
>Version: 5.5 -- Copyright (c) 1991/92, Anastasios Kotsikonas
>From: Graham Russell <GRUSSELL@srv0.bio.ed.ac.uk>
>To: Multiple recipients of list <agmodels-l@unl.edu>
>Subject: Re: Andosols
>
>Does anyone have any information about the hydraulic and
>nitrogen characteristics of andosols? We want to
>parameterise a model of grass production and require
>information on the available water capacity of these soils
>and also the hydraulic conductivity at saturation
>
>The model includes a simple representation of nitrogen
>dynamics in the soil. Does anyone have information about
>rates of nitrogen mineralisation and leaching on these
>soils in relation to organic matter%, temperature and soil
>water status? Are andosols well enough drained for
>denitrification to be ignored?
>Thank you,
>Graham Russell
>
>Dr G. Russell
>University of Edinburgh
>Institute of Ecology & Resource Management (Agriculture Building)
>West Mains Road
>Edinburgh EH9 3JG
>SCOTLAND
>International phone +44 131 535 4063 Fax +44 131 667 2601
>UK phone 031 535 4063 Fax 031 667 2601

You may like to contact :

Dieter Nill,
c/o Friedman & Johnson Consult,
Berliner Strasse 2,
64342 Seeheim, Germany.
Tel: 49-6257-83667; Fax: 49-6257-84635

Part of Dieter's PhD theses was based on data obtained from the Western
(Bamenda) highlands of Cameroon, which are primarily Andosols. He has a
consierable data base on the physical and chemical properties of these
soils. His PhD thesis is:

D. Nill. 1993. Soil Erosion from Natural and Simulated Rain in Forest,
Savannah and Highland Areas of Humid to Sub-humid West Africa and Influence
of Management. Technical University of Munich, Weihenstephan, Germany, 270
pp.

Kind regards,

Nilantha Hulugalle,
Australian Cotton Research Institute, Narrabri, Australia (email:
nilantha@mv.pi.csiro.au)

Unsubscribe

Dear Agmodels-L reader, I am currently involved in
developing the task specification for a crop knowledge-base
and would like to ask your opinions about what such a
system should look like. I am giving a paper at the
Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture conference at
Wagenigen next week so if any of you are also going we
could discuss it then.
Thank you
Graham Russell

Development of a Crop Knowledge-base

The University of Edinburgh has been awarded a contract by
the Joint Research Centre of the European Communities to
develop a computerised crop knowledge base. The project
forms part of the programme of Research and Development in
support of the European Agricultural Information System
which is managed by the Institute for Remote Sensing
Applications of the JRC at Ispra in Italy on behalf of
Directorate VI - Agriculture and of the Statistical Office
of the European Communities (EUROSTAT). The contract will
build upon previous work which resulted in reports about
the factors affecting regional production of wheat and
barley. The aim of the current project is to develop a
system for storing information about crops which is more
flexible and expressive than conventional databases. In
particular, data will not be constrained to a rigid tabular
format but can be entered as facts, which may be qualified
if they are not universally true, or as rules. In the
first year of the project, the exact nature of the system
will be agreed by discussion with potential users, existing
documents will be analysed to show the types of information
that are available and a prototype version of the software
will be developed in Prolog. The system will initially
contain data on wheat and if first phase is successful, it
will be expanded to include data about other crops. It is
envisaged that users will be able to extract data either
using a menu system or through a query language. The
system will be designed so that new information can easily
be added and existing information edited. It is envisaged
that the shell could be used for a variety of datasets
differing in the crops and ecological zones being
considered.

The success of the work depends on drawing up an exact specification for the queries that the
system should be able to answer. An initial brainstorming session produced the following
sample questions:

1. What is the specific leaf area of wheat (definition and
value)?
2. What is the relationship between the light
saturated rate of photosynthesis and soil water status?
3. Is 6.0 a realistic value for the green area index of
wheat in July in Flevoland?
4. Could the crop identified on satellite imagery as
growing at latitude 47 N longitude 24 E be wheat?
5. Would wheat and sunflower be grown on the same farm in
Tuscany?
6. What are suitable parameter values for a model of spring
wheat production in the Ukraine?
7. Is the light saturated rate of photosynthesis of wheat
constant for all countries and cultivars?
8. For which regions is the thermal time from sowing to
anthesis in wheat inadequately known?

