Evaluation of Sustainable Agriculture Systems in Central Mexico Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Fernandez-Reynoso, Demetrio Salvador Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 10/10/2021 11:49:27 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/195783 1 EVALUATION OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE SYSTEMS IN CENTRAL MEXICO by Demetrio Salvador Fernández-Reynoso _________________________________________ A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the SCHOOL OF NATURAL RESOURCES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WITH A MAJOR IN WATERSHED MANAGEMENT In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2008 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Demetrio Salvador Fernández-Reynoso entitled Evaluation of Sustainable Agriculture Systems in Central Mexico and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy ______________________________________________ Date: 03/07/2008 D. Phillip Guertin, PhD ______________________________________________ Date: 03/07/2008 Vicente L. Lopes, PhD ______________________________________________ Date: 03/07/2008 Richard H. Hawkins, PhD ______________________________________________ Date: 03/07/2008 George Zaimes, PhD ______________________________________________ Date: 03/07/2008 Craig Wissler, PhD Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. ______________________________________________ Date: 03/07/2008 Dissertation Director: Vicente L. Lopes, PhD ______________________________________________ Date: 03/07/2008 Dissertation Co-Director: D. Phillip Guertin, PhD 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgement of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or part may be granted by the head of the major department of the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: Demetrio Salvador Fernández-Reynoso 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First I gratefully thank to my thesis director, Dr. Vicente Lopes, for his great insights, perspectives, patience and guidance throughout my doctoral work. He always encouraged me to grow as a modeler, researcher, and independent thinker. I appreciate his guidance to understand my research area better and to write up this dissertation. I am also very grateful with my co-director Dr. Phillip Guertin for providing patient and helpful advice during busy semesters. He encouraged me to analyze and find a suitable solution of problems during this study. He is a great mentor that sets high standards for his students and guides them to meet their goals. I sincerely thank my academic advisor, Dr. George Zaimes, for the generous time and commitment that he put into this dissertation. He carefully read through and commented on the several revisions of this document. My sincere thank to Dr. Richard Hawkins for his valuable comments to improve this study. He was helpful and encouraging on guiding me to bring this work to a success. I am grateful to Dr. Craig Wissler for serving on both the oral comprehensive and defense examination committee. His example, friendship, and advice taught me the way in academia. Thanks for his help, guidance, teaching, and having the patience to guide me with the paper work. I would like to express thanks to the people of the School of Natural Resources for allowing me to use their facilities, and helping me find my way through my studies; especially to Cheryl Craddock, Andrew Honoman, and Mickey Reed. I would like also to thank my UofA colleagues Lenom Cajuste, Francisco Delgado, Soaring Hawk, Erick Sanchez, Mikhail Beznosov, Jesus Gastelum, and Edgar Uribe for their friendship and honest encourage. I am thankful to the following Mexican Institutions: the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) and Colegio de Postgraduados (CP) for the financial support during my doctoral program at the University of Arizona. I am also grateful to the people of the Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación (SAGARPA); the Comisión Nacional del Agua (CNA); the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP); and the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN), for the data accessibility used in this dissertation. 5 DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my loving wife Virginia and our daughter Claudia both deserve my thanks and respect for their love, continued patience, and support during my studies in Arizona. Also I dedicate this effort to my parents for their love, encourage, patience, and support. Thanks my lord Jesus Christ. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES...........................................................................................8 LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................9 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................11 I. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................13 A. Problem Statement ............................................................................ 15 B. Research Objectives, Hypothesis and Assumptions ......................... 16 1. General Objectives ........................................................................................16 2. Specific Objectives........................................................................................16 3. Hypothesis .....................................................................................................17 4. Assumptions ..................................................................................................17 II. LITERATURE REVIEW .........................................................................19 A. Soil Erosion and Crop Productivity .................................................. 20 B. Fertility and Soil Erosion .................................................................. 21 C. Soil and Water Conservation Practices............................................. 23 1. Soil and Water Conservation in Central Mexico...........................................24 2. Soil Conservation Practices...........................................................................25 D. Soil Erosion and Crop Productivity .................................................. 30 E. Crop Productivity and Soil Erosion Modeling.................................. 31 F. Models for Crop Productivity and Soil Erosion................................ 33 1. Empirical Models ..........................................................................................33 2. Process-Based Models...................................................................................34 3. Physically-Based Models ..............................................................................35 G. The EPIC Model ............................................................................... 40 1. Hydrological Component ..............................................................................42 2. Weather Component......................................................................................49 3. Erosion Component .......................................................................................52 4. Crop Growth Component ..............................................................................53 5. Crop Tillage Component ...............................................................................58 6. Sensitivity Analysis .......................................................................................59 H. GIS and Agricultural Environmental Modeling ............................... 60 I. Conclusions from Literature Review.................................................. 60 III. METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................62 A. Site Description - Texcoco District................................................... 62 B. Design of the Study........................................................................... 64 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS — Continued 1. Database Sources...........................................................................................64 2. Study Development .......................................................................................65 3. Calibration Process........................................................................................66