Small-scale farming in drylands: New models for resilient practices of millet and sorghum cultivation

PLOS ONE Vol/Iss. 18(2) PLOS ONE Published In Pages: 1-17
By Ruiz-Giralt, Abel, Biagetti, Stefano, Madella, Marco, Lancelotti, Carla

Hypothesis

Physio-climatic, soil composition, and spatial factors will predict crop selection.

Note

The top predictors of crop selection were mean topsoil volumetric water content at 15 kPA, mean topsoil pH, variance of mean temperature of the warmest quarter, mean global horizontal irradiance, variance of subsoil clay content, and mean precipitation seasonality. Overall, both physio-climatic and soil composition factors had a significant influence, with spatial factors having a much smaller impact.

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
Predictive modelMostly supportedUNKNOWNUNKNOWNUNKNOWN

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
Physio-climatic factorsIndependentClimate, Geography, Topography And Geology
Spatial factorsIndependentLocation
Crop selectionDependentTillage
Soil composition factorsIndependentSoil