Agricultural MeteorologyThen and Now:

Paradigm Shift to Sustainable Science

Raymond Desjardins C.M., FRSC, PhD.

Presented Nov. 20th 2019CMOS chapter in Ottawa, Canada

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Outline•Development and evolution of Agricultural Meteorology 1950s, 1960s and 1970s

•Adoption of a multidisciplinary research approach 1980s and 1990s

•A paradigm shift to sustainable science 2000s and 2010s

•Development and evolution of Agricultural Meteorology 1950s, 1960s and 1970s

•Adoption of a multidisciplinary research approach 1980s and 1990s

•A paradigm shift to sustainable science 2000s and 2010s

In 1950 there were many meteorological stations at Agriculture Canada research stations but no scientist with meteorological experience

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George Robertson (1951-1969)

• Crop development and weather• Project F.1.8.2- An investigation of the growth and development

of the main crops in relationship to their meteorological environments for eight locations (1953-57)

• “A Biometeorological Time Scale for Cereal Crop Involving Day andNight Temperatures and Photoperiod” by George W. Robertson, International Journal of Biometeorology (1968) 12:191–223

• Thomas Sinclair wrote in Crop Science vol. 58, Dec. 2018: George Robertson provided key concepts used yet today to describe the pace of plant development.

• http://cmosarchives.ca/History/History_Agrometerology_Robertson_1989.pdf

• CAgM under the World Meteorological Organization was established in 1953 4

Wolfgang Baier (1964-1983)

Crop weather analysis

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Developed models for estimating evapotranspiration and soil moisture (versatile soil moisture budget).

Developed models to better understand the factors influencing crop production

President of the CAgM, WMO (71-79)

1965 – present1965-1980 Agrometeorological studies

carried out by a few groups in Canada

1981-2000 Quantifying mass and energy exchange at a wide range of scales for some of the main ecosystems using a multidisciplinary approach

2001-2019 Sustainability metrics-Quantifying the carbon and water footprints of agricultural products 6

Agrometeorological studies (1965 – 1980)• Williams, G. D. V. and Robertson, G. W. 1965. Estimating most probable prairie wheat

production from precipitation data. Can. J. Plant Sci. 45: 34-47.• Baier, W. and Robertson, G. W. A. 1966. A new versatile soil-moisture budget. Can J.

Plant Sci. 46: 299-315.• Ouellet, C. E. and Sherk. L. C. 1967. Woody ornamental plant zonation. III. Suitability

map for the probable winter survival of ornamental trees and shrubs. Can. J. Plant Sci. 47: 351-358.

• Robertson, G. W. 1968. A biometeorological time scale for a cereal crop involving day and night temperatures and photoperiod. Int. J. Biometeorol. 12: 191-223.

• Baier, W. 1973. Crop-weather analysis model: Review and model development. J.

Appl. Meteorol. 12: 637-347.• Desjardins, R.L. (1974). A technique to measure CO2 exchange under field conditions.

International Journal of Biometeorology, 18(1): 76-83. • Desjardins, R.L. and Ouellet, C.E. 1980. Determination of the importance of various

phases of wheat growth on final yield. Agr. Meteorol. 22: 129-136.

• Other small teams: Mukammal CMS, King Guelph Univ, Douglas MacDonald College 7

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1981 - 2000 Quantifying mass and energy exchangeAircraft-based measurements of fluxes of CO2, & H2O by crops

6 CO2+ 6 H2O + light energy = C6H12O6 + 6 O2.

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National and international projects using a multidisciplinary approach (1980s - 1990s)

CODE

NOWES

SGP

SMEX

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CO2 Fluxes (kg CO2 ha-1 h-1)

Carbon dioxide exchange as measured over a 15 x 15 km grassland site using the Canadian aircraft,

flying a grid pattern at 90 m above the surface. The data is superimposed on a satellite image.

Carbon dioxide exchange as measured over a 15 x 15 km grassland site using the Canadian aircraft,

flying a grid pattern at 90 m above the surface. The data is superimposed on a satellite image.

International project (FIFE) provided measurements at a wide range of scales using a multidiscplinary approach

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Measurements of evapotranspiration using the Twin Otter aircraft over the Konza Prairies during FIFE

Desjardins, R.L., Schuepp, P.H., MacPherson, J.I. and Buckley, D.J. 1992. Spatial and temporal variation of the fluxes of carbon dioxide and sensible and latent heat over the

FIFE site. J. Geophys. Res. 97: 18467- 19476.

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BOreal Ecosystem Atmospheric Study

1994-1996 BOREAS A multidisciplinary project to improve our understanding of the role of the boreal forest biome in climate change. (Mesoscale transfer, VOCs, Albedo)

Desjardins, R.L., MacPherson, J.I., Mahrt, L., Schuepp, P.H., Pattey, E., Neumann, H., Baldocchi, D., Wofsy, S., Fitzjarrald, D., H. McCaughey and D.W. Joiner. 1997. Scaling up flux measurements for the boreal forest using aircraft-tower combinations. J. Geophys. Res. 102: 29,125-29,134.

•.

