Michele Bernardi - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Michele Bernardi

Agrometeorological information, used for decision making, represents part of a continuum; at the ... more Agrometeorological information, used for decision making, represents part of a continuum; at the other end is scientific knowledge and understanding. Other components of this continuum are the collection of data and transforming data into useful information. Information has value when it is disseminated in such a way that the end-users get the maximum benefit in applying its content. This paper explores the potential of the new information and communications technologies to improve the access to agrometeorological information. The Internet will play an important role in the collection and transfer of information. In developing countries, MultiPurpose Community Telecentres (MCTs) will be the equivalent of an information supermarket. Radio can be used to transfer information from MCTs to rural areas. Using response farming as an example, a prototype information system that can have wide applicability is suggested. Procedures on evaluating the impact of agrometeorological information are provided. Future concerns about the information needs of diverse end-users, information on a fee basis, and the training needs of end-users and intermediaries are discussed. Although modern technology has improved agrometeorological information and increased the number of end-users, continued improvements are necessary to ensure that the content of the information is adequate to fulfill the requirements of the farming communities.

Acta Tropica, 2001

At a team residency sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation in Bellagio, Italy, 10-14 April 2000 ... more At a team residency sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation in Bellagio, Italy, 10-14 April 2000 an organizational plan was conceived to create a global network of collaborating health workers and earth scientists dedicated to the development of computer-based models that can be used for improved control programs for schistosomiasis and other snail-borne diseases of medical and veterinary importance. The models will be assembled using GIS methods, global climate model data, sensor data from earth observing satellites, disease prevalence data, the distribution and abundance of snail hosts, and digital maps of key environmental factors that affect development and propagation of snail-borne disease agents. A work plan was developed for research collaboration and data sharing, recruitment of new contributing researchers, and means of access of other medical scientists and national control program managers to GIS models that may be used for more effective control of snail-borne disease. Agreement was reached on the use of compatible GIS formats, software, methods and data resources, including the definition of a 'minimum medical database' to enable seamless incorporation of results from each regional GIS project into a global model. The collaboration plan calls for linking a 'central resource group' at the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, Louisiana State University and the Danish Bilharziasis Laboratory with regional GIS networks to be initiated in Eastern Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Latin America and Southern Asia. An Internet site, www.gnosisGIS.org, (GIS Network On Snail-borne Infections with special reference to Schistosomiasis), has been initiated to allow interaction of team members as a 'virtual research group'. When completed, the site will point users to a toolbox of common resources resident on computers at member organizations, provide assistance on routine use of GIS health maps in selected national disease control programs and provide a forum for development of GIS models to predict the health impacts of water development projects and climate variation.

Бюллетень ВМО 60 (2) -2011 г. | 67 Климат может быть полезным ресурсом и в то же время может пред... more Бюллетень ВМО 60 (2) -2011 г. | 67 Климат может быть полезным ресурсом и в то же время может представлять опасность. Благодаря использованию климатической информации и климатического обслуживания лицами, принимающими решения, сельское хозяйство более успешно справится с задачей обеспечения продовольствием населения Земли, которое растет и все больше сосредоточивается в городах.

Questa breve nota cerca di fare il punto della situazione domanda-offerta in agrometeorologia al ... more Questa breve nota cerca di fare il punto della situazione domanda-offerta in agrometeorologia al di fuori del contesto italiano. La discussione non potrà essere esauriente visto che altre organizzazioni internazionali, l'OMM in particolare, hanno programmi che sono direttamente rivolti allo sviluppo dell'agrometeorologia. La FAO è un'Agenzia specializzata delle Nazioni Unite e, come tale, deve contribuire alla soluzione di problemi globali legati all'alimentazione ed all'agricoltura, e rispondere alle esigenze dei Paesi Membri, in particolare quelli in via di sviluppo. Le attività agrometeorologiche della FAO sono definite sulla base del suo programma strategico per i 15 anni a venire. Dal punto di vista tecnico, le tendenze per l'agrometeorologia sono state definite durante l'ultima Sessione della Commissione di Meteorologia Agricola nel 1999. Notevoli difficoltà s'incontrano nel soddisfare le richieste sia per il diverso allineamento con le priorità politiche dei Paesi donatori, sia per la mancanza di un indirizzo di formazione specifico rivolto alle applicazioni agrometeorologiche. La nota vorrebbe anche servire per dare delle chiare indicazioni per quanto riguarda il livello di formazione richiesto per intraprendere una carriera "internazionale" come agrometeorologo o semplicemente per proporsi come consulenti specializzati.