We would now like to ask you to take a few minutes to fill
in the attached questionnaire and to return it to Dr
Russell.

Thank you

Graham Russell
Robert Muetzelfeldt

To: Dr G. Russell, Institute of Ecology and Resource
Management, Agriculture Building,
The University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh,
Scotland GB-EH9 3JG

Fax number: 00 44 131 667 2601
0131 667 2601 (UK)

From:

Address:

Subject: Crop Knowledge-base Questionnaire

Date: Additional pages:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Main area of expertise.

crop physiology/ agronomy/ agricultural statistics/
agro-meteorology/ other (pleae specify)

2. The following six tasks have already been specified.
a) to parameterise models of crop yield
b) to identify situations in which crop yield could be
significantly reduced at a regional scale.
c) to specify where (soils, climate etc.) particular crops
could be grown.
d) to provide data that could be used to check the output
of crop models.
e) to identify windows of opportunity for effective remote
sensing.
f) to act as an encyclopaedia of information about crops.

3. Should other tasks be added? yes/ no
If yes, what other tasks should be added (in order of
priority)?
a)
b)
c)

3. Please suggest up to three questions like the ones given
on the previous page which you think a crop knowledge-base
for Europe should be able to answer.

a)
b)
c)

4. The system will be able to link to databases on other
machines such as the European soils database and the
Eurostat REGIO and CRONOS databases. Please list any other
electronic databases that would be relevant to the
project.

database organisation contact

5. Do you know of any similar projects anywhere in the
world with which we could share ideas?

Dr G. Russell
University of Edinburgh
Institute of Ecology & Resource Management (Agriculture Building)
West Mains Road
Edinburgh EH9 3JG
SCOTLAND
International phone +44 131 535 4063 Fax +44 131 667 2601
UK phone 031 535 4063 Fax 031 667 2601

Who will be the users of the system?
What is about the objectives?
Where will use system?

Leopoldo Gomez
Fax (506) 556 1533

The users of the crop knowledge-base are expected to be:
statisticians involved with yield forecasting
crop modellers
researchers investigating the effect of climate change
agricultural policy makers
agronomists
lecturers and teachers

These groups have different requirements and it may be a
good idea to offer a choice of levels of detail. I guess
that the system will look a bit like CPIDS except that the
information will be held as a series of statements, each
referenced to a source rather than as a series of summaries
of documents.

The objectives of the system are to systematise existing
expert knowledge so that it can be use with confidence by
people who are not experts.

I don't know how freely available the software will be
ultimately. We have not yet considerd that!

Graham

Dr G. Russell
University of Edinburgh
Institute of Ecology & Resource Management (Agriculture Building)
West Mains Road
Edinburgh EH9 3JG
SCOTLAND
International phone +44 131 535 4063 Fax +44 131 667 2601
UK phone 031 535 4063 Fax 031 667 2601

Dear Dr. Russell!
I have some information but it will take a little time to
get at. Classical andisols retain lots of water and I think
denitrification can be a problem. Recently, very high denitrification
rates were measured in andisols under coffee in Costa Rica. Look for an
article by Zak and Babbar in the Apr'Jun , 1995 issue of Journal of Env
Quality. N accumulation is also great and release can be slow. Andisols
will show no N mineralization at C:N ratios that would indicate
mineralization in other soils. I will try to send you more references
shortly.