Sun, J., Lenschow, D.H., Mahrt, L., Crawford, T.L., Davis, K.J., Oncley, S.P., MacPherson, J.I., Wang, Q. and R.L. Desjardins. 1997. Lake-induced atmopheric circulations during BOREAS. J. Geophys. Res. 102: 29,155 – 29,166

Radiative forcing due to differences in albedo

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0

50

100

150

Janu

aryFeb

ruary

March

April

May

June Ju

ly

Augus

tSep

tembe

rOcto

ber

Novem

ber

Decem

ber

Net

Rad

iatio

n (W

m-2

)

Coniferous forestGrassOld AspenGrass - Coniferous forestGrass - Old Aspen

Differences in annual average net radiation of 14 and 3 Wm-2

Source: Betts, & Desjardins 2007)

Relationship between radiative forcing due to albedo differences and C sequestration (kg/m2 = 10t/ha)

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Requires this much

C uptake or avoided

emissions to break

evenThis much albedo cooling

Atmosphere

CH4 CH4 N2O

Soil

CO2

Main sources and sinks of the three primary greenhouse gases associated with agroecosystems.

Shift from Agricultural Meteorology to the Sustainability of Agricultural Practices2000 to 2019

Measuring and modelling mass and energy exchange

1 hour

1 Day

1 Month

1 Year

AircraftEC & REA

Open-path Laser bLS

1 m2 1 Hectare 1 km2

Representative Area of Measurements10 km2

Chamber/ WindTunnel

Rep

rese

ntat

ive

Tim

e of

Mea

sure

men

t

Tall Tower/ Flask

Atmospheric

Inversion

FluxTowerEC,FG,

REA

Closed-path Laser

• Models

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Model development

Model development

MesureGHG emissions

MesureGHG emissions

Partially verified model

Partially Partially verified verified model model

timetime

. . .

Measuring and modeling GHG emissions

It is an unending processIt is an unending process

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Percent contribution of various sectors of the economy to Canada’s GHG emissions in 2016

Canada produces about 1.5% of the world GHG emissions with 0.5% of the global population

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Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Canadian Agriculture 2015

Source: Desjardins et al. (2019)

The carbon footprint of agricultural products in Canada

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Carbon footprint of agricultural products

We have now calculated the carbon footprint of most agricultural products

For example, in order to calculate the carbon footprint of beef, we need to count

all the GHG emissions per kg of live weight from birth until it leaves the farm

Diesel

For beef production:

Manure

Buildings

Equipment

Electricity

Production of Fodder and

grain

Field work

Fertilizers and agro-chemicals

Heating fuel

CH4

N2OCO2

CH4

N2O

CO2

CO2

CO2

N2O

CO2 = Carbon dioxideCH4 = methaneN2O = nitrous oxide

CO2

CO2

CO2

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Greenhouse gas emissions intensity for major livestock products in Canada, 1981‐2011.

Note: In these calculations the changes in soil organic carbon are not included 

GHG emissions for different animal products

Since the primary functions of animal products is to provide protein for growth, expressing the carbon footprint per unit of protein is the best way to compare emissions between animal products.

Since the primary functions of animal products is to provide protein for growth, expressing the carbon footprint per unit of protein is the best way to compare emissions between animal products.

Dyer, J.A., X.P.C. Vergé, R.L. Desjardins and D.E. Worth. 2010. The protein-based GHG emission intensity for livestock products in Canada. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture. 34(6):618-629. Doi:10.1080/10440046.2010.493376

GHG emissions associated with protein productionGHG emissions associated with protein production

Source: Dyer and Verge (2015)

Pulses and soybeans represent a far less carbon intensive method of producing protein, as compared to ruminant and non-ruminant sources. For example, the amount of feed input for ruminants equate to 15 to 30 times the mass of the final meat product.

Pulses and soybeans represent a far less carbon intensive method of producing protein, as compared to ruminant and non-ruminant sources. For example, the amount of feed input for ruminants equate to 15 to 30 times the mass of the final meat product.

An example of the importance of knowing the carbon footprint of a crop

Primary canola growing region

Carbon footprint of canola – a 50% reduction in GHG emissions is at 492Changes in soil organic carbon are included

Net soil carbon change in agricultural soils in Canada

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Climate crisis--- Even with all the commitments to reduce GHG emissions, the emissions keep increasing (Gt CO2e)

Beef Production

Pork Production

Impact of consumers on the GHG emissions from the agriculture sector eg. a 10% shift from beef to porc

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Vergé, X.P.C., Maxime, D., Desjardins, R.L., and VanderZaag, A.C. (2016). "Allocation factors and issues in agricultural carbon footprint: a case study of the Canadian pork industry.", Journal of Cleaner Production, 113, pp. 587-595. doi : 10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.11.046

World Meteorological Organization (1953-2020)

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The end of the Commission of Agricultural Meteorology of WMO

Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Vol. 142 (2-4)

As of April 2020 WMO

will have only two commissions :

1) service

2) infrastructure

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Thanks to slightly older colleagues

Thanks to many other colleagues

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Acknowledge all the technical staff, students and post- doctoral fellows that have helped with this research

Thank the present and past organizers of these CMOS meetings!