This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.

Unclaimed
Francisco J. Moral
Departamento de Expresión Gráfica, Escuela de Ingenierías Industriales, Universidad de Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain

Honors and Awards

The user has no records in this section


Career Timeline

The user has no records in this section.


Short Biography

The user biography is not available.
Following
Followers
Co Authors
The list of users this user is following is empty.
Following: 0 users

Feed

Journal article
Published: 29 July 2021 in Sustainability
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Climate change is having many effects in the agricultural sector, which are being studied worldwide. Undoubtedly, warmer winters and earlier springs produce changes in frost regimes and severity that will affect the sustainability of agricultural production in the area. The Mediterranean region and the Iberian Peninsula (IP) are among the areas where the greatest impact of climate change is expected. Daily data from 68 weather stations of the IP belonging to the European Climate Assessment and Dataset (1975–2018) were used to conduct a spatiotemporal study of the frost regime. The variables calculated include the probability of three frost types according to their severity, frost day, mean absolute minimum yearly temperature, first frost day, last frost day, and frost-free period. These variables were integrated into a geographic information system, which allowed the graphical visualization of their patterns using of geostatistical interpolation techniques (kriging). Changes in frost variables were investigated using the Mann–Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimator. A general reduction in the number of frosts per year is observed (values between −0.04- and −0.8-day frosts per year), as well as an increase in the mean absolute minimum temperature (values between 0.04 and 0.10 °C per year), with very high significant trends throughout the territory. The reduction in the number of frosts is more pronounced at a higher elevation. Frost dates vary greatly due to the orographic characteristics of the IP. The generalized trend is of a significant delay of the autumn frosts (values between 0.4 and 1.06 days/year), as well as early spring frosts (between −0.429 and −1.29 days/year), and as a consequence a longer frost-free period, all changes were much stronger than those found in other regions of the world. These effects of climate change must be mitigated by modifying species, varieties, and cultivation techniques to guarantee sustainable agriculture.

ACS Style

Abelardo García-Martín; Luis Paniagua; Francisco Moral; Francisco Rebollo; María Rozas. Spatiotemporal Analysis of the Frost Regime in the Iberian Peninsula in the Context of Climate Change (1975–2018). Sustainability 2021, 13, 8491 .

AMA Style

Abelardo García-Martín, Luis Paniagua, Francisco Moral, Francisco Rebollo, María Rozas. Spatiotemporal Analysis of the Frost Regime in the Iberian Peninsula in the Context of Climate Change (1975–2018). Sustainability. 2021; 13 (15):8491.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Abelardo García-Martín; Luis Paniagua; Francisco Moral; Francisco Rebollo; María Rozas. 2021. "Spatiotemporal Analysis of the Frost Regime in the Iberian Peninsula in the Context of Climate Change (1975–2018)." Sustainability 13, no. 15: 8491.

Journal article
Published: 03 March 2021 in Sustainability
Reads 0
Downloads 0

The Montado is an agro-silvo-pastoral ecosystem characteristic of the Mediterranean region. Pasture productivity and, consequently, the possibilities for intensifying livestock production depend on soil fertility. Soil organic matter (SOM) and phosphorus (P2O5) are two indicators of the evolution of soil fertility in this ecosystem. However, their conventional analytical determination by reference laboratory methods is costly, time consuming, and laborious and, thus, does not meet the needs of current production systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate an alternative approach to estimate SOM and soil P2O5 based on near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) combined with multivariate data analysis. For this purpose, 242 topsoil samples were collected in 2019 in eleven fields. These samples were subjected to reference laboratory analysis and NIRS analysis. For NIRS, 165 samples were used during the calibration phase and 77 samples were used during the external validation phase. The results of this study showed significant correlation between NIRS calibration models and reference methods for quantification of these soil parameters. The coefficient of determination (R2, 0.85 for SOM and 0.76 for P2O5) and the residual predictive deviation (RPD, 2.7 for SOM and 2.2 for P2O5) obtained in external validation indicated the potential of NIRS to estimate SOM and P2O5, which can facilitate farm managers’ decision making in terms of dynamic management of animal grazing and differential fertilizer application.

ACS Style

João Serrano; Shakib Shahidian; José Marques da Silva; Luís Paixão; Mário de Carvalho; Francisco Moral; Julio Nogales-Bueno; Ricardo Teixeira; Marjan Jongen; Tiago Domingos; Ana Rato. Evaluation of Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) for Estimating Soil Organic Matter and Phosphorus in Mediterranean Montado Ecosystem. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2734 .

AMA Style

João Serrano, Shakib Shahidian, José Marques da Silva, Luís Paixão, Mário de Carvalho, Francisco Moral, Julio Nogales-Bueno, Ricardo Teixeira, Marjan Jongen, Tiago Domingos, Ana Rato. Evaluation of Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) for Estimating Soil Organic Matter and Phosphorus in Mediterranean Montado Ecosystem. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (5):2734.

Chicago/Turabian Style

João Serrano; Shakib Shahidian; José Marques da Silva; Luís Paixão; Mário de Carvalho; Francisco Moral; Julio Nogales-Bueno; Ricardo Teixeira; Marjan Jongen; Tiago Domingos; Ana Rato. 2021. "Evaluation of Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) for Estimating Soil Organic Matter and Phosphorus in Mediterranean Montado Ecosystem." Sustainability 13, no. 5: 2734.

