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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pullman, Washington » Northwest Sustainable Agroecosystems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #96293
Title: KNOWLEDGE-BASED DECISION SUPPORT STRATEGIES: LINKING SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL COMPONENTS WITHIN SITE-SPECIFIC WEED MANAGEMENT

Author
item JOHNSON, G - UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
item Huggins, David

Submitted to: Journal of Crop Production
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/1/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Site-specific farming or precision farming is an information and technology based agricultural system that has the potential identify, analyze, and manage landscape variability within fields for optimum profitability, sustainability, and protection of the environment. Unfortunately, the current emphasis on technological tools of site-specific farming, rather than the development of new crop and pest management systems that integrat and optimize the use of these new tools, limits our abilities to realize the full potential and promise of site-specific management. Our goal is to introduce a conceptual framework that integrates spatial and temporal data, information, knowledge, and wisdom into a knowledge-based decision support strategy (KBDSS)that will stimulate researchers, engineers, farmers, and other agri-business personnel to refocus their approach to site-specific resource management. This knowledge-based decision support strategy (KBDSS) must embrace questions of economic, environmental, and social sustainability and create the opportunity for people to share information and experiences with others to address emerging issues in crop production. We believe that the KBDSS outlined in this paper is a first step in improving integration of weed biology, enhancing the utility of bioeconomic models, shaping farmer/advisor relationships, and recognizing the importance of long-term learning and experience-building within the landscape.

Technical Abstract: Research and application of site-specific farming has focused on technological advancements that enable site-specific field operations. The current emphasis on technological tools of site-specific farming, rather than the development of new crop and pest management systems that integrate and optimize the use of these new tools, limits our abilities to realize the full potential and promise of site-specific management. The objective of this paper is to introduce a conceptual framework that integrates spatial and temporal data, information, knowledge, and wisdom into a knowledge-based decision support strategy (KBDSS). Current strategies emphasize data collection and information management followed by an immediate action. We argue that implementation of decision derived using only data and information circumvents knowledge and wisdom, often leading to inappropriate resource management. A successful KBDSS will incorporate a better understanding of interdependency among factors affecting or affected by site-specific decision. We believe that the KBDSS outlined in this paper is a first step in improving integration of weed biology, enhancing the utility of bioeconomic models, shaping farmer/advisor relationships, and recognizing the importance of long-term learning and experience-building within the landscape.