Experiments in Optimal Spatial Segmentation of Local Regions Using Categorical and Quantitative Data

Abstract

A computational framework is described for optimal spatial allocation of land use categories across a geographical region. The relevance of optimisation, its advantages and disadvantages, and details on mathematical background relevant to natural resource management are discussed.Experiments were conducted with a probabilistic optimisation procedure using a prototype software package, with numerical results and visualisation provided for a case study. Results are provided for land use optimisation with an indication of the possible improvement in regional revenue, given data on crop yields and market prices for various commodities. When revenue is used as the performance index for optimisation, the approach reveals a significant improvement is possible when applied to a production region in Victoria, Australia. A conclusion drawn from the experiments is that the problem is quite complex in nature and open ended with many variables. An agenda is suggested for further development of the modelling strategy, by way of incremental improvements, as more environmental information is acquired and further constraint factors are considered.

Accumulative Heat Stress in Ruminants at the Regional Scale under Changing Environmental Conditions

“…The effect on productivity is important during the summer months in hotter climate scenarios and landscapes, where overnight cooling is not possible. Various spatial-statistical modelling approaches to heat stress in outdoor conditions have been investigated in the past, and the current study represents a further extension in this line of research [2][3][4][5].…”

“…Silanikove [1] suggested in an early study an energy balance equation with multiple inputs from the environment. There was some early recognition of the potential for mathematical models for future growth and spatial analysis for regional analysis of agricultural data, but sufficient data points were lacking at that time for more advanced computer analysis for grazing animals [3,5].…”

Balancing trade‐off issues in land use change and the impact on streamflow and salinity management

“…This paper explores the functional relationships between land use, salt export and streamflow under various climate conditions in a high-salt load exporting catchment of the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Trade-off issues addressed in the study relate to different revegetation patterns and climate scenarios, not economic activities such as agricultural productivity and land use optimization (Benke and Benke, 2012). Model predictions are used to inform the NRM trade-off issues of climate change, land use change, increasing demand for consumptive water use, salinization of land and water resources, and decreasing health of rivers, wetlands and other water dependent ecosystems (MDBMC, 2001;Herron et al, 2002;Goss, 2003;Beverly et al, 2008;Connor et al, 2008).…”