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MENDELU Repository

Welcome to the Open Repository of research and development results of the Mendel University in Brno. The repository serves to archive Open Access publications of university authors. Publications are automatically sent from the OBD system to the repository in the DSpace system.

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To upload articles and other publications to the repository, contact the Open Science Centre: repozitar@mendelu.cz. Before uploading publications, the record must be created in the OBD system.

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Recent Submissions

Access status: Open Access ,
Evaluation and Simulation Methods for Ambidexterity Engineering of Digital Supply Chain Systems
(Mendelova univerzita v Brně, 2025) Nürk, Jochen; Dařena, František
Global mergers and faster business cycles create weakly harmonized supply chain (SC) systems. Industry 4.0's smart digitalization opportunities significantly alter business model innovation rates. Consequently, the complexity of aligning value exploration and exploitation has increased, often missing the needed integration level. A holistic systems engineering (SE)-driven methodology for innovation, transformation, and optimizing smart SC systems is not available so far. Case studies at SAP SE's development organization for Industry 4.0 SCM solutions and three automotive companies explored objectives, obstacles, and methods for digital transformation. The results were synthesized into a holistic SC business model transformation and optimization methodology. Complementary to traditional SCM, the study proposes SE-driven meta-modelling to improve the performance, resilience, and synchronization of end-to-end supply chains. Moreover, holistic simulations and evaluation methods for the ambidexterity of SC business models have been developed, enhancing the effectiveness of value exploration and exploitation, and innovation productivity by holistically viewing emergence and convergence throughout SC capabilities' life cycles. Ambidexterity management and dynamic capabilities are addressed by SE methods like capability engineering and complex dynamic systems theory, integrated into a concise SE model.
Access status: Open Access ,
Comparative performance of summer cereals under limited water and fertilizer inputs
(Springer Switzerland, 2025) Ahmed, Uzair; Iqbal, Waleed; Amin, Hazrat; Noor, Emaan; Jamal, Aftab; Saeed, Muhammad Farhan; Černý, Jakub
Optimizing cereal production under limited water and nitrogen availability is crucial for sustainable agriculture. This study evaluates the effects of three planting densities (D1: low, D2: medium, D3: high) and input levels on the yield, resource use efficiency, and economic performance of three summer cereals: maize, pearl millet, and sorghum. A split-split plot design with three replications was used. Statistical analysis revealed that pearl millet exhibited the highest leaf area under D1 (low planting density) with optimum inputs. It also had the maximum ear/panicle number (35 m−2), while D2 (medium density) and D3 (high density) resulted in a higher ear/panicle count. Maize produced the longest (17.1 cm) and heaviest (91 g) ears under D2 planting density. Among the three cereals, maize had the highest grain yield (2695 kg ha⁻1). Across all planting densities, D2 (medium density) resulted in the highest yield (2434 kg ha⁻1). Additionally, optimum input levels significantly improved grain yield, reaching 2467 kg ha⁻1. Water use efficiency (WUE) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) varied significantly, with sorghum showing the highest WUE (5.93 kg m−2) and maize showing the highest NUE (19.4 kg kg−1). Constrained inputs led to higher NUE (20.1 kg kg−1) and WUE (5.77 kg m−2). Quality analysis indicated sorghum had the highest grain protein content (9.4%), while pearl millet showed the highest root and shoot dry weights. Principal component analysis revealed strong associations between specific yield attributes and each cereal, with D2 planting density showing the strongest overall associations. Economic analysis highlighted that sorghum under D2 density with optimum inputs yielded the highest gross return (858.0 USD ha−1), while sorghum at D3 density with constrained inputs achieved the highest net benefit (711.6 USD ha−1) and benefit–cost ratio (5.9). To maximize production, D2 planting density is recommended. Optimizing input management can enhance productivity, while sorghum cultivation under constrained input offers the highest economic returns.
Access status: Open Access ,
The Size of Czech Agricultural Enterprises: Implications for Economic Efficiency
(Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze, 2025) Redlichová, Radka; Tamáš, Vojtěch; Somerlíková, Kristina; Hlavackova, Jana
