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Title:
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RCROPGRO PACKAGE: AN APPROACH FOR ENCAPSULATING FORTRAN CODED MODELS USING R LANGUAGE |
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Author(s):
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Carlos Amaral Hölbig, Willingthon Pavan, Angela Mazzonetto, José Maurício Cunha Fernandes, Tiago Zortea |
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ISBN:
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978-989-8533-25-8 |
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Editors:
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Hans Weghorn |
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Year:
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2014 |
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Edition:
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Single |
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Keywords:
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Crop models; Fortran; R language; RCropgro package. |
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Type:
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Full Paper |
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First Page:
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119 |
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Last Page:
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126 |
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Language:
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English |
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Cover:
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Full Contents:
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click to dowload 
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Paper Abstract:
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Computer crop simulations have been successfully used around the world to increase agricultural yield and reduce costs. However it is getting more difficult to use, maintain, expand and improve these models due its increasing complexity and level of detail. Most of them were written in Fortran, but it a well-established computer language especially suited for mathematics and statistics. However Fortran has severe limitations about its integration, interoperability and data visualization. In this study an approach for wrapping Fortran coded models into a R package is presented using only free and multiplatform software. With the simulation encapsulated inside the package, one can freely manipulate both input and output of the simulation as any other regular variable without needing to deal with tabulated text files; which are default input and output Fortran models. Running the model becomes as easy as running any other R package. With the tools provided by R, several new data sources can be used such as databases, web services and even data from other simulations. Two case studies are presented to illustrate the approach and discuss its advantages on realistic crop modeling applications. These case studies include the application of the technique on the Cropgro-Soybean model from Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) suite successfully integrating it with R. |
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