CONTEXT: Cropland intensification promises additional food supply without further expanding croplands into natural ecosystems. Cropland use intensity measures the degree of intensification by various indicators, both from input and output perspectives; all of these indicators are however not...

Land degradation is affecting rural livelihoods across sub-Saharan Africa. Promoting sustainable land management requires a thorough understanding of land use change drivers, processes and effects. However, in most African countries reliable data for such investigations are missing. We therefore...

We tested here a simple, hydrologically based, multi-year daily crop model called PolyCrop (PC), and tested it for the purpose of reproducing the dynamics of maize (Zea Mais L.) within two case study areas in the Po valley of Italy, namely Persico Dosimo (Cremona province), and Livraga (Lodi...

Over 22 million hectares (ha) of U.S. croplands are irrigated. Irrigation is an intensified agricultural land use that increases crop yields and the practice affects water and energy cycles at, above, and below the land surface. Until recently, there has been a scarcity of geospatially detailed...

Wheat is a staple crop throughout much of India, but in many areas it is commonly sown past the optimum window for yields. Recent technologies, such as adoption of no-till practices or earlier maturing cotton and rice varieties, have enabled some farmers to sow wheat earlier, but repeatable and...

CONTEXT: Farm size is a key indicator associated with environmental, economic, and social contexts and outcomes of agriculture. Farm size data is typically obtained from agricultural censuses or household surveys, but both are usually only available in infrequent time intervals and at aggregate...