Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
sustainable. This chapter describes two possible examples of how GIS is
used by the Central Institute for Decision Support Systems (DSS) in Crop
Protection (German acronym ZEPP) to support farmers in Germany with
their pesticide applications.
The first example describes a DSS that creates machine readable
application maps using a web based GIS application. Application maps
offer the possibility to automate the pesticide spraying process. The maps
created by the DSS include legal buffer zones to water bodies and
protected terrestric structures, e.g. hedges, where spraying of pesticides is
prohibited. Provided that a tractor with Global Navigation Satellite
System (GNSS) and a pesticide sprayer with section control is available,
an automated application is possible. Once the sprayer moves into an area
of the field that is a buffer zone, the respective section is switched of
automatically. The DSS helps farmers to comply with legal rules and to
prevent the contamination of the environment.
The second example describes how GIS is used in pest forecast
systems. With the help of GIS it is possible to obtain results with higher
accuracy for disease and pest simulation models. Pest forecast systems
developed by ZEPP use GIS to interpolate geographical factors like
temperature and relative humidity such getting meteorological data for
every km
2
in Germany. The interpolated data and the parameter
precipitation, taken by radar measured precipitation data are used as input
for the simulation models. The output of these models is presented as
spatial risk maps in which areas of maximum risk of the disease outbreak,
infection pressure or pest appearances are displayed. The modern
presentation methods of GIS lead to an easy interpretation and further-
more promote the use of the system by farmers.
I
NTRODUCTION
Agriculture is the targeted production of plant or animal products. It
serves primarily for food production and therefore is of highest importance to
human society. Agriculture nowadays has reached a very high level of techno-
logy and efficiency. This is necessary, because in a world with an ever
growing number of inhabitants and an equally growing demand for quantity as
well as quality of agricultural products a big emphasis has to be put on getting
the most out of what is available. This is especially important since the amount
of arable land stays the same or is even declining because of climate change
and other issues (Oerke et al. 1999).
