The Role of Sequential Cropping and Biogasdoneright™ in Enhancing the Sustainability of Agricultural Systems in Europe

Sequential cropping in the Biogasdoneright™ (BDR™) system in Italy has recently gained attention to combine food and renewable energy production in a sustainable way, as well as for carbon sequestration. However, little is known on the potential to expand the practice in other regions of Europe. In this paper, sequential crop calendars were developed for different EU climate regions, and the EU biomethane potential of the anaerobic digestion (AD) of sequential crops was estimated for a Conservative_Scenario and a Maximum_Scenario, assuming different percentages of primary crop land dedicated to the practice and biogas yields. A total EU biomethane potential of 46 bcm/yr and 185 bcm/yr was estimated from the AD of sequential crops in the two scenarios, respectively, and the Continental region registered the highest potential compared to the other regions. The additional benefits of the combination of sequential cropping with other agricultural conservation practices and digestate use included in BDR™ systems were also discussed. In conclusion, the paper shows that with appropriate innovations in crop management, sequential cropping could be applied in different agroclimatic regions of Europe, contributing to climate and renewable energy targets.

A New Digital Image Steganography Based on Center Embedded Pixel Positioning

In this study we propose a new approach to tackle the cropping problem in steganography which is called Center Embedded Pixel Positioning (CEPP) which is based on Least Significant Bit (LSB) Matching by setting the secret image in the center of the cover image. The evaluation of the experiment indicated that the secret image can be retrieved by a maximum of total 40% sequential cropping on the left, right, up, and bottom of the cover image. The secret image also can be retrieved if the total asymmetric cropping area is 25% that covered two sides (either left-right, left-up or right-up). In addition, the secret image can also be retrieved if the total asymmetric cropping area is 70% if the bottom part is included. If asymmetric cropping area included three sides, then the algorithm fails to retrieve the secret image. For cropping in the botom the secret image can be extracted up to 70%.

Implementation of sequential cropping into JULESvn5.2 land-surface model

Land-surface models (LSMs) typically simulate a single crop per year in a field or location. However, actual cropping systems are characterized by a succession of distinct crop cycles that are sometimes interspersed with long periods of bare soil. Sequential cropping (also known as multiple or double cropping) is particularly common in tropical regions, where the crop seasons are largely dictated by the main wet season. In this paper, we implement sequential cropping in a branch of the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) and demonstrate its use at sites in France and India. We simulate all the crops grown within a year in a field or location in a seamless way to understand how sequential cropping influences the surface fluxes of a land-surface model. We evaluate JULES with sequential cropping in Avignon, France, providing over 15 years of continuous flux observations (a point simulation). We apply JULES with sequential cropping to simulate the rice–wheat rotation in a regional 25 km resolution gridded simulation for the northern Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and four single-grid-box simulations across these states, where each simulation is a 25 km grid box. The inclusion of a secondary crop in JULES using the sequential cropping method presented does not change the crop growth or development of the primary crop. During the secondary crop growing period, the carbon and energy fluxes for Avignon and India are modified; they are largely unchanged for the primary crop growing period. For India, the inclusion of a secondary crop using this sequential cropping method affects the available soil moisture in the top 1.0 m throughout the year, with larger fluctuations in sequential crops compared with single-crop simulations even outside the secondary crop growing period. JULES simulates sequential cropping in Avignon, the four India locations and the regional run, representing both crops within one growing season in each of the crop rotations presented. This development is a step forward in the ability of JULES to simulate crops in tropical regions where this cropping system is already prevalent. It also provides the opportunity to assess the potential for other regions to implement sequential cropping as an adaptation to climate change.

Developing a sequential cropping capability in the JULESvn5.2 land–surface model

Sequential cropping (also known as multiple or double cropping) is a common feature, particularly for tropical regions, where the crop seasons are largely dictated by the main wet season such as the Asian summer monsoon (ASM). The ASM provides the water resources for crops grown for the whole year, thereby influencing crop production outside the ASM period. Land surface models (LSMs) typically simulate a single crop per year, however, in order to understand how sequential cropping influences demand for resources, we need to simulate all of the crops grown within a year in a seamless way. In this paper we implement sequential cropping in a branch of the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) and demonstrate its use at Avignon, a site that uses the sequential cropping system and provides over 15-years of continuous flux observations which we use to evaluate JULES with sequential cropping. In order to implement the method in future regional simulations where there may be large variations in growing conditions, we apply the same method to four locations in the North Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to simulate the rice--wheat rotation and compare model yields to observations at these locations. JULES is able to simulate sequential cropping at Avignon and the four India locations, representing both crops within one growing season in each of the crop rotations presented. At Avignon the maxima of LAI, above ground biomass and canopy height occur at approximately the correct time for both crops. The magnitudes of biomass, especially for winter wheat, are underestimated and the leaf area index is overestimated. The JULES fluxes are a good fit to observations (r-values greater than 0.7), either using grasses to represent crops or the crop model, implying that both approaches represent the surface coverage correctly. For the India simulations, JULES successfully reproduces observed yields for the eastern locations, however yields are under estimated for the western locations. This development is a step forward in the ability of JULES to simulate crops in tropical regions, where this cropping system is already prevalent, while also providing the opportunity to assess the potential for other regions to implement it as an adaptation to climate change.