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EFITA Conference 2017

AgriBigCAT: An Online Platform for

Estimating the Impact of Livestock

Agriculture on the Environment

Andreas Kamilaris

4th July, 2017

Montpelier, France

Problem

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Intensive farming linked to excessive accumulation

of nutrients and contaminants in the soil.

Significant groundwater pollution with nitrates.

Emission of acidifying greenhouse gases.

Catalonia is one of the European regions with the

highest livestock density.

Need to assess environmental impact of

agriculture and potential risks

Motivation

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Need for a common body of knowledge.

Effective monitoring of cropping and animal

production systems, fertilization and water demands.

Estimations of impacts, including climate change.

Focus on sustainability and protection of the physical

environment.

Decision-making assistant tool for policymakers

Research Questions

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How can we accurately measure the

environmental impact of agriculture in Catalunya

using big data analysis?

Which solutions can we find to avoid the negative

effects of animal manure on the environment?

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Technologies

Methodology

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1. Collect datasets from sensors used in agriculture

and weather monitoring.

2. Develop a Big Database for storing this information

for easy retrieval and analysis.

3. Use the datasets as layers into a geospatial analysis

tool/application.

4. Apply Big Data Analysis to estimate environmental

impact and find viable solutions.

5. Enhance analysis with real-time info from Web of

Things sensors (e.g. weather, hazards, alerts).

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Data Sources

• GPS sensors

• Physical sensors

• Weather stations

• Web data from online web services

• Crowdsourcing-based techniques from mobile phones

• Static historical information: databases and statistics

Datasets

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• Farmers & Animal types/numbers

• Climatic conditions (temperature, humidity, evapotranspiration)

• Infrastructures (transportation network, pipelines system)

• Areas of natural interest, areas that require protection

• Forests

• Agricultural parcels

• Air quality

• Soil characteristics

• Manure management units

• Statistics of the population

• Biodiversity (animals, birds, micro-organisms)

• Water (lakes, rivers, precipitation)

Geospatial Analysis

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• Collection of data sources – use as layers

• Geospatial application in ArcGIS

Data

layers

Tools for

spatial

analysis

GIS

visualization

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Animal Concentration per Municipality Hotspots of Farms in Catalonia

Shortest Paths between Farms for

Manure CollectionMethane Emissions per Municipality

Geospatial Analysis

Architecture

Web Application

Web Application

Web Application

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• Calculation of animal manure produced annually in Catalunya.

• Estimation of gases produced:

• Carbon dioxide, Methane, Nitrous oxide

• Ammonia, Odor

• IPPCC (TIER1-2) Vs. Relevant Literature (TIER2)

AgriBigCAT Online Policy Tool

AgriBigCAT Online Policy Tool

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Emissions

calculator

GIS visualization in

the Web browser

Farms involved

in the results

Query

Results

Pigs29%

Dairy cows6%

Poultry6%

Beef Cattle19%

Sheep12%

Goats10%

Rabbits9%

Horses8%

Pigs15% Dairy cows

0%

Poultry72%

Beef Cattle2%

Sheep2%

Rabbits6%

Volume of Farms* Volume of Animals*

* Based on data provided by the Department of Agriculture of Catalonia.

AgriBigCAT Analysis

Pigs, 86.6, 52%

Dairy cows, 15.79, 10%Poultry,

0.64, 0%

Beef Cattle,

56.37, 34%

Sheep, 6.51, 4%

AgriBigCAT Analysis

Volume of Methane*

produced (Tones/Year)

Pigs72%

Dairy cows14%

Poultry8%

Sheep3%

Volume of Manure*

* Based on IPCC TIER1 guidelines.

Volume of GHG

Emissions

Beef cattle farms Sheep farms

Dairy cow farms Pigs farms

Pigs52%

Dairy cows10%

Beef Cattle34%

Sheep4%

AgriBigCAT Analysis

AgriCatVIZ Visualization Tool

Data

layers

Weather

conditions and

forecasting

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Cultivations per municipality Stations of meteorology and manure management

Forests and annual precipitationTransportation and pipelines network

AgriCatVIZ Visualization Tool

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Conclusion

Employing geospatial and big data analysis,

together with web technologies, in order to

estimate the impact of the agricultural sector on

the environment.

Decision-making assistant

tool for policymakers

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Future Work

Decision-making assistance for the Ministry of

Agriculture, Government of Catalonia, to decide

where to install manure management plants.

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Future Work

Nitrate management of livestock agriculture

according to the yearly needs of the local farms

that cultivate

crops.

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Future Work

Open-source code of the AgriBigCAT software:

• How to create geospatial layers

• How to perform geospatial analysis

• How to publish geospatial maps

• How to create web-based visualizations

• How to connect maps with web interfaces

• How to get authentication, access control, privacy

• How to perform big data analysis and visualize results

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Many thanks for your attention!

Andreas Kamilaris

andreas.kamilaris@irta.cat

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Additional Material: Big Data Aspects

Volume: Datasets, layers, estimations/calculations, spatial

analysis.

Velocity: Weather information, precipitation patterns.

Variety: Different sources of information involved, i.e.

historical data, satellite data, real-time web feeds, Internet

of Things sensor data.

Veracity: Trusted source/origin, i.e. Ministry of Agriculture,

AccuWeather predictions, international satellites, research

project outcomes.

Valorization: Analysis, simulation, modeling.