Boundary line analysis

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Boundary line analysis:
Agronomic and Ecological Applications

23 - 24 April 2025

Wageningen University Campus, room Forum B0409

Scope

This is a two-day course that covers the theory and practical application of the boundary line methodology proposed by Webb (1972). Under this approach we look for evidence that the upper boundary of the plot of some biological response variable (e.g. crop yield) against a potentially limiting factor represents the limiting response to that factor.

The boundary line approach has been used in yield gap analysis. However, the methods which have mainly been used to date are taken from different packages, or specialist programmes, and do not include any inferential methods for assessing the evidence that the model is plausible, or for quantifying uncertainty in its parameters. A newly-developed R library called BLA brings together the principal methods of boundary line analysis, and new approaches to data exploration and inference.

The course will present the BLA library, aspects of exploratory analysis, different methods to fit the boundary line and the interpretations of the outputs.

For this training, you will need the R software installed in your laptop. We also recommend you install RStudio as a user-friendly interface to R.

Course Setup

The course is set up as follows:

  • Concepts of boundary line (Theory)
  • Data exploratory analysis (Practical)
  • Fitting boundary line models using heuristic methods i.e. Binning, Bolides and quantile regression (Practical)
  • Fitting boundary lines with statistical methods i.e. censored bivariate normal model (Practical)

Day 1 (23 April)

Morning:  

  • Introduction to boundary line methodology
  • Approaches for fitting boundary line models to data
  • Practical in R: fitting boundary lines to data

Afternoon:

  • Introduction to statistical approaches to fitting boundary lines
  • Practical in R: Fitting boundary lines using statistical approach

Day 2 (24 April)

Morning:      Exercise: Application of the boundary line methodology by participants
Afternoon:   Conclusion of the course

 

General information
Target Group The course is aimed at PhD candidates and other academics
Group Size 10 - 15 participants
Course duration 2 days
Language of instruction English
Software R and RStudio
Number of credits 0,6 ECTs
Lecturers Chawezi Miti, University of Nottingham
Prior knowledge Working knowledge of R and interest in yield gap analysis.
Location Wageningen University Campus, Forum building, room B0409 
Options for accommodation Accommodation is not included in the fee of the course, but there are several possibilities in Wageningen. For information on B&B's and hotels in Wageningen please visit Short Stay Wageningen. or  Airbnb . Note that besides the restaurants in Wageningen, there are also options to have dinner at Wageningen Campus.
Fees 1
  EARLY-BIRD FEE 2 REGULAR FEE 2
PE&RC / WIMEK / WASS / EPS / VLAG / WIAS PhDs and WU EngD candidates with an approved TSP € 50,- € 100,-
PE&RC postdocs and staff  € 100,- € 150,-
All other academic participants € 140,- € 190,-
Non academic participants € 200,- € 250,-

1 The course fee includes a reader, coffee/tea, and lunches. It does not include accommodation (NB: options for accommodation are given above)
2 The Early-Bird Fee applies to anyone who REGISTERS ON OR BEFORE  20 MARCH 2025
 

Note:
  • If you need an invoice to complete your payment, please send an email to office.pe@wur.nl, including ALL relevant details that should be mentioned on the invoice (e.g., purchase order no., specific addresses, attendees, etc.).
  • The Early-Bird policy is such that the moment of REGISTRATION (and not payment) is leading for determining the fee that applies to you.
  • Please make sure that your payment is arranged within two weeks after your registration.
  • It is the participant's responsibility to make sure that he/she (or his/her secretary) completes the payment correctly and in time.
Cancellation Conditions

IMPORTANT: ALWAYS read the Cancellation conditions for PE&RC courses and activities.

Note: If you would like to cancel your registration, ALWAYS inform us. By NOT paying the participation fee, your registration is NOT automatically cancelled (and do note that you will be kept to the cancellation conditions)

More information

Dr. Claudius van de Vijver (PE&RC)
Email: claudius.vandevijver@wur.nl

Registration

To register, please enter your details below and click "Register".