scholarly journals A scoping review of side-dress nitrogen recommendation systems and their perspectives in precision agriculture

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Corti ◽  
Virginia Fassa ◽  
Luca Bechini
Keyword(s):  
Scoping Review ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Vegetation Indices ◽  
Recommendation Systems ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Data Sets

A scoping review of the relevant literature was carried out to identify the existing N recommendation systems, their temporal and geographical diffusion, and knowledge gaps. In total, 151 studies were identified and categorized. Seventy-six percent of N recommendation systems are empirical and based on spatialized vegetation indices (73% of them); 21% are based on mechanistic crop simulation models with limited use of spatialized data (26% of them); 3% are based on machine learning techniques with integration of spatialized and non-spatialized data. Recommendation systems started to appear worldwide in 2000; often they were applied in the same location where calibration had been carried out. Thirty percent of the studies use advanced recommendation techniques, such as sensor/approach fusion (44%), algorithm add-ons (30%), estimation of environmental benefits (13%), and multi-objective decisions (13%). Some limitations have been identified. Empirical systems need specific calibrations for each site, species and sensor, rarely using soil, vegetation and weather data together, while mechanistic systems need large input data sets, often non-spatialized. We conclude that N recommendation systems can be improved by better data and the integration of algorithms.

scholarly journals The HADES Yield Prediction System – A Case Study on the Turkish Hazelnut Sector

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Bregaglio ◽  
Kim Fischer ◽  
Fabrizio Ginaldi ◽  
Taynara Valeriano ◽  
Laura Giustarini
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Predictive Ability ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
Yield Prediction ◽  
Prediction System ◽  
Alternate Bearing ◽  
Biennial Bearing

Crop yield forecasting activities are essential to support decision making of farmers, private companies and public entities. While standard systems use georeferenced agro-climatic data as input to process-based simulation models, new trends entail the application of machine learning for yield prediction. In this paper we present HADES (HAzelnut yielD forEcaSt), a hazelnut yield prediction system, in which process-based modeling and machine learning techniques are hybridized and applied in Turkey. Official yields in the top hazelnut producing municipalities in 2004–2019 are used as reference data, whereas ground observations of phenology and weather data represent the main HADES inputs. A statistical analysis allows inferring the occurrence and magnitude of biennial bearing in official yields and is used to aid the calibration of a process-based hazelnut simulation model. Then, a Random Forest algorithm is deployed in regression mode using the outputs of the process-based model as predictors, together with information on hazelnut varieties, the presence of alternate bearing in the yield series, and agro-meteorological indicators. HADES predictive ability in calibration and validation was balanced, with relative root mean square error below 20%, and R2 and Nash-Sutcliffe modeling efficiency above 0.7 considering all municipalities together. HADES paves the way for a next-generation yield prediction system, to deliver timely and robust information and enhance the sustainability of the hazelnut sector across the globe.

Environmental Benefits of Precision Agriculture Adoption

2020 ◽  
pp. 637-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Medici ◽  
Søren Marcus Pedersen ◽  
Giacomo Carli ◽  
Maria Rita Tagliaventi
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Herbicide Application ◽  
Pesticide Application ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Application Rates ◽  
Biodiversity Policy ◽  
Lime Application

The purpose of this study is to analyse the environmental benefits of precision agriculture technology adoption obtained from the mitigation of negative environmental impacts of agricultural inputs in modern farming. Our literature review of the environmental benefits related to the adoption of precision agriculture solutions is aimed at raising farmers' and other stakeholders' awareness of the actual environmental impacts from this set of new technologies. Existing studies were categorised according to the environmental impacts of different agricultural activities: nitrogen application, lime application, pesticide application, manure application and herbicide application. Our findings highlighted the effects of the reduction of input application rates and the consequent impacts on climate, soil, water and biodiversity. Policy makers can benefit from the outcomes of this study developing an understanding of the environmental impact of precision agriculture in order to promote and support initiatives aimed at fostering sustainable agriculture.

HOW TO USE CROP GROWTH MODEL WOFOST FOR FORECASTING GROWTH AND YIELD OF A CROP

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
LAL SINGH ◽  
PARMEET SINGH ◽  
RAIHANA HABIB KANTH ◽  
PURUSHOTAM SINGH ◽  
SABIA AKHTER ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
User Interface ◽  
Graphical User Interface ◽  
Input Data ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Crop Growth Model ◽  
Control Center ◽  
Field Crops ◽  
Crop Calendar

WOFOST version 7.1.3 is a computer model that simulates the growth and production of annual field crops. All the run options are operational through a graphical user interface named WOFOST Control Center version 1.8 (WCC). WCC facilitates selecting the production level, and input data sets on crop, soil, weather, crop calendar, hydrological field conditions, soil fertility parameters and the output options. The files with crop, soil and weather data are explained, as well as the run files and the output files. A general overview is given of the development and the applications of the model. Its underlying concepts are discussed briefly.

