Scriptiebank overzicht

Climate change has a significant impact on agricultural production because of its reliance on
environmental factors. Like in most parts of the world, the climate in Belgium is changing with
projections of increase in winter precipitation and decrease in summer precipitation. With
accompanying higher temperatures, evaporation will increase, and water availability will decrease,
especially in summer. It then becomes necessary to efficiently manage soil water for sustainable
crop production. While conservation agriculture is a promising climate smart agricultural
technology, it is often considered with less focus on mulching, one of the pillars of CA. In cases
where mulching has been studied, it was mostly under conventional tillage system, and about yield
and greenhouse gases emission. Since there is no one-size-fits all on soil water management. It is
imperative to conduct strategies suitable to local conditions. Potato is a staple crop in Belgium,
and it is drought sensitive. This makes it susceptible to effects of climate change. Therefore, this
research studied the impacts of mulching, under reduced tillage, on soil water balance and potato
growth as an adaptation strategy to climate change in the Flemish agricultural context.
A field experiment was conducted on a bio-parcel of the Flanders research institute for agriculture,
fisheries and food in Melle, East Flanders, Blegium. This study evaluated the effects of two
different mulch thickness (6 cm and 12 cm) against bare soil (no mulch) on evapotranspiration
(ET), potato growth, yield and water use efficiency (WUE). An adapted soil water balance
equation was used to determine ET; plant height and leaf area index (LAI) were used as parameter
of crop growth; and WUE was determined as a quotient of yield and ET. Data collected were
subjected to analysis of variance and significantly different means were separated using Tukey’s
Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) at 5% level of significance.
This study revealed that soil structural quality and soil water content improved under mulch; 12
cm mulch performed best in preventing drought stress during low rainfall; ET increased with
increasing mulch thickness though not significantly; 12 cm mulch significantly increased LAI
compared to other treatments; and yield and WUE were not significantly different among the
treatments though 6 cm and 12 cm mulch increased yield by 7.4% and 10.9% respectively.

Ruimtelijke strategieën om Vlaanderen weerbaar te maken tegen droogte. Hoe verschillende onderdelen van het valleisysteem meer neerslag kunnen vasthouden en infiltreren.

Analyse van de impact van de klimaatverandering op droogte in Vlaanderen. Data afkomstig van globale klimaatmodellen wordt met behulp van statistische neerschalingsmethodes verwerkt om ook op een lokale schaal gebruikt te kunnen worden.

In deze scriptie werd een ecofysiologisch tarwemodel gebouwd dat de waterbalans in de plant onder droge condities simuleert. Ter illustratie van de kracht van het model, werd een tarwe plant onderworpen aan droogtestress en vergeleken met een controle plant. De gesimuleerde variabelen werden vergeleken met het resultaat van een proteoom analyse om te zien of deze gegevens in de toekomst in het model geïntegreerd kunnen worden.

AROUND THE CORNER: A single decision for a better climate We know by now that human activity is the main driver of global warming. To keep life on earth bearable we should stay below 2°C warming. If we don’t, the climate becomes more extreme and droughts and floods more likely. It probably seems as if you cannot make a big impact, but knowing your piece of the cake can help. When you want to do your part you should invest about €250  per year up to 2020 which adds up to €1.250 per person. Next to these investments you should aim to reduce overall emissions by 30% within the same time frame.

Effect van droogte op de stamgroei: onderzocht tot op het bot Bossen – de oplossing voor klimaats-verandering of de dupe ervan?Het afgelopen jaar sloegen meer mensen op de vlucht voor natuurrampen dan voor oorlog en geweld. Klimaatexperten voorspellen extremere weersomstandigheden als gevolg van de klimaatsverandering. Voorbeelden hiervan zijn tyfoons, stormen en steeds langere droogteperiodes die vooral het zuidelijk halfrond treffen. Bosecosystemen hebben een onmiskenbare bufferende en regulerende functie in dit verhaal.

Zal het gras morgen groener zijn dan vandaag?De keerzijde van de CO2-medaille.Je kan er tegenwoordig nog maar moeilijk aan ontsnappen. Sinds wetenschappers voor het eerst de term ‘global warming’ introduceerden, hoor je hem steeds vaker vallen.