Donald L. Kass (dkass@catie.ac.cr)

CATIE

I'm involved in a crop production modeling project for the
United States, coast to coast. Crops are agronomic and
horticultural as long as they are grown out-of-doors. I
need to find one or more Catalogs or Lists of (Certified)
the Names and Numbers of Crop Cultivars/Varieties for the
U.S., but I would also be interested in learning of
published references for the same in other countries and on
other continents for possible future reference. I'm hoping
that there is an encyclopedic reference for U.S. cultivars
that covers all crops such as those that are covered by the
U.S. Census of Agriculture (although the latter does not
pertain to the cultivar-level). I'm also hoping that I
won't have to go crop-by-crop, state-by-state,
county-by-county, or breeder-by-breeder, through hundreds of
publications.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Ron Kickert, Pacific Northwest Lab, Richland, WA USA
rn_kickert@pnl.gov

d

Magai, have your message a problem? there is juste a "d" in the budy.
Bernardo

Hello Ron Kickert:
Yes I have a suggestion but a question too, here goes:

sugg: there is a "Manual Agricola"by Juan Aitken Soux, Editorial
WAYAR & SOUX LTDA. La Paz Bolivia (tel 00591 1 35 09 51
it is a cathalog (whit crops) for bolivians cultivars.
(somme references at PACC Potosi Email: jaime@pacc.bo,
PACC -a CEE Developement Project- pays the edition in 1986)

Q?: Would you give me more information about your model?
Which methodes are you using?
It is a prediction model? (if yes how exactly is it)
Could be used to feed other models?

Don Berno

Dear Graham,
One of problems with the modeling of nitrogen cycling in andosols is that
these soils may exhibit rather strong positive adsorption of nitrate ions.
A review and relevant values can be found in the paper by Pachepsky et al.
in AGROCHIMICA, 38(5-6), 305-312, 1994.
Regards
Yakov
---------------Original Message---------------
Does anyone have any information about the hydraulic and
nitrogen characteristics of andosols? We want to
parameterise a model of grass production and require
information on the available water capacity of these soils
and also the hydraulic conductivity at saturation

The model includes a simple representation of nitrogen
dynamics in the soil. Does anyone have information about
rates of nitrogen mineralisation and leaching on these
soils in relation to organic matter%, temperature and soil
water status? Are andosols well enough drained for
denitrification to be ignored?
Thank you,
Graham Russell

Dr G. Russell
University of Edinburgh
Institute of Ecology & Resource Management (Agriculture Building)
West Mains Road
Edinburgh EH9 3JG
SCOTLAND
International phone +44 131 535 4063 Fax +44 131 667 2601
UK phone 031 535 4063 Fax 031 667 2601

----------End of Original Message----------

-------------------------------------
Name: yakov pachepsky
E-mail: ypachepsky@asrr.arsusda.gov (yakov pachepsky)
USDA:ARS:BA:NRI:SRL
Tel 301-504-74-68
Fax 301-504-58-23
-------------------------------------

> Subject: Fulbright Deadline Reminder
>
> FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR PROGRAM OPPORTUNITIES FOR FACULTY AND PROFESSIONALS IN
> AGRICULTURE, ANIMAL SCIENCE, VETERINARY SCIENCE, AND ZOOLOGY
>
> August 1 Deadline Approaching for the 1996-97 Competition
>
> What follows is a description of Fulbright grants for lecturing and advanced
> research worldwide. These grants are excellent professional development
> opportunities and provide funding to pursue professional interests abroad.
>
> Fulbright Grants for Faculty and Professionals
>
> Description: 1,000 awards for college and university faculty and nonacademic
> professionals to lecture or pursue advanced research and/or related
> professional activity abroad. For U.S. candidates, grants are available to
> nearly 148 countries.
>
> Application: U.S. candidates have an August 1 deadline for lecturing or
> research awards. Non-U.S. candidates apply in their home country for awards
> to come to the United States.
>
> Areas of Interest: Opportunities exist in every area of the social sciences,
> arts and humanities, sciences, and many professional fields.
>
> Range of Consideration: Undergraduate and graduate teaching; individual
> research; professional collaboration; joint research collaboration; and much
> more.
>
> Eligibility: Ph.D. or DVM in hand is the standard requirement for traditional
> academic fields, along with U.S. citizenship. The appropriate terminal degree
> and comparable professional experience are expected for those outside academe.
>
> Grant Duration: Awards range in duration from two months to a full academic
> year.
>
> Language: The majority of teaching assignments are in English. Required in
> certain countries for certain areas of activity.
>
> Action: U.S. candidates may receive detailed descriptions of award
> opportunities and application materials via cies1@ciesnet.cies.org
> (REQUESTS FOR MAILING OF MATERIALS ONLY!).
>
> Non-U.S. candidates must contact the Fulbright Commission or U.S. embassy in
> their home country.
--
Sincerely,

