Flux partitioning in an old-growth forest: seasonal and interannual dynamics

Turbulent fluxes of carbon, water and energy were measured at the Wind River Canopy Crane, Washington, USA from 1999 to 2004 with eddy-covariance instrumentation above (67 m) and below (2.5 m) the forest canopy. Here we present the decomposition of net ecosystem exchange of carbon (NEE) into gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (R(eco)) and tree canopy net CO(2) exchange (DeltaC) for an old-growth Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco)-western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) forest. Significant amounts of carbon were recycled within the canopy because carbon flux measured at the below-canopy level was always upward. Maximum fluxes reached 4-6 micromol m(-2) s(-1) of CO(2) into the canopy air space during the summer months, often equaling the net downward fluxes measured at the above-canopy level. Ecosystem respiration rates deviated from the expected exponential relationship with temperature during the summer months. An empirical ecosystem stress term was derived from soil water content and understory flux data and was added to the R(eco) model to account for attenuated respiration during the summer drought. This attenuation term was not needed in 1999, a wet La Ni?a year. Years in which climate approximated the historical mean, were within the normal range in both NEE and R(eco), but enhanced or suppressed R(eco) had a significant influence on the carbon balance of the entire stand. In years with low respiration the forest acts as a strong carbon sink (-217 g C m(-2) year(-1)), whereas years in which respiration is high can turn the ecosystem into a weak to moderate carbon source (+100 g C m(-2) year(-1)).     

Maximizing the relationship of yield to site-specific management zones with object-oriented segmentation of hyperspectral images

Quick and low cost delineation of site-specific management zones (SSMZ) would improve applications of precision agriculture. In this study, a new method for delineating SSMZ using object-oriented segmentation of airborne imagery was demonstrated. Three remote sensing domains—spectral, spatial, and temporal- are exploited to improve the SSMZ relationship to yield. Common vegetation indices (VI), and first and second derivatives (\(\rho^{\prime}\), \(\rho^{\prime\prime}\)) from twelve airborne hyperspectral images of a cotton field for one season \(\rho^{\prime}\) were used as input layers for object-oriented segmentation. The optimal combination of VI, SSMZ size and crop phenological stage were used as input variables for SSMZ delineation, determined by maximizing the correlation to segmented yield monitor maps. Combining narrow band vegetation indices and object-oriented segmentation provided higher correlation between VI and yield at SSMZ scale than that at pixel scale by reducing multi-resource data noise. VI performance varied during the cotton growing season, providing better SSMZ delineation at the beginning and middle of the season (days after planting (DAP) 66–143).The optimal scale determined for SSMZ delineation was approximately 240 polygons for the study field, but the method also provided flexibility enabling the setting of practical scales for a given field. For a defined scale, the optimal single phenological stage for the study field was near July 11 (DAP 87) early in the growing season. SSMZs determined from multispectral VIs at a single stage were also satisfactory; compared to hyperspectral indices, temporal resolution of multi-spectral data seems more important for SSMZ delineation.     

基于NDVI时间序列数据的施肥方式遥感识别方法

农产品生产过程时空动态监测是有机/绿色农产品认证亟待解决的问题,不同施肥方式的时空精准识别是解决该问题的关键。本文以美国加州大学戴维斯分校长期定位实验为基本材料,利用时间序列Landsat8和Sentinel-2影像研究长期施肥实验下不同施肥处理轮作地块的植被指数时间序列,对比分析不同施肥处理NDVI的差异以及NDVI与产量的相关性。结果表明:1)不同施肥处理下的NDVI时间序列曲线总体趋势相似,有机肥与化肥处理NDVI时间序列曲线差异较大;2)不同施肥处理NDVI随作物生长期呈现规律变化,生长初期和后期有机肥处理NDVI均值高于化肥处理,生长中期化肥处理高于有机肥处理;3)不同施肥处理下的NDVI与产量之间相关系数随作物生长期有规律变化,应用植被指数进行遥感估产需要考虑不同施肥处理的影响。研究成果初步探讨了利用不同施肥处理NDVI时间序列差异、NDVI与产量相关性差异区分有机肥与其他施肥方式,有望为有机/绿色农业的时空动态监测与认证提供遥感技术支持,深化遥感技术在农业领域应用。     

Genetic markers and the selection of quantitative traits in forage grasses

Summary Marker assisted selection is based upon the principle that if a gene (or block of genes) is linked to an easily identifiable genetic marker it may be more efficient to select in a breeding programme for the marker than for the trait itself. The recent developments in molecular marker technology has allowed several approaches to be applied to the forage grasses. The most effective methods involve the production of detailed genetic maps which can be used for determination of the location of Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs). Application of these methods toLolium has lead to the identification of 10 QTL's affecting mainly phenological characteristics. Up to 80% of the variation in inflorescence production in the establishment year may be accounted for by one region of the genome.     

