Rik Rutjens

PhD Candidate

Email: pmxrr3@exmail.nottingham.ac.uk

Rik is a PhD candidate with the Palaeobenchmarking Resilient Agricultural Systems project. His research aims to better understand the sensitivity of maize growth to hydroclimatic change, with a focus on indigenous communities in the Yucatan peninsula (Mexico) and Northern Belize. Through modelling, he aims to identify environmental preferences and yield differences between maize varieties, and establish the key factors for optimal yield, including agronomic practices, environmental conditions and genotypes. The resulting mathematical models will be used to analyse the likelihood of crop success and system stability to small fluctuations in climate, and in water availability. The model can then be used predictively, to investigate the best crop mixtures and field configurations for future climate scenarios.