Since 1988, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been using data... more Since 1988, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been using data from low-resolution satellites to monitor rainfall and vegetation conditions over large areas. These data are provided operationally in near real-time through the FAO Africa Real Time Environmental Monitoring Information System (ARTEMIS). Primary users of ARTEMIS data are the FAO's Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS), the FAO Emergency Centre for Locust Operations (ECLO) and the FAO Agrometeorology Group. Originally, the focus of ARTEMIS was on Africa and the system provided Cold Cloud Duration and Estimated Rainfall Inmages derived from the METEOSAT satellite and NDVI images from the NOAA-AVHRR sensors. Over the past few years ARTEMIS has increased its geographic coverage, as well as its range of products. Since 1998, the system includes imagery at resolutions between 1 and 8 km, with global coverage. A variety of image software applications for display and analysis have been developed in tandem with the ARTEMIS data products. These are now widely used in both developed and developing countries and, in particular, at several national and regional organizations involved in early warning for food security. Both image data and software tools are fully PC compatible and do not require specialized hardware.

The Miami Model of climatic net primary production of biomass NPP was introduced by Lieth during ... more The Miami Model of climatic net primary production of biomass NPP was introduced by Lieth during a conference in Miami in 1972. It is a simple conceptual model that links npp to longterm annual mean temperature T in • C and precipitation sum P in mm. NPP is assumed to increase with both increasing temperature and increasing precipitation. NPP is limited by either temperature or precipitation. Therefore the Miami model estimates NPP as a function of the limiting of both factors. In both cases, however, a saturation value of 3000 gDM/m 2 /year (DM stands for dry matter) cannot be exceeded. One should keep in mind that the monotonic character of the modeled dependence from temperature and precipitation does not allow for a negative effect of too much rain or too high temperatures. The model equations are

The first part of the paper presents a short description on the activities of the Food and Agricu... more The first part of the paper presents a short description on the activities of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the field of food security information and early warning systems (FSIEWS) with particular reference to their agrometeorological component. Starting in 1978, FAO has provided technical assistance with multilateral and bilateral financing to more than 50 projects for the establishment of regional and national FSIEWS around the world, to monitor all aspects of food availability, stability of supply, accessibility, and biological utilization. Focusing on the present and future availability of food, the agrometeorological component looks mainly at crop monitoring and yield forecasting, embracing an activity usually carried out by Agricultural Extension Services and National Agrometeorological Services. The second part of the paper concentrates on FAO's approach in the development of methods and tools (e.g., software, databases, training, publications, and advisory services to farmers) for the agrometeorological user community of FSIEWS.

The improvement of irrigated crop system management has become a priority for economic and enviro... more The improvement of irrigated crop system management has become a priority for economic and environmental reasons. In many cases, irrigation control is mainly a question of management of water resources, equipment and manpower. It therefore depends on choices to define the water supply strategies for optimal crop production and economic returns under conditions of reduced water supply and to advise farmers to optimize timing and application rate of crop irrigation for optimal yields and income also under limited water supply. The choice of cropping plan stands on farm constraints: (i) crops to irrigate, production and margin objectives; (ii) irrigation programme, i.e. a set of decision-making rules concerning irrigation management. To define the best strategy, the irrigation programme is elaborated taking account of the agronomic parameters of each crop, the soils and climate characteristics and, particularly, climate variability. However, the accuracy of these strategies is often limited by the availability of climatic data at a specific temporal or spatial resolution and by the availability of adequate crop information for regional applications. These are just few examples of the problems to deal with in the planning and operational activities related to the irrigation management. To minimize the impact of such a problems, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has developed application tools to address the lack of agro-climatic data at worldwide level. FAO is a specialized UN Agency dealing with agriculture, forestry and fishery, particularly in developing countries. One of its technical services (Environment and Natural Resources Service, SDRN) has the responsibility to provide information on environment and natural resources as related to food and agriculture and it includes, among others, expertise in remote sensing and GIS. The Agro-meteorology Group is part of SDRN and it is responsible to provide global environmental digital datasets, to collect meteorological data in real-time, to develop methodologies, models and tools for data standardization, collection, spatialization and analysis. Data and tools are developed taking into account technical specifications of decision support systems for irrigation planning and management developed by other FAO services. Agriculture today represents 69% of the freshwater withdrawal at world level and for most developing countries it reaches levels of 85 to 95%. Irrigated agriculture today, representing less than 20% of the cultivated land, produces 40% of the world food supplies and almost 60% of cereal production. The volume of water diverted for agriculture as percentage of total renewable water resources indicates human pressure on water resources. In general, it is considered that countries using more than 20% of their water are water scarce because at that level the lack of water becomes a constraint to economic development. Many countries already use more than 40% of their resources.