Journal article
Published: 13 February 2021 in Agronomy
Reads 0
Downloads 0

The knowledge of the chilling requirements for breaking rest and flowering of fruit trees is necessary to properly select cultivars and to avoid losses due to an inappropriate cultivar selection in a particular geographical location. With the aim of providing an analysis using three models (Chilling Hours, Utah Model, and Positive Utah Model) to estimate the accumulation of winter chilling, quantifying its spatial variability and representing the spatial pattern throughout mainland Spain, temperature data from 72 meteorological stations, considering the 1975–2015 period, were utilized. The statistical properties of values corresponding to each winter chilling model were assessed and, later, they were mapped by means of an integrated geographic information system (GIS) and a multivariate geostatistics (regression-kriging) and algebra map approach. The results show that measures obtained with the three chilling models were highly related, which were used to visualize the spatial variability of the accumulated winter chilling considering each model. Moreover, the fact that elevation and latitude are related to the chilling hours enables their use as auxiliary variables to better estimate at unsampled locations and generate more accurate maps. Knowledge of the spatial patterns of chill accumulation in different areas of mainland Spain is of great importance when appropriate fruit trees and cultivars have to be selected. Moreover, if a high probability of satisfying the chilling requirements in any area is considered, quantile maps can be used instead of maps based on mean values. Finally, the potential spatial distributions of three sweet cherry cultivars were delineated using the obtained maps.

ACS Style

Francisco J. Moral; Abelardo García-Martín; Francisco J. Rebollo; María A. Rozas; Luis L. Paniagua. GIS-Based Analysis and Mapping of the Winter Chilling Hours in Mainland Spain. Application to Some Sweet Cherry Cultivars. Agronomy 2021, 11, 330 .

AMA Style

Francisco J. Moral, Abelardo García-Martín, Francisco J. Rebollo, María A. Rozas, Luis L. Paniagua. GIS-Based Analysis and Mapping of the Winter Chilling Hours in Mainland Spain. Application to Some Sweet Cherry Cultivars. Agronomy. 2021; 11 (2):330.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francisco J. Moral; Abelardo García-Martín; Francisco J. Rebollo; María A. Rozas; Luis L. Paniagua. 2021. "GIS-Based Analysis and Mapping of the Winter Chilling Hours in Mainland Spain. Application to Some Sweet Cherry Cultivars." Agronomy 11, no. 2: 330.

Journal article
Published: 06 December 2020 in Water
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Climate change, especially the trend towards global warming, will significantly affect the global hydrological cycle, leading to a general reduction of the water available for agriculture. In this scenario, it is essential that research should focus on the development of ‘water saving’ techniques and technologies. This work summarizes the methodology followed in a project for large scale implementation of variable rate irrigation (VRI) systems using center pivots in corn crop. This is based on technologies for monitoring (i) soil electrical conductivity (ECa) and altimetry, (ii) soil moisture content, (iii) vegetation indices (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI) obtained from satellite images, and automatic pivot travel speed control technologies. ECa maps were the basis for the definition of first homogeneous management zones (HMZ) in an experimental corn field of 28 ha. NDVI time-series were used to establish the subsequent HMZ and the respective dynamic prescription irrigation maps. The main result of this study was the reduction of spatial yield variability with the VRI management in 2017 compared to the conventional irrigation management. This study demonstrates how a relatively simple approach could be designed and implemented on a large scale, which represents an important and sustainable contribution to the resolution of practical farmer issues.

ACS Style

João Serrano; Shakib Shahidian; José Marques Da Silva; Luís Paixão; Francisco Moral; Rafael Carmona-Cabezas; Sónia Garcia; José Palha; João Noéme. Mapping Management Zones Based on Soil Apparent Electrical Conductivity and Remote Sensing for Implementation of Variable Rate Irrigation—Case Study of Corn under a Center Pivot. Water 2020, 12, 3427 .

AMA Style

João Serrano, Shakib Shahidian, José Marques Da Silva, Luís Paixão, Francisco Moral, Rafael Carmona-Cabezas, Sónia Garcia, José Palha, João Noéme. Mapping Management Zones Based on Soil Apparent Electrical Conductivity and Remote Sensing for Implementation of Variable Rate Irrigation—Case Study of Corn under a Center Pivot. Water. 2020; 12 (12):3427.

Chicago/Turabian Style

João Serrano; Shakib Shahidian; José Marques Da Silva; Luís Paixão; Francisco Moral; Rafael Carmona-Cabezas; Sónia Garcia; José Palha; João Noéme. 2020. "Mapping Management Zones Based on Soil Apparent Electrical Conductivity and Remote Sensing for Implementation of Variable Rate Irrigation—Case Study of Corn under a Center Pivot." Water 12, no. 12: 3427.

