Clisagri: An R package for agro-climate services

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Climate Science
• Agronomy

Background:

• Extreme weather events significantly impact crop yields during critical growth phases.
• Assessing climate-related risks is crucial for effective agricultural management and loss mitigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a targeted climate service for agriculture.
• To integrate a dynamic crop phenology model with agro-climate risk indicators.
• To support adaptation strategies for durum wheat cultivation.

Main Methods:

• Developed agro-climate risk indicators in collaboration with agronomists and farmers.
• Defined indicators for drought, excessive wetness, cold stress, and heat stress.
• Implemented the approach as an R-package (Clisagri) with optimization functions.

Main Results:

• A novel climate service integrating crop phenology and risk indicators was created.
• Four groups of indicators were developed to assess specific climate stresses.
• The Clisagri R-package provides tools for risk assessment and variety selection.

Conclusions:

• The developed climate service and indicators aid in understanding and managing climate risks in agriculture.
• The Clisagri package offers practical tools for optimizing variety selection based on crop cycle duration.
• This approach supports resilient agricultural practices against adverse weather events.