Exploring and Quantifying Crop Responses to Climate Factors at Different Plant Scales

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Dr. David Fleisher

United States Department of Agriculture

Monday November 25, 2019, 12 PM

ESSIC Conference Room 4102, 5825 University Research Ct, College Park, MD 20740

Abstract:

Changes in climatic factors from their historical means will profoundly impact crop production in the majority of agriculturally productive regions throughout the world. Tools to understand and quantify effects of these changes on major crop commodities are a necessity to assess impact on global future food security and develop adaptation methods. Data from controlled environment growth chambers is particularly useful for this purpose because it permits measurement of crop response to one or more factors varied independently from other production inputs. In this talk, experimental results obtained from soil-plant-atmosphere research chambers on the response of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), as an example crop, to the influence of temperature (T), atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration (C), and water availability (W), and their interactions, are summarized. The concept of explanatory, process-level crop modeling, along with methods used to develop, parameterize, and validate these decision support tools utilizing this experimental data, will be addressed. The USDA-ARS SPUDSIM potato model, based on coupled leaf-level gas exchange and energy balance routines scaled to the whole canopy, is used as an example model. Illustrative model applications, including a regional-scale food security study, will be discussed.

Bio-sketch:

Dr. David Fleisher is Lead Scientist and Research Agricultural Engineer at the USDA-Agricultural Research Services’ Adaptive Cropping Systems Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland. Dr. Fleisher earned an interdisciplinary doctoral degree in Plant Biology and Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University in 2001. During this time he developed methodology to link mathematical crop models with applied control systems theory for use in NASA’s Advance Life Support Systems program. His current research consists of over 25 years of hands-on experience working with economically important crops in laboratory and field settings. These studies connect with development of novel conceptual and mathematical paradigms to explain how factors influencing plant production at one level of hierarchy scale up to the entire plant and larger spatial scales. He is an internationally recognized authority on agricultural systems modeling, quantification of abiotic stress on crop growth and development, and regional food security studies. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications and made over 70 presentations, many of which were at the invitation of international colleagues. Dr. Fleisher continues to provide leadership in national and international projects, including the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP).

Contact:

For more details, contact the host of the seminar, Prof. Xin-Zhong Liang, xliang@umd.edu

Webinar info:

Event site: http://go.umd.edu/fleisher

Event number: 735 257 792
Event password: essic
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