
2
The Continuous Case: Gaussian Bayesian
Networks
In this chapter we will continue our exploration of BNs, fo cusing on modelling
continuous data under a multivariate Normal (Gaussian) assumption.
2.1 Introductory Example: Crop Analysis
Suppose that we are interested in the analysis of a particular plant, which we
will model in a very simplistic way by considering:
• the potential of the plant and of the environment;
• the production of vegetative mass;
• and the harvested grain mass, which is called the crop.
To be more precise, we define two synthetic variables to describe the initial
status of the plant: its genetic potential, which we will denote as ...