Lead Scientist: Michael Humber
Associate Research Professor
Department of Geographical Sciences
Contact: mhumber@umd.edu
GEOG’s Grand Challenges project is aimed at promoting climate-resilient agriculture in Maryland. To do this, we will develop an app dashboard to showcase (1) the potential effects of climate change on Maryland’s agriculture, (2) impacts of Maryland agriculture on the environment, and (3) other climate-related issues related to agricultural production in Maryland. The specific map components and analysis included in this app dashboard will be contingent on the needs of the stakeholders as this app dashboard is designed to support research based decision-making.
We will be designing a mobile survey to collect ground validation data for crop type mapping in Maryland. This survey will be made available to students within the geography department. The students can either earn extra credit for their participation or prizes based on a weighted points system. The results of this survey will feed back into the app dashboard as it will allow us to develop more accurate state level crop type maps that can be used for a variety of analysis purposes.
The app dashboard will provide map visualizations to showcase:
(1) the potential effects of climate change on Maryland’s agriculture (e.g., sea level rise and flooding, groundwater vulnerability, climate forecasts)
(2) impacts of Maryland agriculture on the environment (e.g., nutrient loading/runoff into waterways, erosion)
(3) other climate-related issues related to agricultural production in Maryland (e.g., food processing deserts)
We aim to have a working app dashboard by the end of the first year of the GC project.
The app dashboard will focus on modeling
(1) the potential effects of climate change on Maryland’s agriculture (e.g., sea level rise and flooding, groundwater vulnerability, climate forecasts)
(2) impacts of Maryland agriculture on the environment (e.g., nutrient loading/runoff into waterways, erosion)
(3) other climate-related issues related to agricultural production in Maryland (e.g., food processing deserts)
Experiential education opportunities
We have established a working relationship with the GEOL department and have already assisted with two of their field work campaigns relating to soil moisture and nutrient monitoring. This work will likely continue into the spring, and we may have the option to bring students along. For the app dashboard, we have already hired one intern for data integration, will be hiring another intern to develop the framework, and can hire additional interns as needed. Presentations will be carried out as needed upon completion of the app dashboard.
