荔枝生产相关的水分生理指标远程监测研究

利用植物远程监测系统对荔枝园中的大气温湿度、土壤湿度、光照强度、大气蒸汽压差(VPD)等环境因子和茎干直径微变化、果实生长、叶片温度等树体生理指标进行了监测,发现该系统能准确及时并无伤害地记录他们的实时和周期性变化。据获得的数据初步表明,当果实处于快速膨大期,主茎的加粗生长明显缓慢,一旦果实采收后,茎干加粗生长则有一个迅速上升的变化;当土壤湿度高于33%(v/v)时,主茎的生长受到明显的抑制;VPD白天上升,夜间下降,当夜间VPD始终高于0,就形成所谓的“夜间干燥”,VPD的这种变化对荔枝主茎和果实的生长以及叶气温差(LATD)都有较大的影响,如主茎和果实的日间收缩量随VPD的增大而增大,夜间空气干燥不但抑制了主茎生长,也使日最大LATD下降。据此认为,果实和茎干的生长之间存在竞争关系,土壤湿度过高或者夜间空气干燥对荔枝的生长不利。     

Spatial pattern analysis of pre- and post-hurricane forest canopy structure in North Carolina,USA

Existing spatial patterns of a forest are in part a product of its disturbance history. Using laser altimetry and field measures of canopy top height to represent pre- and post-hurricane canopy topography, respectively, we measured changes in spatial patterns of stand structure of a United States southern mixed coniferous-deciduous for est. Autocorrelative and fractal properties were measured in this opportunistic study to quantify changes in canopy architecture along twelve, 190-250 m transects that were subjected to moderate to high levels of wind disturbance. Prior to the hurricane, canopy heights were autocorrelated at scales <40 m with an average fractal dimension of 1.71. After the disturbance, autocorrelation disappeared; the average fractal dimension rose to 1.94. This shift towards spatial randomness illustrates part of the cyclical nature of ecosystem development. It shows how a catastrophic collapse of biomass accumulation corresponds to a decrease in ecosystem organization across a landscape. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The value of vegetation cover for ecosystem services in the suburban context

Latin-American cities can be characterized by dynamic processes of urbanization that encroach upon the natural and semi-natural surrounding landscapes. Our study presents the effects of landscape development, transformed from semi-natural conditions into a mostly disperse suburban settlement. We explore the impact that this transformation has had on this context by three ecosystem services that regulate rainwater runoff, enhance microclimate conditions and help to improve air quality by monitoring vegetation cover. We have designed a spatio-temporal hierarchical analysis which employs remote sensing techniques to capture the structural changes of this landscape over long, medium and short term scales on two spatial levels. This methodological approach was tested in the Metropolitan Area of Santiago (MAS) as case study area. Despite of the increase in impervious surfaces due to urban processes, there has also been an increase in vegetation cover, which has led to an improvement in the provision of the above-mentioned ecosystem services. Hence, if diverse urbanization processes continue and they are coupled with an increase in vegetation cover, the provision of ecosystem services could also expand. This phenomenon can be observed in some areas, where public and private green spaces are created and maintained. Our data analyses give evidence that certain types of suburban areas which increase the share of vegetation cover can provide daily ecological benefits for urban neighborhoods, and beyond, for adjacent areas. Moreover, suburban development can successfully provide ecological benefits to citizens. Such processes can only be ecologically sustainable if the composition of vegetation is well-adapted to the regional climatic conditions.     

Developing the framework for a risk map for mite vectored viruses in wheat resulting from pre-harvest hail damage

There is a strong economic incentive to reduce mite-vectored virus outbreaks. Most outbreaks in the central High Plains of the United States occur in the presence of volunteer wheat that emerges before harvest as a result of hail storms. This study provides a conceptual framework for developing a risk map for wheat diseases caused by mite-vectored viruses based on pre-harvest hail events. Traditional methods that use NDVI were found to be unsuitable due to low chlorophyll content in wheat at harvest. Site-level hyperspectral reflectance from mechanically hailed wheat showed increased canopy albedo. Therefore, any increase in NIR combined with large increases in red reflectance near harvest can be used to assign some level of risk. The regional model presented in this study utilized Landsat TM/ETM+ data and MODIS imagery to help gap-fill missing data. NOAA hail maps that estimate hail size were used to refine the area most likely at risk. The date range for each year was shifted to account for annual variations in crop phenology based on USDA Agriculture statistics for percent harvest of wheat. Between 2003 and 2013, there was a moderate trend (R² = 0.72) between the county-level insurance claims for Cheyenne County, Nebraska and the area determined to be at risk by the model (excluding the NOAA hail size product due to limited availability) when years with low hail claims (<400 ha) were excluded. These results demonstrate the potential of an operational risk map for mite-vectored viruses due to pre-season hail events.     

