The Center on Food Security and the Environment is a joint effort of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.
Agriculture
Recent Publications
Records 24 / 291
Satellites reveal a small positive yield effect from conservation tillage across the US Corn Belt
December 2019
Machine learning and satellite data of crops shows that farms that till the soil less can increase yields of corn and soybeans and improve the health of the soil.
Causes of Indonesia’s forest fires
November 2019
The economic costs of Indonesia’s 2015 forest fires are estimated to exceed US $16 billion, with more than 100,000 premature deaths.
Eyes in the Sky, Boots on the Ground: Assessing Satellite- and Ground-Based Approaches to Crop Yield Measurement and Analysis
October 2019
Understanding the determinants of agricultural productivity requires accurate measurement of crop output and yield.
The impact of agricultural interventions can be doubled by using satellite data
October 2019
Feeding a growing population while reducing negative environmental impacts is one of the greatest challenges of the coming decades.
The role of irrigation in changing wheat yields and heat sensitivity in India
September 2019
Irrigation has been pivotal in wheat’s rise as a major crop in India and is likely to be increasingly important as an adaptation response to climate change.
Integrating satellite and climate data to predict wheat yield in Australia using machine learning approaches
May 2019
Wheat is the most important staple crop grown in Australia, and Australia is one of the top wheat exporting countries globally.
Smallholder maize area and yield mapping at national scales with Google Earth Engine
May 2019
Accurate measurements of maize yields at field or subfield scales are useful for guiding agronomic practices and investments and policies for improving food security.
Water Use Efficiency as a Constraint and Target for Improving the Resilience and Productivity of C3 and C4 Crops
April 2019
The ratio of plant carbon gain to water use, known as water use efficiency (WUE), has long been recognized as a key constraint on crop production and an important target for crop improvement.
Satellite mapping of tillage practices in the North Central US region from 2005 to 2016
February 2019
Low-intensity tillage has become more popular among farmers in the United States and many other regions.
Crop type mapping without field-level labels: Random forest transfer and unsupervised clustering techniques
January 2019
Crop type mapping at the field level is necessary for a variety of applications in agricultural monitoring and food security.
Oil palm expansion and deforestation in Southwest Cameroon associated with proliferation of informal mills
January 2019
Oil palm expansion resulted in 2 million hectares (Mha) of forest loss globally in 2000–2010.
Decentralization and the environment: Assessing smallholder oil palm development in Indonesia
January 2019
Indonesia’s oil palm expansion during the last two decades has resulted in widespread environmental and health damages through land clearing by fire and peat conversion, but it has also contributed...
Model vs. experiment to predict crop losses—Response
December 2018
Our Report draws attention to a complex but understudied issue: How will climate warming alter losses of major food crops to insect pests?
Satellite mapping of tillage practices in the North Central US region from 2005 to 2016
December 2018
Low-intensity tillage has become more popular among farmers in the United States and many other regions.
Sustainable and Equitable Increases in Fruit and Vegetable Productivity and Consumption are Needed to Achieve Global Nutrition Security
November 2018
Increased intake of fruits and vegetables (F&V) is recommended for most populations across the globe.
A move beyond sustainability certification: The evolution of the chocolate industry's sustainable sourcing practices
September 2018
Companies' sustainable sourcing practices play an increasing role in addressing the social and environmental challenges in agricultural supply chains.
The paradox of irrigation efficiency
August 2018
Reconciling higher freshwater demands with finite freshwater resources remains one of the great policy dilemmas.
Estimating global agricultural effects of geoengineering using volcanic eruptions
August 2018
Solar radiation management is increasingly considered to be an option for managing global temperatures1,2, yet the economic effects of ameliorating climatic changes by scattering sunlight back to...
Anticipated burden and mitigation of carbon-dioxide-induced nutritional deficiencies and related diseases: A simulation modeling study
July 2018
Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are anticipated to decrease the zinc and iron concentrations of crops.
Hierarchical Modeling of Seed Variety Yields and Decision Making for Future Planting Plans
June 2018
Eradicating hunger and malnutrition is a key development goal of the twenty first century.
Deep Transfer Learning for Crop Yield Prediction with Remote Sensing Data
June 2018
Accurate prediction of crop yields in developing countries in advance of harvest time is central to preventing famine, improving food security, and sustainable development of agriculture.
The important but weakening maize yield benefit of grain filling prolongation in the US Midwest
June 2018
A better understanding of recent crop yield trends is necessary for improving the yield and maintaining food security.
Satellite detection of cover crops and their effects on crop yield in the Midwestern United States
June 2018
The practice of planting winter cover crops has seen renewed interest as a solution to environmental issues with the modern maize- and soybean-dominated row crop production system of the US Midwest...
Future warming increases probability of globally synchronized maize production shocks
June 2018
Climate-induced shocks in grain production are a major contributor to global market volatility, which creates uncertainty for cereal farmers and agribusiness and reduces food access for poor...
People
Rosamond L. Naylor Senior Fellow William Wrigley Professor of Earth System Science, Senior Fellow, Stanford Woods Institute and Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Professor, by courtesy, Economics, Senior Fellow and Founding Director, Center on Food Security and the Environment 
Steven Gorelick Cyrus F. Tolman Professor and Senior Fellow, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment 
