Public investment is needed to turn this potential into reality. As one component of the EPSCoR proposal, we will study the effectiveness of using relatively recently developed mathematical methods to describe and predict the behavior of agricultural systems. The standard statistical techniques employed for data analysis are primarily based on linear models, which may not be appropriate for the complex processes observed in agricultural systems. Non-linear time series analysis may serve as a useful additional tool in this regard. 3.3.2 Fractal modeling.
Nature abounds with systems possessing fractal properties.
There is no reason to think that agricultural systems should not have some of these same features. 3.3.3 Self-organized criticality modeling. Large collections of simple interacting systems can give rise to complicated behavior organized on a large scale that could not be predicted from the dynamics of the individual systems. This is closely linked to 1 and 2 above, and could give new insights into phenomena operating at several length scales. 3.3.5 Game theory.