Article
Published: 21 September 2020 in Precision Agriculture
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Soils occupied by dryland pastures usually have low fertility but can exhibit a high spatial variability. Consequently, logical application of fertilisers should be based on an appropriate knowledge of spatial variability of the main soil properties that can affect pasture yield and quality. Delineation of zones with similar soil fertility is necessary to implement site-specific management, reinforcing the interest of methods to identify these homogeneous zones. Thus, the formulation of the objective Rasch model constitutes a new approach in pasture fields. A case study was performed in a pasture field located in a montado (agrosilvopastoral) ecosystem. Measurements of some soil properties (texture, organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, cation exchange capacity and soil apparent electrical conductivity) at 24 sampling locations were integrated in the Rasch model. A classification of all sampling locations according to pasture soil fertility was established. Moreover, the influence of each soil property on the soil fertility was highlighted, with the clay content the most influential property in this sandy soil. Then, a clustering process was undertaken to delimit the homogeneous zones, considering soil pasture fertility, elevation and slope as the input layers. Three zones were delineated and vegetation indices (normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI, and normalized difference water index, NDWI) and pasture yield data at sampling locations were employed to check their differences. Results showed that vegetation indices were not suitable to detect the spatial variability between zones. However, differences in pasture yield and quality were evident, besides some key soil properties, such as clay content and organic matter.

ACS Style

F. J. Moral; F. J. Rebollo; J. M. Serrano; F. Carvajal. Mapping management zones in a sandy pasture soil using an objective model and multivariate techniques. Precision Agriculture 2020, 22, 800 -817.

AMA Style

F. J. Moral, F. J. Rebollo, J. M. Serrano, F. Carvajal. Mapping management zones in a sandy pasture soil using an objective model and multivariate techniques. Precision Agriculture. 2020; 22 (3):800-817.

Chicago/Turabian Style

F. J. Moral; F. J. Rebollo; J. M. Serrano; F. Carvajal. 2020. "Mapping management zones in a sandy pasture soil using an objective model and multivariate techniques." Precision Agriculture 22, no. 3: 800-817.

Journal article
Published: 06 May 2020 in Sustainability
Reads 0
Downloads 0

The Montado ecosystem, predominant in the Mediterranean region, consists of poor soils, a sparse cover of cork and holm with an understory of natural biodiverse pastures, grazed by animals in extensive regime. The recommended procedure for increasing productivity of these pastures is based on the application of phosphate fertilizer. One of the main productivity-limiting factors is, however, associated with soil acidity. The objective of this work was to evaluate the simultaneous effect of the holm oak canopy and the application of dolomitic lime on the productivity and quality of a permanent biodiverse pasture, grazed by sheep, in an acid soil (pH = 5.4 ± 0.3). Pasture was monitored at the end of autumn 2018 and winter and spring 2019. The results show that amendment of soil acidity is a slow and gradual process that improves soil Mg/Mn ratio and has a positive impact on pasture productivity and quality. Pasture crude protein availability (CP, kg·ha−1), which is based on both pasture dry matter yield (kg·ha−1) and quality (CP, %), proved to be a very practical indicator of the contributions of tree canopy and soil acidity correction to the holistic management of the Montado ecosystem.

ACS Style

João Serrano; Shakib Shahidian; José Marques Da Silva; Francisco Moral; Fernando Carvajal-Ramirez; Emanuel Carreira; Alfredo Pereira; Mário De Carvalho. Evaluation of the Effect of Dolomitic Lime Application on Pastures—Case Study in the Montado Mediterranean Ecosystem. Sustainability 2020, 12, 3758 .

AMA Style

João Serrano, Shakib Shahidian, José Marques Da Silva, Francisco Moral, Fernando Carvajal-Ramirez, Emanuel Carreira, Alfredo Pereira, Mário De Carvalho. Evaluation of the Effect of Dolomitic Lime Application on Pastures—Case Study in the Montado Mediterranean Ecosystem. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (9):3758.

Chicago/Turabian Style

João Serrano; Shakib Shahidian; José Marques Da Silva; Francisco Moral; Fernando Carvajal-Ramirez; Emanuel Carreira; Alfredo Pereira; Mário De Carvalho. 2020. "Evaluation of the Effect of Dolomitic Lime Application on Pastures—Case Study in the Montado Mediterranean Ecosystem." Sustainability 12, no. 9: 3758.

Journal article
Published: 25 April 2020 in AgriEngineering
Reads 0
Downloads 0

The estimation of pasture productivity is of great interest for the management of animal grazing. The standard method of assessing pasture mass requires great effort and expense to collect enough samples to accurately represent a pasture. This work presents the results of a long-term study to calibrate a Grassmaster II capacitance probe to estimate pasture productivity in two phases: (i) the calibration phase (2007–2018), which included measurements in 1411 sampling points in three parcels; and (ii) the validation phase (2019), which included measurements in 216 sampling points in eight parcels. A regression analysis was performed between the capacitance (CMR) measured by the probe and values of pasture green matter and dry matter (respectively, GM and DM, in kg ha−1). The results showed significant correlations between GM and CMR and between DM and CMR, especially in the early stages of pasture growth cycle. The analysis of the data grouped by classes of pasture moisture content (PMC) shows higher correlation coefficients for PMC content >80% (r = 0.775; p < 0.01; RMSE = 4806 kg ha−1 and CVRMSE = 28.1% for GM; r = 0.750; p < 0.01; RMSE = 763 kg ha−1 and CVRMSE = 29.7% for DM), with a clear tendency for the accuracy to decrease when the pasture vegetative cycle advances and, consequently, the PMC decreases. The validation of calibration equations when PMC > 80% showed a good approximation between GM or DM measured and GM or DM predicted (r = 0.959; p < 0.01; RMSE = 3191 kg ha−1; CVRMSE = 23.6% for GM; r = 0.953; p 80%.

