Using variations in High Arctic vegetation spectral properties to predict various types of plant, soil, and environmental variables.

Author(s):  
Sandra Yaacoub

In comparison to other regions, the High Arctic is experiencing accelerated rates of warming (Meredith et al., 2019). Hyperspectral remote sensing may provide a way to monitor changes in productivity without having to make detailed ground-based measurements. During the 2017 field season researchers on Melville Island, Nunavut, collected in-situ hyperspectral data, plant nutrient concentrations, carbon dioxide gas exchange measurements, and various environmental parameters in a wet-sedge tundra environment. These data were processed with the overall objective of determining if spectral information may be used to quantify changes in productivity across the High Arctic. Using a random forest machine learning algorithm, wavelengths from the hyperspectral data were identified for use in nine vegetation indices (VIs) based on relationships to foliar nitrogen concentrations. Using linear regressions, these VIs were compared to the environmental parameters. Although none correlated significantly to foliar nitrogen, three VIs showed p-values < 0.05 (alpha = 0.05) consistently for the following variables: soil nitrate and ammonia concentrations, net ecosystem exchange (NEE), and gross primary productivity (GPP) values. This shows promise for the use of remote sensing techniques to aid in monitoring the High Arctic. Additional research within this field would help pave way towards increased certainty on the kinds of responses that are in store for these landscapes if warming is to continue at an accelerated rate. This may bring increased monitoring frequency and scale of environmental assessment across the High Arctic, granting communities influenced by warming additional tools to aid in safer regional navigation and improved emergency response preparedness.      References Meredith, M., Sommerkorn, M., Cassotta, S., Derksen, C., Ekaykin, A., Hollowed, A., Kofinas, G., Mackintosh, A., Melbourne-Thomas, J., Muelbert, M. M. C. M. M. C., Ottersen, G., Pritchard, H., & Schuur, E. A. G. E. A. G. (2019). Polar Regions. In H.-O. Pörtner, D. C. Roberts, V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, M. Tignor, E. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Nicolai, A. Okem, J. Petzold, B. Rama, & N. M. Weyer (Eds.), IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (pp. 203–320). https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/chapter/chapter-3-2/

2020 ◽  
Vol 171 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luzia Götz ◽  
Achilleas Psomas ◽  
Harald Bugmann

Early detection of bark beetle infestations by remote sensing: what is feasible today? Infestation by the Norway spruce (Picea abies) bark beetle (Ips typographus) in uniform forest stands of the high montane and subalpine stage is a major challenge for management. It is impossible to identify in time all susceptible or already infested spruces in the often steep terrain solely by terrestrial observations and to prevent the proliferation of the beetle. A time-saving, cost-effective and effective method for finding these spruces is necessary and remote sensing techniques appear promising. Therefore, we investigated the potential of hyperspectral remote sensing data for the early detection of stressed or infested spruces using a case study in the experimental forest of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) in Sedrun. The approach that we developed is based on a combination of field surveys, hyperspectral data, vegetation indices calculated from these and their classification into the three classes “dead”, “stressed” and “healthy” using Random Forests, a machine-learning approach. We demonstrate that stressed spruces can be identified with this approach, but it is not yet ready for operational use. In particular, a slope-specific calibration of the method is necessary, which makes practical application impossible.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Catello Pane ◽  
Gelsomina Manganiello ◽  
Nicola Nicastro ◽  
Francesco Carotenuto