scholarly journals QVigourMap: A GIS Open Source Application for the Creation of Canopy Vigour Maps

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 952
Author(s):  
Lia Duarte ◽  
Ana Cláudia Teodoro ◽  
Joaquim J. Sousa ◽  
Luís Pádua
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Vegetation Indices ◽  
Data Interpretation ◽  
Vegetation Monitoring ◽  
Distribution Maps ◽  
Monitoring Process ◽  
Multi Temporal ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Right

In a precision agriculture context, the amount of geospatial data available can be difficult to interpret in order to understand the crop variability within a given terrain parcel, raising the need for specific tools for data processing and analysis. This is the case for data acquired from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), in which the high spatial resolution along with data from several spectral wavelengths makes data interpretation a complex process regarding vegetation monitoring. Vegetation Indices (VIs) are usually computed, helping in the vegetation monitoring process. However, a crop plot is generally composed of several non-crop elements, which can bias the data analysis and interpretation. By discarding non-crop data, it is possible to compute the vigour distribution for a specific crop within the area under analysis. This article presents QVigourMaps, a new open source application developed to generate useful outputs for precision agriculture purposes. The application was developed in the form of a QGIS plugin, allowing the creation of vigour maps, vegetation distribution maps and prescription maps based on the combination of different VIs and height information. Multi-temporal data from a vineyard plot and a maize field were used as case studies in order to demonstrate the potential and effectiveness of the QVigourMaps tool. The presented application can contribute to making the right management decisions by providing indicators of crop variability, and the outcomes can be used in the field to apply site-specific treatments according to the levels of vigour.

Artificial Intelligence and Ethics in Dentistry: A Scoping Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 002203452110138
Author(s):  
C.M. Mörch ◽  
S. Atsu ◽  
W. Cai ◽  
X. Li ◽  
S.A. Madathil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Internal Validation ◽  
Neural Learning ◽  
Learning Techniques

Dentistry increasingly integrates artificial intelligence (AI) to help improve the current state of clinical dental practice. However, this revolutionary technological field raises various complex ethical challenges. The objective of this systematic scoping review is to document the current uses of AI in dentistry and the ethical concerns or challenges they imply. Three health care databases (MEDLINE [PubMed], SciVerse Scopus, and Cochrane Library) and 2 computer science databases (ArXiv, IEEE Xplore) were searched. After identifying 1,553 records, the documents were filtered, and a full-text screening was performed. In total, 178 studies were retained and analyzed by 8 researchers specialized in dentistry, AI, and ethics. The team used Covidence for data extraction and Dedoose for the identification of ethics-related information. PRISMA guidelines were followed. Among the included studies, 130 (73.0%) studies were published after 2016, and 93 (52.2%) were published in journals specialized in computer sciences. The technologies used were neural learning techniques for 75 (42.1%), traditional learning techniques for 76 (42.7%), or a combination of several technologies for 20 (11.2%). Overall, 7 countries contributed to 109 (61.2%) studies. A total of 53 different applications of AI in dentistry were identified, involving most dental specialties. The use of initial data sets for internal validation was reported in 152 (85.4%) studies. Forty-five ethical issues (related to the use AI in dentistry) were reported in 22 (12.4%) studies around 6 principles: prudence (10 times), equity (8), privacy (8), responsibility (6), democratic participation (4), and solidarity (4). The ratio of studies mentioning AI-related ethical issues has remained similar in the past years, showing that there is no increasing interest in the field of dentistry on this topic. This study confirms the growing presence of AI in dentistry and highlights a current lack of information on the ethical challenges surrounding its use. In addition, the scarcity of studies sharing their code could prevent future replications. The authors formulate recommendations to contribute to a more responsible use of AI technologies in dentistry.

scholarly journals Modeling Mine Workforce Fatigue: Finding Leading Indicators of Fatigue in Operational Data Sets

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 621
Author(s):  
Elaheh Talebi ◽  
W. Pratt Rogers ◽  
Tyler Morgan ◽  
Frank A. Drews
Keyword(s):  
Health And Safety ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Leading Indicators ◽  
Safety Control ◽  
Model Complex ◽  
Fatigue Monitoring ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Operational Data