ACS Style

João Serrano; Shakib Shahidian; Francisco Moral; Fernando Carvajal-Ramirez; José Marques Da Silva. Estimation of Productivity in Dryland Mediterranean Pastures: Long-Term Field Tests to Calibration and Validation of the Grassmaster II Probe. AgriEngineering 2020, 2, 240 -255.

AMA Style

João Serrano, Shakib Shahidian, Francisco Moral, Fernando Carvajal-Ramirez, José Marques Da Silva. Estimation of Productivity in Dryland Mediterranean Pastures: Long-Term Field Tests to Calibration and Validation of the Grassmaster II Probe. AgriEngineering. 2020; 2 (2):240-255.

Chicago/Turabian Style

João Serrano; Shakib Shahidian; Francisco Moral; Fernando Carvajal-Ramirez; José Marques Da Silva. 2020. "Estimation of Productivity in Dryland Mediterranean Pastures: Long-Term Field Tests to Calibration and Validation of the Grassmaster II Probe." AgriEngineering 2, no. 2: 240-255.

Original article
Published: 08 November 2019 in International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management
Reads 0
Downloads 0

In this work, the use of an objective method, the formulation of the Rasch measurement model, which synthesizes data from different susceptible elements for maintenance (SEM) and healthcare units (HU) into a uniform analytical framework, is considered to get representative measures of corrective maintenance demand in an hospital. Thus, information about 10 SEM and 33 HU were obtained from two hospital located in Badajoz (Spain) to be treated. A latent variable, denominated corrective maintenance demand, was defined. It is supposed, and later it is verified, that all SEM previously indicated have a marked influence on the latent variable. The adequate assignment of categorical values across SEM measures and the good fit of the data are checked as a previous phase to properly compute the Rasch measures. After applying the Rasch methodology, it was obtained that the mean corrective maintenance demand of HU is lower than expected, but significative differences between units are apparent. Those which care for high risk patients, as liver transplant, intensive care, and internal medicine, are the most influential units on corrective maintenance demand, getting moreover a ranking of all HU according to their corrective maintenance demand. Similarly, another ranking of all SEM is provided, being hospital furniture the item that exerts the highest influence on corrective maintenance demand. Moreover, the unexpected behaviors, called misfits, of some HU and SEM constitute a very useful information to better know the hospital requirements and correctly allocate the work hours in the maintenance management program. Consequently, the Rasch measurement model is a very useful tool for decision making related to corrective maintenance cost management and their correct attribution to each healthcare unit.

ACS Style

Francisco J. Moral; Francisco J. Rebollo; Luis Foz; Francisco Méndez. Using an objective measurement model to determine the corrective maintenance demand in the field of hospital engineering. International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management 2019, 10, 1567 -1576.

AMA Style

Francisco J. Moral, Francisco J. Rebollo, Luis Foz, Francisco Méndez. Using an objective measurement model to determine the corrective maintenance demand in the field of hospital engineering. International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management. 2019; 10 (6):1567-1576.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francisco J. Moral; Francisco J. Rebollo; Luis Foz; Francisco Méndez. 2019. "Using an objective measurement model to determine the corrective maintenance demand in the field of hospital engineering." International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management 10, no. 6: 1567-1576.

Article
Published: 01 October 2019 in Precision Agriculture
Reads 0
Downloads 0

In recent years, different algorithms have been utilised to delineate management zones, areas with similar properties, within agricultural fields. However, there are few applications in pasture systems. In this work, the formulation of the Rasch model, as an objective and probabilistic technique to integrate different soil properties, provided measures of pasture soil fertility that were used to analyse spatial variability throughout a field. To illustrate the proposed approach, a case study was conducted in a pasture field. Ten soil properties (sand, silt, and clay contents, moisture content, pH, organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and soil apparent electrical conductivity) were measured at 76 locations in a pasture field; after their integration in the model, a classification of all sampling locations according to pasture soil fertility was determined, and the influence of each soil property on the soil fertility was highlighted, with the soil moisture, clay, and sand contents and nitrogen being the most influential properties and the silt content being the least influential property. Then, an ordinary kriging algorithm was used to estimate pasture soil fertility throughout the field, and homogeneous zones were delimited from the kriged map. The possibility of using probability maps to determine management zones and provide information for hazard assessments of pasture soil fertility in the field was also shown. Finally, NDVI data at each sampling location were utilised to verify the differences between the management zones.

ACS Style

Francisco J. Moral; Francisco J. Rebollo; João M. Serrano. Delineating site-specific management zones on pasture soil using a probabilistic and objective model and geostatistical techniques. Precision Agriculture 2019, 21, 620 -636.