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. raphani is responsible for wilting wild rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia L. [D.C.]). A machine learning model based on hyperspectral data was constructed to monitor disease progression. Thus, pathogenesis after artificial inoculation was monitored over a 15-day period by symptom assessment, qPCR pathogen quantification, and hyperspectral imaging. The host colonization by a pathogen evolved accordingly with symptoms as confirmed by qPCR. Spectral data showed differences as early as 5-day post infection and 12 hypespectral vegetation indices were selected to follow disease development. The hyperspectral dataset was used to feed the XGBoost machine learning algorithm with the aim of developing a model that discriminates between healthy and infected plants during the time. The multiple cross-prediction strategy of the pixel-level models was able to detect hyperspectral disease profiles with an average accuracy of 0.8. For healthy pixel detection, the mean Precision value was 0.78, the Recall was 0.88, and the F1 Score was 0.82. For infected pixel detection, the average evaluation metrics were Precision: 0.73, Recall: 0.57, and F1 Score: 0.63. Machine learning paves the way for automatic early detection of infected plants, even a few days after infection.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Luisa Buchaillot ◽  
David Soba ◽  
Tianchu Shu ◽  
Liu Juan ◽  
José Luis Araus ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;By 2050 future global food demand is projected to require a doubling of agricultural output, and climate change will exacerbate this challenge by intensifying the exposure of field crops to abiotic stress conditions, including rising temperature, increased drought, and increased CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; concentration ([CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;]). One of the keys to improving crop yield under different stresses is studying is photosynthesis. Photosynthetic parameters, such as the maximum rate of carboxylation of RuBP (V&lt;sub&gt;c,max&lt;/sub&gt;), and the maximum rate of electron transport driving RuBP regeneration (J&lt;sub&gt;max&lt;/sub&gt;) vary in response to climate conditions and have been identified as a target for improvement. However, the techniques used to measure these physiological parameters are very time consuming, ranging from 30 to 70 min per measurement and require specialized personnel. Therefore, breeding or genetic mapping for these traits under these conditions is prohibitively time-consuming. Spatial and temporal variation in plant photosynthesis can be estimated using remote sensing-derived spectral vegetation indices. Spectral estimates of green vegetation biomass and vigor, including vegetation indices such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), are widely used to estimate vegetation productivity across spatial and temporal scales but are unable to provide assessments of specific photosynthetic parameters. For that reason, hyperspectral remote sensing shows promise for predicting photosynthetic capacity based on more detailed leaf optical properties. In this study, we developed and assessed estimates of Vcmax and Jmax through four different advanced regression models: PLS, BR, ARDR, and LASSO based on leaf reflectance metrics measured with an ASD FieldSpec4 Hi-RES of different crops under different environmental conditions such as (1) different varieties of soybean under high [CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;] and high temperature, (2) different varieties of peanut under drought stress and (3) 20 varieties of cotton diverse origin and grown under field conditions. Both phenotypic variability and varying levels of stress were employed with each crop to ensure adequate ranges of responses. Model sensitivities were assessed for each crop and treatment separately and in combination in order to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of each model in all the different conditions. For the combination of three species, all the models suggest a robust prediction of Vcmax around R&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;:0.67 and the same for the Jmax R&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;: 0.55.&lt;/p&gt;


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 58-73
Author(s):  
Vijay Bhagat ◽  
Ajaykumar Kada ◽  
Suresh Kumar

Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) is an efficient tool to bridge the gap between high expensive satellite remote sensing, manned aerial surveys, and labors time consuming conventional fieldwork techniques of data collection. UAS can provide spatial data at very fine (up to a few mm) and desirable temporal resolution. Several studies have used vegetation indices (VIs) calculated from UAS based on optical- and MSS-datasets to model the parameters of biophysical units of the Earth surface. They have used different techniques of estimations, predictions and classifications. However, these results vary according to used datasets and techniques and appear very site-specific. These existing approaches aren’t optimal and applicable for all cases and need to be tested according to sensor category and different geophysical environmental conditions for global applications. UAS remote sensing is a challenging and interesting area of research for sustainable land management.


2002 ◽  
Vol 70 (9) ◽  
pp. 4880-4891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Eitel ◽  
Petra Dersch

ABSTRACT The YadA protein is a major adhesin of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis that promotes tight adhesion to mammalian cells by binding to extracellular matrix proteins. In this study, we first addressed the possibility of competitive interference of YadA and the major invasive factor invasin and found that expression of YadA in the presence of invasin affected neither the export nor the function of invasin in the outer membrane. Furthermore, expression of YadA promoted both bacterial adhesion and high-efficiency invasion entirely independently of invasin. Antibodies against fibronectin and β1 integrins blocked invasion, indicating that invasion occurs via extracellular-matrix-dependent bridging between YadA and the host cell β1 integrin receptors. Inhibitor studies also demonstrated that tyrosine and Ser/Thr kinases, as well as phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, are involved in the uptake process. Further expression studies revealed that yadA is regulated in response to several environmental parameters, including temperature, ion and nutrient concentrations, and the bacterial growth phase. In complex medium, YadA production was generally repressed but could be induced by addition of Mg2+. Maximal expression of yadA was obtained in exponential-phase cells grown in minimal medium at 37°C, conditions under which the invasin gene is repressed. These results suggest that YadA of Y. pseudotuberculosis constitutes another independent high-level uptake pathway that might complement other cell entry mechanisms (e.g., invasin) at certain sites or stages during the infection process.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 1657
Author(s):  
Abdul-Salam Juhmani ◽  
Alessandro Vezzi ◽  
Mohammad Wahsha ◽  
Alessandro Buosi ◽  
Fabio De Pascale ◽  
...  