基于遥感的干旱监测方法研究

在全球变暖的气候背景下,近年来干旱频发且不断加剧,对人类的生产生活造成了严重的影响。目前,干旱监测已成为全球气候变化研究的一个热点课题。遥感技术以其客观、及时、经济、覆盖范围广、数据连续等优点,已被证明是干旱监测中最具前景的技术手段。本文基于遥感原理,介绍了归一化植被指数、温度状态指数、标准化降雨指数和标准化降雨蒸散指数等几种常见的干旱指数,综述了运用不同指数干旱监测的主要应用。最后针对目前研究中存在的问题,对今后研究的主要方向作出了展望。     

坝上生态农业工程生态效益监测与评价研究

利用遥感技术、地理信息系统和全球定位系统对河北坝上实施生态农业工程建设后的生态效益进行了监测与评价。定量描述了坝上生态环境的动态变化趋势，并对坝上生态农业工程的气候效益、土壤改良效益、农业水文生态效益进行了分析与评价。研究结果表明，通过工程治理，使农业生态系统的功能增强，结构合理，取得了显著的生态效益。     

Monitoring forage production for farmers’ decision making

Objective management of grazing livestock production systems needs monitoring of forage production at the managerial unit level. Our objectives were to develop a system that routinely estimates forage above-ground net primary production (ANPP) at the spatial and temporal resolution required by farmers in the Pampas of Argentina, and to facilitate adoption of the system by end users as a managerial support tool. Our approach was based on the radiation use efficiency (RUE) logic, which proposes that ANPP is determined by the amount of photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by the canopy (APAR), and the efficiency with which that energy is transformed in above-ground dry matter (radiation use efficiency, RUE). APAR is the product of incoming photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and the fraction absorbed by the canopy (fPAR). We estimated fPAR as a non-linear function of MODIS normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). RUE was empirically estimated for the two principal forage resources of the region, yielding the following relations: ANPP = 0.6 × APAR + 12, (R² = 0.86; p < 0.001; n = 18) for the upland sown pastures, and ANPP = 0.27 × APAR + 26, (R² = 0.74; p < 0.001; n = 18) for the lowland naturalized pastures, with ANPP in g/m²/60 days and APAR in MJ/m²/60 days. The models were able to predict independent ANPP values with acceptable accuracy. Computational procedures were automated and run in a Relational Data Base Manager System that stored and managed all the information. The system is currently monitoring 212,794 ha in 83 farms and provides monthly ANPP values for the previous month and a history of the last 6 years. The data so generated show ANPP differences between the two major forage resources, considerable variability of a given month’s ANPP among years and paddocks, and contrasting among-farm differences in the efficiency of conversion of ANPP and forage supplements into beef production. The system was well accepted by end users who utilize it mainly for making near real time decisions according to last month ANPP, and explaining results of previous production cycles by incorporating ANPP as an explicative variable. However, there were differences among farmers in the degree of utilization, apparently related to the advisor’s attitude toward this new technology. Our results indicate that (1) forage production of large extensions can be monthly monitored at the paddock level by a small laboratory with capabilities in geographic information systems, and (2) advisors and farmers apply this information to their managerial decisions.     

Remote sensing of biotic and abiotic stress for irrigation management of cotton

The applicability of commercially available remote sensing instrumentation was evaluated for site-specific management of abiotic and biotic stress on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) grown under a center pivot low energy precision application (LEPA) irrigation system. This study was conducted in a field where three irrigation regimes (100%, 75%, and 50% ET_c) were imposed on areas of Phymatotrichum (root rot) with the specific objectives to (1) examine commercial remote sensing instrumentation for locating areas showing biotic and abiotic stress symptomology in a cotton field, (2) compare data obtained from commercial aerial infrared photography to that collected by infrared transducers (IRTs) mounted on a center pivot, (3) evaluate canopy temperature changes between irrigation regimes and their relationship to lint yield with IRTs and/or IR photography, and (4) explore the use of deficit irrigation and the use of crop coefficients for irrigation scheduling. Pivot-mounted IRTs and an IR camera were able to differentiate water stress among irrigation regimes. The IR camera distinguished between biotic (root rot) and abiotic (drought) stress with the assistance of groundtruthing. The 50% ET_c regime had significantly higher canopy temperatures than the other two regimes, which was reflected in significantly lower lint yields when compared to the 75% and 100% ET_c regimes. Deficit irrigation down to 75% ET_c had no impact on lint yield, indicating that water savings were possible without reducing yield.