AMA Style

Francisco J. Moral, Francisco J. Rebollo, João M. Serrano. Delineating site-specific management zones on pasture soil using a probabilistic and objective model and geostatistical techniques. Precision Agriculture. 2019; 21 (3):620-636.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francisco J. Moral; Francisco J. Rebollo; João M. Serrano. 2019. "Delineating site-specific management zones on pasture soil using a probabilistic and objective model and geostatistical techniques." Precision Agriculture 21, no. 3: 620-636.

Journal article
Published: 25 September 2019 in Applied Sciences
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Atmospheric pollution is affected by different individual pollutants (IP) and climatic factors (CF). In this work, the formulation of the Rasch model is proposed to get representative measures of atmospheric pollution in two urban locations, Badajoz and Cáceres, and one rural site, the Monfragüe Park (Southwest Spain). After applying the Rasch methodology, the ranking of all days was obtained according to their atmospheric pollution level and the influence on the environmental deterioration of each IP and CF (NO2, NO, SO2, O3, CO, benzene, PM10, precipitation, relative humidity, solar radiation, air temperature, and barometric pressure). The most influential items on atmospheric pollution are the O3 and the CF, mainly the lack of precipitation and those related to ozone generation (air temperature and solar radiation). Other IP exert a lower influence at both urban locations, being irrelevant at the Monfragüe Park. Unexpected behaviors of the CF or IP can be also analyzed.

ACS Style

Francisco J. Moral; Francisco J. Rebollo; Pablo Valiente; Fernando López. Modeling of Atmospheric Pollution in Urban and Rural Sites Using a Probabilistic and Objective Approach. Applied Sciences 2019, 9, 4009 .

AMA Style

Francisco J. Moral, Francisco J. Rebollo, Pablo Valiente, Fernando López. Modeling of Atmospheric Pollution in Urban and Rural Sites Using a Probabilistic and Objective Approach. Applied Sciences. 2019; 9 (19):4009.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francisco J. Moral; Francisco J. Rebollo; Pablo Valiente; Fernando López. 2019. "Modeling of Atmospheric Pollution in Urban and Rural Sites Using a Probabilistic and Objective Approach." Applied Sciences 9, no. 19: 4009.

Conference paper
Published: 08 July 2019 in Precision agriculture ’19
Reads 0
Downloads 0
ACS Style

F.J. Moral; F.J. Rebollo; J.M. Serrano. Delineation of management zones in an agrosylvopastoral ecosystem based on the Rasch model. Precision agriculture ’19 2019, 1 .

AMA Style

F.J. Moral, F.J. Rebollo, J.M. Serrano. Delineation of management zones in an agrosylvopastoral ecosystem based on the Rasch model. Precision agriculture ’19. 2019; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

F.J. Moral; F.J. Rebollo; J.M. Serrano. 2019. "Delineation of management zones in an agrosylvopastoral ecosystem based on the Rasch model." Precision agriculture ’19 , no. : 1.

Conference paper
Published: 08 July 2019 in Precision agriculture ’19
Reads 0
Downloads 0
ACS Style

F.J. Moral; F.J. Rebollo; S. Millán; H. Prieto; J.M. Pérez; C. Campillo. Can satellite-derived vigour maps be used to delineate homogeneous zones in hedgerow olive orchards? Precision agriculture ’19 2019, 1 .

AMA Style

F.J. Moral, F.J. Rebollo, S. Millán, H. Prieto, J.M. Pérez, C. Campillo. Can satellite-derived vigour maps be used to delineate homogeneous zones in hedgerow olive orchards? Precision agriculture ’19. 2019; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

F.J. Moral; F.J. Rebollo; S. Millán; H. Prieto; J.M. Pérez; C. Campillo. 2019. "Can satellite-derived vigour maps be used to delineate homogeneous zones in hedgerow olive orchards?" Precision agriculture ’19 , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 27 June 2019 in Soil and Tillage Research
Reads 0
Downloads 0

The first stage to implement site-specific crop management (SSCM) within an agricultural field consists in determining subfields of similar production potential, that is, management zones (MZ). Different approaches have been proposed to delineate MZ, but sometimes results are inaccurate and unsatisfactory. In this study, the formulation of the Rasch measurement model, as an objective method which synthesizes data with different units into a uniform analytical framework, is considered to calculate measures of production potential at some locations of an olive orchard. Later, they can be used to delimit MZ. With the aim of illustrating this approach, nine soil properties (soil apparent electrical conductivity, clay, sand, and silt content, organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorous and potassium, and cation exchange capacity) measured from soil samples taken at 40 locations in a field were considered. The main results, after applying the Rasch model, were a ranking of all locations according to the soil production potential and another one in which the influence on the production potential of each individual soil property is shown. Moreover, those soil samples or properties which have any anomaly where highlighted; this information can be necessary to conduct site-specific treatments, leading to a more cost-effective and sustainable field management. Additionally, estimates using geostatistical algorithms were utilised to map soil production potential and to delineate with a rational basis the MZ in the field.

ACS Style

F.J. Moral; F.J. Rebollo; C. Campillo; João Serrano. Using an objective and probabilistic model to delineate homogeneous zones in hedgerow olive orchards. Soil and Tillage Research 2019, 194, 104308 .

