Agrometeorology is the study of weather and use of weather and climate information to enhance or expand agricultural crops and/or to increase crop production. Agrometeorology mainly involves the interaction of meteorological and hydrological factors, on one hand and agriculture, which encompasses horticulture, animal husbandry, and forestry.

 

 

Image from Wikipedia Article Agrometeorology

 

Horticulture is strongly influenced by climatic variations, however small.

It is an interdisciplinary, holistic science forming a bridge between physical and biological  sciences and beyond. It deals with a complex system involving soil, plant, atmosphere, agricultural management options, and others, which are interacting dynamically on various spatial and temporal scales. Specifically, the fully coupled soil-plant-atmosphere system has to be well understood in order to develop reasonable operational applications or recommendations for stakeholders. For these reasons, a comprehensive analysis of cause-effect relationships and principles that describe the influence of the state of the atmosphere, plants, and soil on different aspects of agricultural production, as well as the nature and importance of feedback between these elements of the system is necessary.

 

Agrometeorological methods therefore use information and data from different key sciences such as soil physics and chemistry, hydrology, meteorology, crop and animal physiology and phenology, agronomy, and others. Observed information is often combined in more or less complex models, focused on various components of system parts such as mass balances (i.e. soil carbon, nutrients, and water), biomass production, crop growth and yield, and crop or pest phenology in order to detect sensitivities or potential responses of the soil-biosphere-atmosphere system. However, model applications still involve many uncertainties, which calls for further improvements of the description of system processes. A better quality of operational applications at various scales (monitoring, forecasting, warning, recommendations, etc.) is crucial for stakeholders. For example, new methods for spatial applications involve GIS and Remote Sensing for spatial data presentation and generation. Further, tailor-made products and information transfer are critical to allow effective management decisions in the short and long term. These should cover sustainability and enhancement strategies (including risk management, mitigation and adaptation) considering climate variability and change. Papers are invited addressing these problems in the context of agrometeorological applications in “atmosphere” as an actual and important contribution to the state of the art.

 

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org
/wiki/Agrometeorology

 

Agriculture, water resources and temperature

 

Extreme temperature events (either heat or cold) can have a large impact upon many agriculture practices. For instance, extreme heat has the potential for significantly increased mortality in poultry, pigs and even feedlot cattle. Similarly both milk production and cattle reproduction can decrease markedly during extended heat waves. Heat waves are also of major concern for fire management.

 

In the longer term, above average seasonal temperatures can exacerbate drought during rainfall deficiencies due to higher evaporation and increased water use uptake by plants. Yields for crops such as wheat, rice, canola, potatoes some fruits and soybeans can be reduced by high temperatures at key development stages.

 

Furthermore, a rise in river and estuary temperature during heat waves may impact fish populations. It may also lead to the degradation of water quality and the death of some parts of the water ecosystem. High temperatures and low water flows contribute to algal growth, which can cause fish kills in rivers and lakes.

 

At the other extreme, cold temperature impacts vary from location to location and commodity to commodity. Frost, and more particularly the freezing and rupturing of a plant cell walls, can damage many crops, particularly early or late in growing seasons. Prolonged cold snaps can also lead to stock losses.

 

Source: http://www.bom.gov.au/watl/
about-weather-and-climate/risk/risk-temperature.shtml

Rotary Basic

The key to getting the most out of your membership is to get involved in ways that suit your interests. The time and energy you invest in Rotary will yield rich rewards. You can shape your club experience by talking with club leaders about your ideas, and as a member, you, too, are eligible to be a club leader. Over time, active members find that the connections they make through Rotary become lifelong friendships. To see how you can get involved, go to appendix A: Optimize Your Membership Experience. You can also check out our publication Connect for Good (https://my.rotary.org › document ›
connect-good) with an overview of opportunities to be an engaged member of Rotary.

Members are eligible for discounts on a variety of services all over the world through Rotary Global Rewards. Visit the Member Center on Rotary.org to learn more.

https://my.rotary.org/en/document/rotary-basics

• Attend as many club meetings and events as you can. Connect with different people each time.
• Volunteer your skills and take on a role such as committee member, greeter, or webmaster.
• Identify a need in your community and suggest a hands-on project that addresses it.
• Participate in, or offer your expertise to, a club leadership development program.
• Tell friends and colleagues how your club is giving back to your community, and emphasize the unique opportunity Rotary provides for networking with leaders in many professions.
• Get involved with your club’s international service projects.
• Browse Rotary service projects worldwide at rotary.org/showcase.
• Join a Rotary discussion group to connect with others who share your interests.
• Discover Rotary voices from around the world at blog.rotary.org.
• Stay up-to-date by subscribing to newsletters from Rotary International at rotary.org/newsletters, reading your club and district newsletters, and visiting your club and district websites and Rotary.org.
• Help your club or district raise funds to eradicate polio.
• Set a personal contribution goal in support of your club’s Annual Fund giving goal, or donate through The Rotary Foundation’s recurring giving program, Rotary Direct.
• Propose a friend or colleague for membership in your club.
• Ask your club leaders how you can get involved in Rotary Youth Exchange, Interact, or Rotaract.
• Talk to club leaders about where your expertise is most needed.
• Visit Rotary Ideas to get ideas for club projects or contribute to another club’s project.
• Post a finished service project on Rotary Showcase to share your success and inspire others.
• Attend your club’s next assembly and help plan club activities.
• Volunteer to help with your club’s signature project — one your club is known for in the community.
• Check out the Member Center and other resources on Rotary.org.
• Join a Rotary Fellowship and meet Rotarians from other countries who share your interests.
• Go to your district conference and the Rotary International Convention.
• Check out another Rotary club’s meeting. Contact its leaders first to make arrangements.
• Take a course on the Learning Center.

https://my.rotary.org/en/document/rotary-basics

All of the coming events – fund-raising, promotional and social – that are coming up in the next two months.  Can you please list these events in your diaries.

Shultz Cartoons