Yohanne Larissa Gavasso Rita PhD

Room 1337, National Hydrology Research Centre

 

Dr. Yohanne Gavasso Rita is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Global Institute for Water Security whose research focuses on crop modelling, water security, climate change adaptation, and sustainable resource management. Her work combines data-driven analysis, agricultural water management, and shareholder engagement to improve agricultural resilience and optimize water use under changing climatic conditions. Through interviews, focus groups, and workshops with agricultural producers, she integrates self-reported water information with scientific data to support evidence-based decision-making and sustainable agricultural water management.

• Relationships between water availability and crop production
• Climate impacts on agricultural productivity
• Shareholder engagement and knowledge co-production
• Agricultural water use behaviour and decision-making
• Interdisciplinary environmental research

• Ph.D. University of Saskatchewan (Crop Production and Future Food Security)
• M.Sc. Universidade Federal do Parana (Soil-Crop-Water Nexus)
• B.Sc. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (Engineering in Agronomy)
• B.Sc. Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina (Animal Science)

Abdelmoaty, A.M.; Gavasso-Rita,Y.L.; Papalexiou, S. M. Changes in Future Precipitation of the Canadian Catchments Using 9-km Downscaled CMIP6 Simulations. Canadian Water Resources Journal / Revue Canadienne Des Ressources Hydriques, 1–16., 2026. https://doi.org/10.1080/07011784.2026.2634746

Gavasso-Rita, Y. L.; Zaerpour, M.; Abdelmoaty, H.; Li, Y.; Elshorbagy, A.; Schuster-Wallace, C.; Paschalis, A.; Papalexiou, S. M. Initial exploration of canola producers' approaches in response to Yohanne Gavasso Rita Curriculum Vitae changing climate in the Canadian Prairie Provinces. Plant-Environment Interactions, v. 7(1), p. e70107, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1002/pei3.70107

Gavasso-Rita, Y. L.; Abdelmoaty, H.; Li, Y; Papalexiou, S. M. Performance of current canola (Brassica napus) hybrids under future rainfed production management. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, v. 25 p.102574, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2025.102574

Gavasso-Rita, Y. L.; Zaerpour, M.; Abdelmoaty, H.; Li, Y.; Elshorbagy, A.; Schuster-Wallace, C.; Paschalis, A.; Papalexiou, S. M. Rainfed Spring Canola Yield Response to Changing Heat and Water Stress in the Canadian Prairie Region. Agricultural Water Management, v. 322, p. 109966, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109966

Papalexiou, S. M.; Mascaro, G.; Pendergrass, A. G.; Mamalakis, A.; de Brito, M. M.; Andreadis, K. M.; Schiro, K.; Zaerpour, M.; Hatami, S.; Gavasso-Rita, Y. L.; Ballarin, A. S.; Godoy, M. R. V.; Nerantzaki, S.; Abdelmoaty, H.; Matin, M. A.; Madani, K. Sustainability Nexus AID: Storms. Sustainability Nexus Forum, 33(1), 1, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00550-024-00544-y

Ballarin, A.S.; Vargas Godoy, M.R.; Zaerpour, M.; Abdelmoaty, H.M.; Hatami, S.; Gavasso-Rita, Y.L.; Wendland, E.; Papalexiou, S.M.; Drought intensification in Brazilian catchments: implications for water and land management. Environmental Research Letters, 2024. https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad3e18

Gavasso-Rita, Y.L.; Papalexiou, S.M.; Li, Y.; Elshorbagy, A.; Li, Z.; Schuster-Wallace, C. Crop Models and Their Use in Assessing Crop Production and Food Security: A Review. Food and Energy Security, v. 13, p. e503, 2023. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/fes3.503

Rita, Y.L.; Souza, J.L.M.; Rosa, S.L.K.; Viana, J.L.; Tavares, D.S.; Xavier, A.C. Probable precipitation and reference evapotranspiration in São Paulo State, Brazil. Journal of Agriculture in Arid Zones – IDESIA (Chile), v. 41, n. 3, p. 95-104, 2023. https://revistas.uta.cl/pdf/3097/art12.pdf

Tavares, D.S.; Fernandes,T.E.K.; Rita, Y.L.; Rocha, D.C.; Sant’Anna-Santos, B.F.; Gomes, M.P. Germinative metabolism and seedling growth of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) under salt and osmotic stress. South African Journal of Botany, v. 139, p. 399-408, 2021. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2021.03.019

Paiva, I.A.; Rita, Y.L.; Cavalieri-Polizeli, K.M. Knowledge and use of visual soil structure assessment methods in Brazil – A survey. Soil & Tillage Research, v. 204, p. 104704, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2020.104704

Gotz, L.F.; Castamann, A.; Piovesan, F.; Anzolin, B.L.; Herek, T.A.; Mikoanski, W. M.; Rita, Y.L. Use of rock powder associated with bovine manure in Latossolo Vermelho cultivated with wheat. Revista Brasileira de Agropecuária Sustentável (RBAS), v. 9, p. 131-139, 2019. https://doi.org/10.21206/rbas.v9i2.3464