AMA Style

F.J. Moral, F.J. Rebollo, C. Campillo, João Serrano. Using an objective and probabilistic model to delineate homogeneous zones in hedgerow olive orchards. Soil and Tillage Research. 2019; 194 ():104308.

Chicago/Turabian Style

F.J. Moral; F.J. Rebollo; C. Campillo; João Serrano. 2019. "Using an objective and probabilistic model to delineate homogeneous zones in hedgerow olive orchards." Soil and Tillage Research 194, no. : 104308.

Journal article
Published: 23 May 2019 in Energies
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Forests can be exploited for obtaining biomass, which belongs to a bioenergy group with great energy potential that could replace fossil fuels. This article presents a novel procedure to quantify, map and define biomass, which takes into account both environmental and economic issues. With regard to the environment, only the annual growth of tree species is considered, and not the previous stocks. The growth is determined by logarithmic equations through an original procedure supported by a biomass estimator, which represents the amount of biomass generated annually for energy use, and by means of Excel tables, the exploitable biomass values are obtained. Previously, and by using GIS, areas with slopes exceeding 20% are discarded, thus avoiding soil erosion and damage, and in any case that biomass is not extracted for economic reasons. The same procedure is followed, discarding those areas located more than 4 km from forest roads and runways, as transport costs are increased. Finally, those layers with low energy potential are eliminated as well. Therefore, annually selected quantities of biomass can be obtained safely and abundantly by using detailed distribution maps of the resources, and through planning and performing efficient forestry extraction works.

ACS Style

Fernando López-Rodríguez; Justo García Sanz-Calcedo; Francisco J. Moral-García. Spatial Analysis of Residual Biomass and Location of Future Storage Centers in the Southwest of Europe. Energies 2019, 12, 1978 .

AMA Style

Fernando López-Rodríguez, Justo García Sanz-Calcedo, Francisco J. Moral-García. Spatial Analysis of Residual Biomass and Location of Future Storage Centers in the Southwest of Europe. Energies. 2019; 12 (10):1978.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fernando López-Rodríguez; Justo García Sanz-Calcedo; Francisco J. Moral-García. 2019. "Spatial Analysis of Residual Biomass and Location of Future Storage Centers in the Southwest of Europe." Energies 12, no. 10: 1978.

Journal article
Published: 26 April 2019 in Remote Sensing
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Fire severity is a key factor for management of post-fire vegetation regeneration strategies because it quantifies the impact of fire, describing the amount of damage. Several indices have been developed for estimation of fire severity based on terrestrial observation by satellite imagery. In order to avoid the implicit limitations of this kind of data, this work employed an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) carrying a high-resolution multispectral sensor including green, red, near-infrared, and red edge bands. Flights were carried out pre- and post-controlled fire in a Mediterranean forest. The products obtained from the UAV-photogrammetric projects based on the Structure from Motion (SfM) algorithm were a Digital Surface Model (DSM) and multispectral images orthorectified in both periods and co-registered in the same absolute coordinate system to find the temporal differences (d) between pre- and post-fire values of the Excess Green Index (EGI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Normalized Difference Red Edge (NDRE) index. The differences of indices (dEGI, dNDVI, and dNDRE) were reclassified into fire severity classes, which were compared with the reference data identified through the in situ fire damage location and Artificial Neural Network classification. Applying an error matrix analysis to the three difference of indices, the overall Kappa accuracies of the severity maps were 0.411, 0.563, and 0.211 and the Cramer’s Value statistics were 0.411, 0.582, and 0.269 for dEGI, dNDVI, and dNDRE, respectively. The chi-square test, used to compare the average of each severity class, determined that there were no significant differences between the three severity maps, with a 95% confidence level. It was concluded that dNDVI was the index that best estimated the fire severity according to the UAV flight conditions and sensor specifications.

ACS Style

Fernando Carvajal-Ramírez; José Rafael Marques Da Silva; Francisco Agüera-Vega; Patricio Martínez-Carricondo; João Serrano; Francisco Jesús Moral. Evaluation of Fire Severity Indices Based on Pre- and Post-Fire Multispectral Imagery Sensed from UAV. Remote Sensing 2019, 11, 993 .

AMA Style

Fernando Carvajal-Ramírez, José Rafael Marques Da Silva, Francisco Agüera-Vega, Patricio Martínez-Carricondo, João Serrano, Francisco Jesús Moral. Evaluation of Fire Severity Indices Based on Pre- and Post-Fire Multispectral Imagery Sensed from UAV. Remote Sensing. 2019; 11 (9):993.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fernando Carvajal-Ramírez; José Rafael Marques Da Silva; Francisco Agüera-Vega; Patricio Martínez-Carricondo; João Serrano; Francisco Jesús Moral. 2019. "Evaluation of Fire Severity Indices Based on Pre- and Post-Fire Multispectral Imagery Sensed from UAV." Remote Sensing 11, no. 9: 993.

