Optimal grazing management rules in semi-arid rangelands with uncertain rainfall
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In: Natural Resource Modeling, Vol. 25, No. 2, 05.2012, p. 364-387.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Optimal grazing management rules in semi-arid rangelands with uncertain rainfall
AU - Quaas, Martin F.
AU - Baumgärtner, Stefan
PY - 2012/5
Y1 - 2012/5
N2 - We study optimal adaptive grazing management under uncertain rainfall in a discrete-time model. As in each year actual rainfall can be observed during the short rainy season, and grazing management can be adapted accordingly for the growing season; the closed-loop solution of the stochastic optimal control problem does not only depend on the state variable, but also on the realization of the random rainfall. This distinguishes optimal grazing management from the optimal use of most other natural resources under uncertainty, where the closed-loop solution of the stochastic optimal control problem depends only on the state variables. Solving this unusual stochastic optimization problem allows us to critically contribute to a long-standing controversy over how to optimally manage semi-arid rangelands by simple rules of thumb.
AB - We study optimal adaptive grazing management under uncertain rainfall in a discrete-time model. As in each year actual rainfall can be observed during the short rainy season, and grazing management can be adapted accordingly for the growing season; the closed-loop solution of the stochastic optimal control problem does not only depend on the state variable, but also on the realization of the random rainfall. This distinguishes optimal grazing management from the optimal use of most other natural resources under uncertainty, where the closed-loop solution of the stochastic optimal control problem depends only on the state variables. Solving this unusual stochastic optimization problem allows us to critically contribute to a long-standing controversy over how to optimally manage semi-arid rangelands by simple rules of thumb.
KW - Sustainability sciences, Management & Economics
KW - Environmental risk
KW - risk management
KW - stochastic optimal control
KW - grazing management
KW - rules of thumb
KW - Environmental risk
KW - grazing management
KW - risk management
KW - rules of thumb
KW - stochastic optimal control
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84859854126&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1939-7445.2011.00110.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1939-7445.2011.00110.x
M3 - Journal articles
VL - 25
SP - 364
EP - 387
JO - Natural Resource Modeling
JF - Natural Resource Modeling
SN - 0890-8575
IS - 2
ER -