Applied Agrometeorology in a Changing Climate

1) Quantify the environmental resources and limitations (solar radiation, temperature, precipitation) that characterise agricultural production.

2) Apply simulation models of plant response to different environmental conditions (phenological modeling, definition of light interception by the plant, quantification of environmental resources useful for the development of the plant, quantification of environmental stress conditions).

3) Define the anomaly levels of meteorological and derived biological variables by means of suitable statistical analysis methodologies (trends, discontinuities, frequency analysis) in order to characterise the growing seasons in the specific climate context.

4) Characterizing through the above described interpretive techniques, the agricultural contexts at the different scales (from the individual field to the company to the consortium, up to the largest territorial scales).

Students will be able to master the fundamental theoretical notions for understanding the climate system and its interaction with agricultural production, with particular reference to climate change and its effects on the agricultural sector.
With reference to the theoretical part, the students will be able to:
- Analyse and interpret meteorological time-series, defining the levels of anomaly
- Quantify the environmental resources and limitations for agricultural production, by means of interpretative models
- characterise the features of the growing seasons in the specific climate contexts
- characterise, by means of the above described interpretative techniques, different agricultural contexts at different scales, from the individual field to the farm to the consortium, up to the wider territorial scales.
Students will be able to:
- make quantitative assessments of the environmental potentials and limitations to agricultural production of a specific study area, with reference to different spatial scales
- Quantitatively analyze the behaviour of the single agricultural season, in comparison with the climate reference period, in order to highlight the seasonal main features and definitine the most appropriate adaptation strategies.
Students will gain technical skills and the appropriate terminology for professional activities. The team exercise will end with a report of critical analysis of the results obtained, in order to develop the communicative skills useful for the profession.