Original paper
Published: 24 April 2019 in Theoretical and Applied Climatology
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Aridity is a climatic characteristic that has a significant impact on many aspects of life, mainly in agriculture but also in other economic sectors, and temperature and precipitation are the variables by which the effects of aridity can be measured. It is necessary to know its distribution and trend in different climate change scenarios. The Iberian Peninsula presents a strong contrasting climate, comprising both humid and very dry regions. Forty-five climatic time series were used to perform a spatial and temporal analysis and to identify possible points of trend change in annual aridity for the period from 1960 to 2017. Two indices were considered: the De Martonne Index (IDM) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Index (IF). By means of ordinary kriging, maps of spatial, temporal, and trend distributions were made. The trends of the aridity indices, annual temperature, and annual precipitation were analysed by applying the techniques of the modified Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s estimator; furthermore, to identify gaps of years in the series, the Buishand range test was used. The results showed a significant average annual temperature increase at all stations. Although annual precipitation decreased across the board, this decrease was not significant. Semi-arid was the dominant class, although the study area showed great variability, i.e. from extremely humid areas to arid zones. Forty-one out of the 45 series presented increasing aridity during the study period, although the trend was significant in only 16 of the series. From the Buishand range test for both aridity indices, the results revealed a noteworthy changing point for IDM and for IF. Although the changing point was variable, it was concentrated around the late 1970s and early 1980s, and from that period, the aridity tendency was dependent on the analysed series.

ACS Style

L.L. Paniagua; A. García-Martín; Francisco J. Moral; F.J. Rebollo. Aridity in the Iberian Peninsula (1960–2017): distribution, tendencies, and changes. Theoretical and Applied Climatology 2019, 138, 811 -830.

AMA Style

L.L. Paniagua, A. García-Martín, Francisco J. Moral, F.J. Rebollo. Aridity in the Iberian Peninsula (1960–2017): distribution, tendencies, and changes. Theoretical and Applied Climatology. 2019; 138 (1-2):811-830.

Chicago/Turabian Style

L.L. Paniagua; A. García-Martín; Francisco J. Moral; F.J. Rebollo. 2019. "Aridity in the Iberian Peninsula (1960–2017): distribution, tendencies, and changes." Theoretical and Applied Climatology 138, no. 1-2: 811-830.

Research paper
Published: 02 April 2019 in Annals of Forest Science
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Oak shoot browning is spatially widespread throughout the region of Extremadura (SW Spain) following an aggregative distribution pattern, with a much higher prevalence in cork than in holm oak. Shoot browning is considered a potential contributing or inciting factor to oak decline in SW Iberia. Two causal agents are typically involved, Coraebus florentinus Herbst and a fungal complex in the genus Diplodia Fries (teleomorph Botryosphaeria De Cesati & De Notaris). Our goals were to map oak shoot browning incidence in Extremadura and to explore geographical/environmental factors potentially involved using a novel image-based prospecting method. We used online imagery provided by Google Maps/Google Street View. A virtual sampling protocol permitted to inspect, characterise and georeference forest stands and damaged oaks throughout > 5000 km of navigation. Geostatistical interpolation analyses (Indicator Kriging algorithm) and validation processes were conducted to generate probability maps of shoot browning incidence. We prospected 6478 forest stands in which 3410 oaks with shoot browning symptoms were identified and georeferenced. Damage had a clustered distribution pattern both at the regional scale (IK-based probability maps) and the stand scale (fitting to negative binomial function). Factors such as oak species, stand type (pure vs. mixed), treetop orientation, tree aspect, altitude, ground slope and some interactions among them significantly affected shoot browning incidence. We provide the first integrating overview on the distribution and prevalence of oak shoot browning at a regional scale in SW Spain and we also define the effects of some geographical/ecological factors involved.

ACS Style

Luis M. Torres-Vila; A. Cristina Echave-Sanabria; F. Javier Mendiola-Díaz; Francisco J. Moral. Mapping oak shoot browning in SW Spain using online imagery as virtual prospecting tool. Annals of Forest Science 2019, 76, 32 .

AMA Style

Luis M. Torres-Vila, A. Cristina Echave-Sanabria, F. Javier Mendiola-Díaz, Francisco J. Moral. Mapping oak shoot browning in SW Spain using online imagery as virtual prospecting tool. Annals of Forest Science. 2019; 76 (2):32.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Luis M. Torres-Vila; A. Cristina Echave-Sanabria; F. Javier Mendiola-Díaz; Francisco J. Moral. 2019. "Mapping oak shoot browning in SW Spain using online imagery as virtual prospecting tool." Annals of Forest Science 76, no. 2: 32.

Journal article
Published: 04 March 2019 in Water
Reads 0
Downloads 0

It is of vital importance in statistical distributions to fit rainfall data to determine the maximum amount of rainfall expected for a specific hydraulic work. Otherwise, the hydraulic capacity study could be erroneous, with the tragic consequences that this would entail. This study aims to present the Dagum distribution as a new statistical tool to calculate rainfall in front of frequent statistical distributions such as Gumbel, Log-Pearson Type III, Gen Extreme Value (GEV) and SQRT-ET max. The study was performed by collecting annual rainfall data from 52 meteorological stations in the province of Badajoz (Spain), using the statistical goodness-of-fit tests of Anderson–Darling and Kolmogorov–Smirnov to establish the degree of fitness of the Dagum distribution, applied to the maximum annual rainfall series. The results show that this distribution obtained a flow 21.92% greater than that with the traditional distributions. Therefore, in the Southwest of Spain, the Dagum distribution fits better to the observed rainfall data than other common statistical distributions, with respect to precision and calculus of hydraulics works and river flood plains.

