Calculation of Agro-Climatic Factors from Global Climatic Data

Featured Application Expected application of the work presented in the manuscript is in information support for fieldwork in agriculture. The calculated agro-climatic factors for a particular area or place depict and describe current environmental conditions and the stability or trend of such conditions in time. The agro-climatic factor calculation on a time series of climatic data filter subjective bias a farmer could have from his/her experience. Such an analysis is also beneficial for farmers or companies operating in a larger area, where the environmental conditions, described by agro-climatic factors, vary. The authors design and develop a cloud-based service, allowing a farmer such a calculation as a service. This manuscript aims to create large-scale calculations of agro-climatic factors from global climatic data with high granularity-climatic ERA5-Land dataset from the Copernicus Climate Change Service in particular. First, we analyze existing approaches used for agro-climatic factor calculation and formulate a frame for our calculations. Then we describe the design of our methods for calculation and visualization of certain agro-climatic factors. We then run two case studies. Firstly, the case study of Kojcice validates the uncertainty of input data by in-situ sensors. Then, the case study of the Pilsen region presents certain agro-climatic factors calculated for a representative point of the area and visualizes their time-variability in graphs. Maps represent a spatial distribution of the chosen factors for the Pilsen region. The calculated agro-climatic factors are frost dates, frost-free periods, growing degree units, heat stress units, number of growing days, number of optimal growing days, dates of fall nitrogen application, precipitation, evapotranspiration, and runoff sums together as water balance and solar radiation. The algorithms are usable anywhere in the world, especially in temperate and subtropical zones.