Jerome Pier
Post-Doctoral Research Assistant
Biological Systems Engineering, Univ. Nebraska - Lincoln
jp@unl.edu

Hello Ron Kickert:
Yes I have a suggestion but a question too, here goes:

sugg: there is a "Manual Agricola"by Juan Aitken Soux, Editorial
WAYAR & SOUX LTDA. La Paz Bolivia (tel 00591 1 35 09 51
it is a cathalog (whit crops) for bolivians cultivars.
(somme references at PACC Potosi Email: jaime@pacc.bo,
PACC -a CEE Developement Project- pays the edition in 1986)

**First of all, thank you for your suggestion.

Q?: Would you give me more information about your model?
** It is a simple reduced-form module of acidic deposition
effects on American crop yields as based on papers in the
journal literature. That includes effects of wet ("acid
rain") and dry sulfur dioxide (SO2) on crop yields. At
present, it is little more than a series of statistical
equations based on curve fitting. I don't know whether we
will get the support to go to a process-based growth
simulation to model effects of acidic deposition on
photosynthesis, transpiration, and so forth, and then
simulate yield and production. The literature shows very
large differences in crop species sensitivity to acidic
deposition between cultivars within a crop. Crop census
databases do not appear to tabulate data by cultivar, only
by major crop species. Therefore, the problem. Step one is
what are all the cultivars that are actually grown today?
Step two is where is each cultivar grown? Step three is
which cultivars do we know about acidic sensitivities (which
I already know)?

Which methodes are you using?
** Mainly statistical curve fitting to set up stochastic
equations.

It is a prediction model? (if yes how exactly is
it) Could be used to feed other models?
** I've always had a problem with "What is 'prediction'?"
This crop module is stochastic and is intended to be
linked into the DEMOS (DEcision Modeling System) modeling
software environment (LUMINA Systems, Palo Alto, CA) for
the U.S. Dept. of Energy. The intent is to analyze
whether asking American industry to invest in more
pollution control technology would be cost-effective in
terms of savings from decreasing crop yield losses (crop
gains), visibility improvement, lake and fish health
improvements, and so forth. Whether this is 'prediction'
is up to you. It is still under development, so nothing
is available to share outside of the project yet.

Thanks again- Ron Kickert
Don Berno rn_kickert@pnl.gov

Unsubscribe

Thank Ron Kickert I had reccived your message twise.
The model is clair now.
Don Berno

On Fri, 26 May 1995 11:39:53 -0500 <rn_kickert@ccmail.pnl.gov> said:
...(snip)
>Hello Ron Kickert:
>Q?: Would you give me more information about your model?
> ** It is a simple reduced-form module of acidic deposition
> effects on American crop yields as based on papers in the
> journal literature. That includes effects of wet ("acid
> rain") and dry sulfur dioxide (SO2) on crop yields. At
> present, it is little more than a series of statistical
> equations based on curve fitting. I don't know whether we
> will get the support to go to a process-based growth
> simulation to model effects of acidic deposition on
> photosynthesis, transpiration, and so forth, and then
> simulate yield and production. The literature shows very
> large differences in crop species sensitivity to acidic
> deposition between cultivars within a crop. Crop census
> databases do not appear to tabulate data by cultivar, only
> by major crop species. Therefore, the problem. Step one is
> what are all the cultivars that are actually grown today?
> Step two is where is each cultivar grown? Step three is
> which cultivars do we know about acidic sensitivities (which
> I already know)?
(snip)
An interesting exercise. There are a couple of obvious questions, though.
1. Given that US agricultural productivity is very high and prices respond
negatively to increased production it's going to be tough to show that
there is a justification for the pollution controls on an ag. economic basis.
2. Cultivars may be quite variable from year to year and indeed, IF acid
precip is a factor wouldn't the insensitive cultivars already be preferred
(all other things being equal, of course)?