ACS Style

Fernando López-Rodríguez; Justo García-Sanz-Calcedo; Francisco J. Moral-García; Antonio J. García-Conde. Statistical Study of Rainfall Control: The Dagum Distribution and Applicability to the Southwest of Spain. Water 2019, 11, 453 .

AMA Style

Fernando López-Rodríguez, Justo García-Sanz-Calcedo, Francisco J. Moral-García, Antonio J. García-Conde. Statistical Study of Rainfall Control: The Dagum Distribution and Applicability to the Southwest of Spain. Water. 2019; 11 (3):453.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fernando López-Rodríguez; Justo García-Sanz-Calcedo; Francisco J. Moral-García; Antonio J. García-Conde. 2019. "Statistical Study of Rainfall Control: The Dagum Distribution and Applicability to the Southwest of Spain." Water 11, no. 3: 453.

Journal article
Published: 25 January 2019 in Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Pasture soils can exhibit a high spatial variability which should be characterised to properly manage the yield potential of different within-field areas. Thus, with the aim of proposing an objective methodology to estimate the pasture soil fertility and, later, analyse its spatial pattern, the formulation of the probabilistic Rasch model constitutes a new approach in pasture fields. In this research, a case study was performed to illustrate the proposed method. Consequently, after taking some soil samples (34) and measuring different soil properties (sand, silt, and clay content, organic matter, phosphorus, potassium, moisture content, soil apparent electrical conductivity, elevation, and slope), the use of the Rasch model provides a integrated measure of pasture soil fertility at each sampling location, which can be computed using geostatistical algorithms to map its spatial distribution throughout the field. After verifying that data fit the model reasonably, the main outputs of the Rasch model were a ranking of all sampling locations according to the pasture soil fertility and another ranking of the soil properties according to their influence on the soil fertility, being the topographical properties (slope and elevation) the most influential. Later, the ordinary kriging algorithm was utilised to estimate soil fertility throughout the pasture field and the probability kriging algorithm was used to provide information for hazard assessment of pasture soil fertility, being both kriged maps the basis to delineate homogeneous zones. Finally, vegetation indices and pasture yield data at sampling points were employed to check that two zones previously determined were different. The analysis of zonal differences in pasture systems can lead to an optimal application of inputs and a more cost-effective management, with the associated environmental, economic, and energetic benefits.

ACS Style

F.J. Moral; F.J. Rebollo; J.M. Serrano. Estimating and mapping pasture soil fertility in a portuguese montado based on a objective model and geostatistical techniques. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 2019, 157, 500 -508.

AMA Style

F.J. Moral, F.J. Rebollo, J.M. Serrano. Estimating and mapping pasture soil fertility in a portuguese montado based on a objective model and geostatistical techniques. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 2019; 157 ():500-508.

Chicago/Turabian Style

F.J. Moral; F.J. Rebollo; J.M. Serrano. 2019. "Estimating and mapping pasture soil fertility in a portuguese montado based on a objective model and geostatistical techniques." Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 157, no. : 500-508.

Article
Published: 05 January 2019 in Precision Agriculture
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Usually, soils utilised for livestock production have similar high spatial variability as those for agricultural or forest use. As a consequence, it is necessary to determine the spatial patterns of the main soil properties as the first stage to implement site-specific management. However, this has to be performed using an inexpensive technique because the profitability in these types of farm are very low, so owners need a cheap, effective, and reliable method to know which zones have similar production potential. Using soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) measurements, obtained with a contact sensor at many locations, as the basis to perform a directed soil sampling, 10 samples were taken at two depths (0–0.25 m and 0.25–0.50 m) in a 2.3 ha field in Évora (southern Portugal). Firstly, relationships between ECa and many soil properties were analysed using regression analysis. Six soil properties (clay, silt, fine sand, soil moisture content, pH, and cation exchange capacity) were significantly correlated with ECa. Consequently, spatial distributions of these variables were visualised using map algebra techniques. Later, a fuzzy clustering algorithm was utilised to delineate management zones, resulting in two subfields to be managed separately. Finally, a principal component analysis was conducted to analyse the influence of the soil properties and elevation on the soil variability. It was determined that elevation and clay were the most important contributing properties. Therefore, these can be regarded as key latent variables in this soil. Results showed that low-cost data based on ECa surveys can be used to implement site-specific management in soils with permanent pastures, such as those in the montado or dehesa ecosystems, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula.

ACS Style

Francisco J. Moral; João M. Serrano. Using low-cost geophysical survey to map soil properties and delineate management zones on grazed permanent pastures. Precision Agriculture 2019, 20, 1000 -1014.

AMA Style

Francisco J. Moral, João M. Serrano. Using low-cost geophysical survey to map soil properties and delineate management zones on grazed permanent pastures. Precision Agriculture. 2019; 20 (5):1000-1014.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francisco J. Moral; João M. Serrano. 2019. "Using low-cost geophysical survey to map soil properties and delineate management zones on grazed permanent pastures." Precision Agriculture 20, no. 5: 1000-1014.