The Koeppen climatologies and the climatic net primary production maps of FAO are based on differ... more The Koeppen climatologies and the climatic net primary production maps of FAO are based on different periods and precipitation datasets. Here we provide the datasets in different formats. Furthermore some derived information like temperature of the coldest and warmest months, Martonnes aridity index and Gorczynskis continentality index are provided.

Frost Protection: fundamentals, practice and economics volume 1 and 2

Acta Tropica, 2001

Frost Protection: fundamentals, practice and economics volume 1 and 2

Rapid Agricultural Disaster Assessment Routine (RADAR) , 2008

The Rapid Agricultural Disaster Assessment Routine (RADAR)is based on the idea that a disaster is... more The Rapid Agricultural Disaster Assessment Routine (RADAR)is based on the idea that a disaster is the "product" of extreme factors and a vulnerable agricultural system.This book proposes to move from empirical assessments of disaster impact on agriculture towards model-based approaches. Once an event strikes a region, the user of the procedure should rapidly collect all available georeferenced and quantitative data on the event and the region. Subsequently, a Disaster Information Management System that integrates physical models, knowledge-bases, databases and GIS can be used to assess the short- and long-term agricultural impact of the event. The output of the analyses is the geographical distribution of the intensity of the event, which is then used to compute the integrated impact on agriculture produced by the disaster. In the medium- to long-term accumulated information and in-depth analysis should provide a significant contribution towards disaster preparedness and minimization of potential risks through early warning strategies and preparation of development plans that incorporate resilience to such disasters.

Strengthening Operational Agrometeorological Services at the National Level, 2004

The Thirteenth Session of the Commission for Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM-XIII) of the World Me... more The Thirteenth Session of the Commission for Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM-XIII) of the World Meteorological Organization, held in October 2002 in Slovenia, considered the need to improve agrometeorological services to increase agricultural production and to conserve the environment. They identified this aspect as one of three priority areas to be addressed during the 2004-2007 period. CAgM-XIII recommended that an Inter-Regional Workshop on Strengthening Operational Agrometeorological Services at the National Level be organized.
Accordingly, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) organized this Inter-Regional Workshop from March 22-26, 2004, in Manila, Philippines, at the kind invitation of the
Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
Twenty-eight participants from 19 countries, including the Philippines, attended the Workshop.

Manual sobre informação climática para comunidades agrícolas, 2021

This is the Portuguese version of the original English publication. The content of this guide is ... more This is the Portuguese version of the original English publication. The content of this guide is twofold: to describe the most important weather and agroclimatic products that are available by the National Meteorological Service (NMS) and to identify the most important needs of farmers concerning climate information. Special consideration will be given to the local knowledge used by rural farmers, too often neglected, but a key factor to their ability to cope with climate variability and change.

HANDBOOK ON CLIMATE INFORMATION FOR FARMING COMMUNITIES WHAT FARMERS NEED AND WHAT IS AVAILABLE, 2019

The content of this guide is twofold: to describe the most important weather and agroclimatic pro... more The content of this guide is twofold: to describe the most important weather and agroclimatic products that are available by the National Meteorological Service (NMS) and to identify the most important needs of farmers concerning climate information. Special consideration will be given to the local knowledge used by rural farmers, too often neglected, but a key factor to their ability to cope with climate variability and change.

HANDBOOK ON CLIMATE INFORMATION FOR FARMING COMMUNITIES WHAT FARMERS NEED AND WHAT IS AVAILABLE, 2019

Forecasting crop production (and crop yield in particular) has been a constant concern since the ... more Forecasting crop production (and crop yield in particular) has been a constant concern since the beginning of the history of agriculture. Forecasting techniques have evolved, as has
agriculture itself and the specifications of the forecasts needed. Those who use forecast data are always seeking greater accuracy, granularity, comparability, and timeliness. Those
who produce the data or contribute to their production always operate under financial and technical constraints. Obtaining timely knowledge presents a very real challenge. Today, the human, institutional, technical and financial infrastructure behind crop forecasts and yield forecasts in particular can be incredibly complex. This publication provides insights
into such complex data infrastructures at the country level. It highlights good practices and prospects for the future. The countries examined herein were selected to reflect a variety
of agricultural systems, financial and technical capacities and solutions and methodologies implemented.
The objective of this publication is to complement the literature available – which details existing individual methodologies – by describing the functioning of complex institutional set-ups. This could eventually help improve national systems which still struggle to produce forecasts of the quality needed for policy design and market operation.