This study analyses the economic efficiency and size structure of agricultural enterprises in the Czech Republic, focusing on differences between organic and conventional farming systems during the 2016-2022 period. Key objectives include evaluating farm size distribution, profitability, and efficiency under varying conditions. Results reveal that organic farms are generally smaller and more reliant on subsidies, achieving lower production per hectare compared to conventional farms. However, their profit becomes comparable when subsidies are included. Conversely, conventional farms demonstrate greater efficiency, particularly among larger enterprises. These insights are pivotal for shaping agricultural policy with respect to production efficiency and food self-sufficiency.
Access status: Open Access ,
Allelopathic effects of leaf powder from selected agroforestry tree species on the germination, growth, and yield of staple crops in a semiarid region
(Springer New York, 2025) Abraha, Berihu; Birhane, Emiru; Bezabeh, Tesfay Gidey; Tesfay, Abadi; Siyum, Zenebe Girmay; Grimay, Gebreyohannes
Agroforestry (AF) systems improve ecological interactions and reduce environmental stresses in semiarid regions, thereby improving food security and livelihood. While many AF trees benefit crop growth, some may have inhibitory effects. Hence, assessing tree-crop interactions is essential to optimizing AF practices in semiarid regions. This study examines the allelopathic effects of Dodonaea angustifolia and Populus deltoides leaf powder on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) germination, growth, and yield. A pot experiment was conducted in Ganta Afeshum district, northern Ethiopia, using four concentrations of leaf powder (50, 100, 150, and 200 g per pot) mixed with soil, alongside a control (without leaf powder). Wheat germination and yield decreased by 10% and 15%, and 16 and 13%, respectively, as the concentrations of D. angustifolia and P. deltoides leaf powder increased to 200 g. Similarly, the addition of 200 g of D. angustifolia and P. deltoides leaf powder reduced barley germination by 13% and 14%, and its yield by 18% and 15%, respectively. These findings suggest that integrating D. angustifolia and P. deltoides into AF systems may reduce wheat and barley productivity in semiarid regions. Further long-term field studies are needed to confirm and expand upon these findings.
Access status: Open Access ,
Covariation of redox potential profiles and the water table level at peatland sites representing different drainage regimes: implications for ecological modelling
(Copernicus GmbH, 2025) Koskinen, Markku; Anttila, Jani; Vranová, Valerie; Holík, Ladislav; Roche, Kevin; Vorenhout, Michel; Pihlatie, Mari; Laiho, Raija
Reduction-oxidation (redox) reactions are ubiqui tous in nature and are responsible for the energy acquisition of all organisms. Redox reactions are electron transfer re actions that necessarily involve two participants: one being oxidised (electron donor) and one being reduced (electron acceptor). The availability of terminal electron acceptors (TEAs) is a major determinant of the extent to which carbon in organic matter can be oxidised in an ecosystem. This is most im portant under waterlogged conditions, such as in peatlands, where the diffusion of O2, the most effective common TEA, into soil is blocked by water. Under these conditions, alter native TEAs can be used by microbiota to continue organic matter oxidation. Decomposition processes in soil can be characterised by its redox state, i.e. which TEA is responsible for organic matter oxidation at a given time. This can, in principle, be measured as a voltage between the soil solution and a known reference electrode, known as the redox potential. Current soil ecosystem models do not depict the use of al ternative TEAs well. This limits their applicability for pre dicting soil carbon loss under different drainage regimes and, thus, their usefulness for assessing the best management practices for soil carbon preservation and water course pro tection. The most common determinant of the mode of de composition presently used in ecosystem models is the water table level (WTL), which relies on the assumption that the redox state of a peatland ecosystem responds predictably to changes in the WTL. We conducted a 2-year redox monitoring experiment in a boreal mesotrophic peatland under three drainage regimes: undrained, short-term drainage, and long-term drainage. In addition, an ombrotrophic plot that had undergone long-term drainage was monitored. Snapshot assessments of the ac tivity of three major metabolic enzymes- arginine deam inase, protease, and urease- were also undertaken at the mesotrophic plots as an indicator of differences in microbial activity between drainage regimes. We found that the WTL was a poor temporal predictor of redox potential but that (1) the position of major transi tion zones between oxic and anoxic states and (2) enzymatic activities within the peat profile were somewhat determined by the dominant WTL depth. In the undrained plots espe cially, redox potential values reflecting oxic or suboxic con ditions were often found below the WTL, whereas anoxia was present above the WTL at the drained plots. Preceding redox potential was found to affect the activities of protease and urease but not arginine in all plots.