Precision agriculture: introduction to the spatial and temporal variability of environmental quality

Precision agriculture aims at adjusting and fine-tuning land and crop management to the needs of plants within heterogeneous fields. Production aspects have to be balanced against environmental threshold values and modern information technology has made it possible to devise operational field systems. A reactive approach is described, using yield maps and sensors. A proactive approach uses simulation modelling of plant growth and solute fluxes to predict optimal timing of management practices. Precision agriculture, combining both approaches, is seen as making a major contribution towards the development of sustainable agricultural production systems.