Current Research in Land, Water, and Agroecosystems: ASABE Journals 2017 Year in Review

Abstract

Abstract. This article highlights current research into land and water resources, agroecosystems, and agricultural production systems published by the Natural Resources and Environmental Systems (NRES) community of ASABE journals ( and ) in 2017. Context, scope, and key results of the published articles are reviewed and perhaps more importantly areas for increased research attention are recommended. This article describes experimental and modeling advances in hydrology, agroecosystems, climate change effects, soil erosion, agricultural irrigation, agricultural drainage, forest resource management, livestock systems, natural treatment systems, international water issues, and water quality topic areas. Three special collections were published (International Watershed Technology, Crop Modeling and Decision Support for Optimizing Use of Limited Water, and Advances in Drainage). Other focal areas included 14 articles relating to livestock waste management, 13 concerning irrigated agricultural systems, 8 addressing climate change effects on land, water, and agroecosystems, and 16 on various aspects of soil erosion measurement and modeling. Building on the articles reviewed from 2017 and toward a vision of future agroecosystems research, the NRES community of ASABE journals strives to expand its role in making new knowledge accessible to sustain agricultural and natural systems in a changing world. With this goal in mind, recommendations for future research needs are proposed with an emphasis on increased application of remote sensing data to agroecosystems research, improved assessment of agroecosystem resiliency and vulnerability to land and climate change, development of integrated models of agroecosystem services, meeting stubborn water management challenges in agricultural production systems, and focusing on publishing fully reproducible model results. Keywords: Agriculture, Climate change, Composting, Crop models, Crop water use, Crop yield, Drainage, Drought, Environment, Field experimentation, Food, Forest, Greenhouse gas emissions, Hydrologic modeling, Hydrology, Irrigation, Livestock, Manure management, Mode

Groundwater-Based Irrigation in the US – Challenges and Progress

“…According to Douglas-Mankin [51], simulation studies are one of the future research focus areas that would help address the needs of decision-makers as they work to ensure the sustainability of land and water resources. Simulation models may benefit water and irrigation management to quantify the effects of water on yield because of their capacity to integrate the impacts of soils, weather, and irrigation management on crop production at various scales [3,40].…”

Water Balance and Soil Moisture Deficit of Different Vegetation Units under Semiarid Conditions in the Andes of Southern Ecuador

“…The agriculture in these regions is generally executed by means of irrigation systems to guarantee food production [15,16], in which water is transported and applied mainly by means of irrigation canals [17], which is why a large amount of water is lost through evaporation, drainage, deep percolation and subsurface runoff, leading to higher production costs and lower plant productivity [2]. In summary, the limited water availability in semiarid regions, together with the predicted changes in climate conditions, combined with unsustainable water management and land use changes (population growth), complicates agricultural development, which is confirmed by the observed decrease in food production (e.g., [18,19]).…”