Geostatistical scaling of canopy water content in a California salt marsh

Remote sensing data are typically collected at a scale which is larger in both grain and extent than traditional ecological measurements. To compare with remotely sensed data on a one-to-one basis, field measurements frequently must be rescaled to match the grain of image data. Once a one-to-one correspondence is established, it may be possible to extrapolate site based relationships over a wider extent. This paper presents a methodology for rescaling the grain of ecological field data to match the grain of remotely sensed data and gives an example of the method in verification of remote sensing estimates of canopy water content in a tidal salt marsh. We measured canopy water content at 169 points on a semi-regular grid in the Petaluma Marsh, CA. A variogram describing the spatial correlation structure of the canopy water content was calculated and modeled. Ordinary kriging estimates of the canopy water content were calculated over blocks corresponding to image pixels acquired by the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS). A water content index was determined from the reflectance data by calculating the area of a water absorption feature at 970 nm. A regression developed between the blocks and the pixels at the site was extrapolated over the image to obtain an estimate of canopy water content for the entire marsh. The patterns of canopy water content at the site and landscape levels suggest that different processes are important for determining patterns of canopy water content at different spatial extents. The errors involved in the rescaling procedures and the remote sensing interpretation are discussed.     

Quantifying the agricultural landscape and assessing spatio-temporal patterns of precipitation and groundwater use

Quantitative agricultural landscape indices are useful to describe functional relationships among climatic conditions, groundwater dynamics, soil properties and agricultural land use for mathematical models. We applied methods of regression statistics, variance component estimation and a Geographical Information System (GIS) to construct indices describing crops and soils and to establish functional relationships among these variables. This paper describes the development of indices and the partitioning of the spatial and temporal variation in groundwater models using the data from Tulare County, California, which was selected as the study area. Indices of ground surface elevation, total crop water demand, soil water infiltration rate, and soil production index explain 91% of the variation in average spring groundwater level. After relating spatial patterns of groundwater use to indices of crop and soil properties, we found that mean groundwater use is positively related to total crop water demand and soil water infiltration rate while the variation in groundwater use was negatively correlated with the crop water demand and soil water infiltration rate and positively related to soil water holding capacity. The spatial variation in groundwater use was largely influenced by crops and soil types while the temporal variation was not. We also found that groundwater use increased exponentially with decreasing annual precipitation for most townships. Based on these associations, groundwater use in each township can be forecast from relative precipitation under current methods of agricultural production. Although groundwater table depth is strongly affected by topography, the statistically significant indices observed in the model clearly show that agricultural land use influences groundwater table depth. These simple relationships can be used by agronomists to make water management decisions and to design alternative cropping systems to sustain agricultural production during periods of surface water shortages.     

Modeling shallow water table evaporation in irrigated regions

Groundwater discharge through evaporation due to a shallow water table can be an important component of a regional scale water balance. Modeling this phenomenon in irrigated regions where soil moisture varies on short time scales is most accurately accomplished using variably saturated modeling codes. However, the computational demands of these models limit their application to field scale problems. The MODFLOW groundwater modeling code is applicable to regional scale problems and it has an evapotranspiration package that can be used to estimate this form of discharge, however, the use of time-invariant parameters in this module result in evaporation rates that are a function of water table depth only. This paper presents a calibration and validation of the previously developed MOD-HMS model code using lysimeter data. The model is then used to illustrate the dependence of bare soil evaporation rates on water table depth and soil moisture conditions. Finally, an approach for estimating the time varying parameters for the MODFLOW evapotranspiration package using a 1-D variably saturated MOD-HMS model is presented.     

Biophysical controls of carbon flows in three successional Douglas-fir stands based on eddy-covariance measurements

We measured net carbon flux (F(CO2)) and net H2O flux (F(H2O)) by the eddy-covariance method at three Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco)-western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) sites located in the Wind River Valley of southern Washington State, USA. Stands were approximately 20, 40 and 450 years old and measurements were made between June 15 and October 15 of 1998 in the 40- and 450-year-old stands, and of 1999 in the 20- and 450-year-old stands. Our objectives were to determine if there were differences among the stands in: (1) patterns of daytime F(CO2) during summer and early autumn; (2) empirically modeled relationships between local climatic factors (e.g., light, vapor pressure deficit (VPD), soil water content, temperature and net radiation) and daytime F(CO2); and (3) water-use efficiency (WUE). We used the Landsberg equation, a logarithmic power function and linear regression to model relationships between F(CO2) and physical variables. Overall, given the same irradiance, F(CO2) was 1.0-3.9 mol m-2 s-1 higher (P < 0.0001 for both seasons) at the two young stands than at the old-growth stand. During summer and early autumn, F(CO2) averaged 4.2 and 6.1 mol m-2 s-1 at the 20- and 40-year-old stand, respectively. In contrast, the 450-year-old forest averaged 2.2 and 3.2 mol m-2 s-1 in 1998 and 1999, respectively. Increases in VPD were associated with reduced F(CO2) at all three stands, with the greatest apparent constraints occurring at the old-growth stand. Correlations between F(CO2) and all other environmental variables differed among ecosystems, with soil temperature showing a negative correlation and net radiation showing a positive correlation. In the old-growth stand, WUE was significantly greater (P < 0.0001) in the drier summer of 1998 (2.7 mg g-1) than in 1999 (1.0 mg g-1). Although we did not use replicates in our study, the results indicate that there are large differences in F(CO2) among Douglas-fir stands of different ages growing in the same general area, and that variations in age structure and site conditions need to be considered when scaling flux measurements from individual points to the landscape level.