Mine workers operate heavy equipment while experiencing varying psychological and physiological impacts caused by fatigue. These impacts vary in scope and severity across operators and unique mine operations. Previous studies show the impact of fatigue on individuals, raising substantial concerns about the safety of operation. Unfortunately, while data exist to illustrate the risks, the mechanisms and complex pattern of contributors to fatigue are not understood sufficiently, illustrating the need for new methods to model and manage the severity of fatigue’s impact on performance and safety. Modern technology and computational intelligence can provide tools to improve practitioners’ understanding of workforce fatigue. Many mines have invested in fatigue monitoring technology (PERCLOS, EEG caps, etc.) as a part of their health and safety control system. Unfortunately, these systems provide “lagging indicators” of fatigue and, in many instances, only provide fatigue alerts too late in the worker fatigue cycle. Thus, the following question arises: can other operational technology systems provide leading indicators that managers and front-line supervisors can use to help their operators to cope with fatigue levels? This paper explores common data sets available at most modern mines and how these operational data sets can be used to model fatigue. The available data sets include operational, health and safety, equipment health, fatigue monitoring and weather data. A machine learning (ML) algorithm is presented as a tool to process and model complex issues such as fatigue. Thus, ML is used in this study to identify potential leading indicators that can help management to make better decisions. Initial findings confirm existing knowledge tying fatigue to time of day and hours worked. These are the first generation of models and future models will be forthcoming.

Mental health and stigma in Saudi Arabia: a scoping review

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nada Alattar ◽  
Anne Felton ◽  
Theodore Stickley
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Mental Health Stigma ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mental Health Issues

Purpose Stigma associated with mental health problems is widespread in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Consequently, this may prevent many Saudi people from accessing the mental health-care services and support they need. The purpose of this study is to consider how stigma affects people needing to access mental health services in the KSA. To achieve this aim, this study reviews the knowledge base concerning stigma and mental health in KSA and considers specific further research necessary to increase the knowledge and understanding in this important area. Design/methodology/approach This review examines the relevant literature concerning mental health stigma and related issues in KSA using the Arksey and O'Malley and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses frameworks. As a scoping review, it has used a systematic approach in literature searching. The results of the search were then thematically analysed and the themes were then discussed in light of the concepts of stigma and mental health. Findings Stigma around mental health impedes access to care, the nature of care and current clinical practice in the KSA. The voices of those with mental health issues in KSA are almost entirely unrepresented in the literature. Originality/value The review identifies that mental health stigma and cultural beliefs about mental health in KSA may act as barriers to accessing services. The voice of mental health service users in KSA remains largely unheard. If public discussion of mental health issues can increase, people’s experiences of accessing services may be improved.

Improving Reliability Estimation for Individual Numeric Predictions: A Machine Learning Approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gediminas Adomavicius ◽  
Yaqiong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Reliability Estimation ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Real World Data ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Reliability Indicator ◽  
Machine Learning Approach ◽  
Prediction Reliability

Numerical predictive modeling is widely used in different application domains. Although many modeling techniques have been proposed, and a number of different aggregate accuracy metrics exist for evaluating the overall performance of predictive models, other important aspects, such as the reliability (or confidence and uncertainty) of individual predictions, have been underexplored. We propose to use estimated absolute prediction error as the indicator of individual prediction reliability, which has the benefits of being intuitive and providing highly interpretable information to decision makers, as well as allowing for more precise evaluation of reliability estimation quality. As importantly, the proposed reliability indicator allows the reframing of reliability estimation itself as a canonical numeric prediction problem, which makes the proposed approach general-purpose (i.e., it can work in conjunction with any outcome prediction model), alleviates the need for distributional assumptions, and enables the use of advanced, state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to learn individual prediction reliability patterns directly from data. Extensive experimental results on multiple real-world data sets show that the proposed machine learning-based approach can significantly improve individual prediction reliability estimation as compared with a number of baselines from prior work, especially in more complex predictive scenarios.

scholarly journals Using Simulation and Budget Models to Scale-Up Nitrogen Leaching from Field to Region in Canada

2001 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 699-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.C. Huffman ◽  
J.Y. Yang ◽  
S. Gameda ◽  
R. de Jong
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Models ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Measured Data ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Biophysical Modeling ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
Policy Model ◽  
Field Level ◽  
Time Of Year

Efforts are underway at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) to develop an integrated, nationally applicable, socioeconomic/biophysical modeling capability in order to predict the environmental impacts of policy and program scenarios. This paper outlines our Decision Support System (DSS), which integrates the IROWCN (Indicator of the Risk of Water Contamination by Nitrogen) index with the agricultural policy model CRAM (Canadian Regional Agricultural Model) and presents an outline of our methodology to provide independent assessments of the IROWCN results through the use of nitrogen (N) simulation models in select, data-rich areas. Three field-level models — DSSAT, N_ABLE, and EPIC — were evaluated using local measured data. The results show that all three dynamic models can be used to simulate biomass, grain yield, and soil N dynamics at the field level; but the accuracy of the models differ, suggesting that models need to be calibrated using local measured data before they are used in Canada. Further simulation of IROWCN in a maize field using N_ABLE showed that soil-mineral N levels are highly affected by the amount of fertilizer N applied and the time of year, meaning that fertilizer and manure N applications and weather data are crucial for improving IROWCN. Methods of scaling-up simulated IROWCN from field-level to soil-landscape polygons and CRAM regions are discussed.

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