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ARS Home » Plains Area » Temple, Texas » Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #415879
Research Project: Enhancing Cropping System and Grassland Sustainability in the Texas Gulf Coast Region by Managing Systems for Productivity and Resilience

Location: Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory

Title: From field to analysis: Strengthening reproducibility and confirmation in research for sustainable agriculture

Author
item WHITE, JEFFREY - University Of Florida
item BOOTE, KENNETH - University Of Florida
item Kimball, Bruce
item PORTER, CHERYL - University Of Florida
item SALMERON, MONTSE - University Of Kentucky
item SHELIA, VAKHTANG - University Of Florida
item Thorp, Kelly
item HOOGENBOOM, GERRIT - University Of Florida

Submitted to: Sustainable Agriculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/10/2025
Publication Date: 5/22/2025
Citation: White, J.W., Boote, K.J., Kimball, B.A., Porter, C., Salmeron, M., Shelia, V., Thorp, K.R., Hoogenboom, G. 2025. From field to analysis: Strengthening reproducibility and confirmation in research for sustainable agriculture. Sustainable Agriculture. 3(27). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-025-00067-z.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-025-00067-z

Interpretive Summary: Formulation of effective policy to address climate change requires robust research results. However, research confirmation in agriculture is particularly challenging. This perspective paper examines the challenges in confirming agricultural research and clarifies concepts related to repeatability, replicability, and reproducibility of research results from agricultural field studies and computer simulations. The perspectives will assist climate change researchers and policy makers to understand the limitations of agricultural research results and the methodological improvements needed to increase their defensibility.

Technical Abstract: Research robustness and bias are growing concerns, including in studies to support evidence-based climate change policies in agriculture. The confirmation of supporting research relies on independent duplication of field experiments and models. We examine challenges in confirming agricultural research, where environmental factors are less controllable than in other disciplines. Key concepts include "repeatability" (consistent results within an experiment), "replicability" (same team, different environments), and "reproducibility" (independent team, different environments). Researchers must provide thorough documentation, acknowledging that field conditions differ over seasons and that software and computational environments continually evolve. Emphasizing thorough documentation and workflow transparency is crucial for the future defensibility and reproducibility of climate change research in agriculture.