Seaweeds are a group of essential photosynthetic organisms that harbor a rich diversity of associated microbial communities with substantial functions related to host health and defense. Environmental and anthropogenic stressors may disrupt the microbial communities and their metabolic activity, leading to host physiological alterations that negatively affect seaweeds’ performance and survival. Here, the bacterial communities associated with one of the most common seaweed, Ulva laetevirens Areshough, were sampled over a year at three sites of the lagoon of Venice affected by different environmental and anthropogenic stressors. Bacterial communities were characterized through Illumina sequencing of the V4 hypervariable region of 16S rRNA genes. The study demonstrated that the seaweed associated bacterial communities at sites impacted by environmental stressors were host-specific and differed significantly from the less affected site. Furthermore, these communities were significantly distinct from those of the surrounding seawater. The bacterial communities’ composition was significantly correlated with environmental parameters (nutrient concentrations, dissolved oxygen saturation, and pH) across sites. This study showed that several more abundant bacteria on U. laetevirens at stressed sites belonged to taxa related to the host response to the stressors. Overall, environmental parameters and anthropogenic stressors were shown to substantially affect seaweed associated bacterial communities, which reflect the host response to environmental variations.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 341
Author(s):  
Pauliina Salmi ◽  
Matti A. Eskelinen ◽  
Matti T. Leppänen ◽  
Ilkka Pölönen

Spectral cameras are traditionally used in remote sensing of microalgae, but increasingly also in laboratory-scale applications, to study and monitor algae biomass in cultures. Practical and cost-efficient protocols for collecting and analyzing hyperspectral data are currently needed. The purpose of this study was to test a commercial, easy-to-use hyperspectral camera to monitor the growth of different algae strains in liquid samples. Indices calculated from wavebands from transmission imaging were compared against algae abundance and wet biomass obtained from an electronic cell counter, chlorophyll a concentration, and chlorophyll fluorescence. A ratio of selected wavebands containing near-infrared and red turned out to be a powerful index because it was simple to calculate and interpret, yet it yielded strong correlations to abundances strain-specifically (0.85 < r < 0.96, p < 0.001). When all the indices formulated as A/B, A/(A + B) or (A − B)/(A + B), where A and B were wavebands of the spectral camera, were scrutinized, good correlations were found amongst them for biomass of each strain (0.66 < r < 0.98, p < 0.001). Comparison of near-infrared/red index to chlorophyll a concentration demonstrated that small-celled strains had higher chlorophyll absorbance compared to strains with larger cells. The comparison of spectral imaging to chlorophyll fluorescence was done for one strain of green algae and yielded strong correlations (near-infrared/red, r = 0.97, p < 0.001). Consequently, we described a simple imaging setup and information extraction based on vegetation indices that could be used to monitor algae cultures.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 223
Author(s):  
Rubaiya Binte Mostafiz ◽  
Ryozo Noguchi ◽  
Tofael Ahamed

Satellite remote sensing technologies have a high potential in applications for evaluating land conditions and can facilitate optimized planning for agricultural sectors. However, misinformed land selection decisions limit crop yields and increase production-related costs to farmers. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to develop a land suitability assessment system using satellite remote sensing-derived soil-vegetation indicators. A multicriteria decision analysis was conducted by integrating weighted linear combinations and fuzzy multicriteria analyses in a GIS platform for suitability assessment using the following eight criteria: elevation, slope, and LST vegetation indices (SAVI, ARVI, SARVI, MSAVI, and OSAVI). The relative priorities of the indicators were identified using a fuzzy expert system. Furthermore, the results of the land suitability assessment were evaluated by ground truthed yield data. In addition, a yield estimation method was developed using indices representing influential factors. The analysis utilizing equal weights showed that 43% of the land (1832 km2) was highly suitable, 41% of the land (1747 km2) was moderately suitable, and 10% of the land (426 km2) was marginally suitable for improved yield productions. Alternatively, expert knowledge was also considered, along with references, when using the fuzzy membership function; as a result, 48% of the land (2045 km2) was identified as being highly suitable; 39% of the land (2045 km2) was identified as being moderately suitable, and 7% of the land (298 km2) was identified as being marginally suitable. Additionally, 6% (256 km2) of the land was described as not suitable by both methods. Moreover, the yield estimation using SAVI (R2 = 77.3%), ARVI (R2 = 68.9%), SARVI (R2 = 71.1%), MSAVI (R2 = 74.5%) and OSAVI (R2 = 81.2%) showed a good predictive ability. Furthermore, the combined model using these five indices reported the highest accuracy (R2 = 0.839); this model was then applied to develop yield prediction maps for the corresponding years (2017–2020). This research suggests that satellite remote sensing methods in GIS platforms are an effective and convenient way for agricultural land-use planners and land policy makers to select suitable cultivable land areas with potential for increased agricultural production.


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