Don't take all this too seriously. It's Friday afternoon and I'm just wool-
gathering...Don Wauchope

On Fri, 26 May 1995 11:39:53 -0500 <rn_kickert@ccmail.pnl.gov> said:
...(snip)
>Hello Ron Kickert:
>Q?: Would you give me more information about your model?
> ** It is a simple reduced-form module of acidic deposition
> effects on American crop yields as based on papers in the
> journal literature. That includes effects of wet ("acid
> rain") and dry sulfur dioxide (SO2) on crop yields. At
> present, it is little more than a series of statistical
> equations based on curve fitting. I don't know whether we
> will get the support to go to a process-based growth
> simulation to model effects of acidic deposition on
> photosynthesis, transpiration, and so forth, and then
> simulate yield and production. The literature shows very
> large differences in crop species sensitivity to acidic
> deposition between cultivars within a crop. Crop census
> databases do not appear to tabulate data by cultivar, only
> by major crop species. Therefore, the problem. Step one is
> what are all the cultivars that are actually grown today?
> Step two is where is each cultivar grown? Step three is
> which cultivars do we know about acidic sensitivities (which
> I already know)?
(snip)
An interesting exercise. There are a couple of obvious questions, though.
1. Given that US agricultural productivity is very high and prices respond
negatively to increased production it's going to be tough to show that
there is a justification for the pollution controls on an ag. economic basis.
2. Cultivars may be quite variable from year to year and indeed, IF acid
precip is a factor wouldn't the insensitive cultivars already be preferred
(all other things being equal, of course)?

Don't take all this too seriously. It's Friday afternoon and I'm just wool-
gathering...Don Wauchope
===============================================
Don,
The folks in another part of this project are going to
have to worry about your point #1; I'll pass your comment
along, although I suspect that they are already considering
this.
Point #2 - Yes, indeed, for annual crops, especially high
value ones, where they switch cultivars about as often as
others switch cars or personal computers. But, perennial
crops are a different matter- fruits and forages;
these growers can't switch cultivars as quickly as their
cereal or vegetable bretheren growers can. Perhaps I should
only ask for master lists of cultivars of fruits and
forages grown in the US.

Thanks for thinking... Ron

In reponse to the question:
>Q?: Would you give me more information about your model?

Ron Kickert wrote:
> ** It is a simple reduced-form module of acidic deposition
> effects on American crop yields as based on papers in the
> journal literature. That includes effects of wet ("acid
> rain") and dry sulfur dioxide (SO2) on crop yields.

In the 1970's and '80's several researchers (including myself) looked for
the effects of acid rain (I.e. wet deposition) on crop yields. Bottom line:
there weren't any. At least none that could be clearly demonstrated under
field or quasi-field (e.g. open-top chamber) conditions. There were some
effects under greenhouse/potted plant conditions, but none that carried
over to more realistic conditions. This was the main conclusion of the
NAPCA report.

This should not be confused with the well-documented effects of SO2.

Dr. Jeffrey J. Lee jeffl@mail.cor.epa.gov
US EPA 503 754-4578
Environmental Rsearch Laboratory FAX: 503 754-4799
200 SW 35 St.
Corvallis,OR 97333
USA

Please ignore the message about "Good Times" and the virus that will eat
the world. I have been informed that the whole thig is a hoax. Sorry--
I was just trying to be helpful.

If any of you were good soldiers and forwarded the message like me, please
follow it with a correction.
Don Wauchope

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