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Sample records for agricultural plot scale

  1. Effectiveness of Conservation Measures in Reducing Runoff and Soil Loss Under Different Magnitude-Frequency Storms at Plot and Catchment Scales in the Semi-arid Agricultural Landscape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, T X

    2016-03-01

    In this study, multi-year stormflow data collected at both catchment and plot scales on an event basis were used to evaluate the efficiency of conservation. At the catchment scale, soil loss from YDG, an agricultural catchment with no conservation measures, was compared with that from CZG, an agricultural catchment with an implementation of a range of conservation measures. With an increase of storm recurrence intervals in the order of 20 years, the mean event sediment yield was 639, 1721, 5779, 15191, 19627, and 47924 t/km(2) in YDG, and was 244, 767, 3077, 4679, 8388, and 15868 t/km(2) in CZG, which represented a reduction effectiveness of 61.8, 55.4, 46.7, 69.2, 57.2, and 66.8 %, respectively. Storm events with recurrence intervals greater than 2 years contributed about two-thirds of the total runoff and sediment in both YDG and CZG catchments. At the plot scale, soil loss from one cultivated slopeland was compared with that from five conservation plots. The mean event soil loss was 1622 t/km(2) on the cultivated slopeland, in comparison to 27.7 t/km(2) on the woodland plot, 213 t/km(2) on the grassland plot, 467 t/km(2) on the alfalfa plot, 236 t/km(2) on the terraceland plot, and 642 t/km(2) on the earthbank plot. Soil loss per unit area from all the plots was significantly less than that from the catchments for storms of all categories of recurrence intervals.

  2. The potential of UAS imagery for soil mapping at the agricultural plot scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilliot, Jean-Marc; Michelin, Joël; Becu, Maxime; Cissé, Moustapha; Hadjar, Dalila; Vaudour, Emmanuelle

    2017-04-01

    Soil mapping is expensive and time consuming. Airborne and satellite remote sensing data have already been used to predict some soil properties but now Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) allow to do many images acquisitions in various field conditions in favour of developing methods for better prediction models construction. This study propose an operational method for spatial prediction of soil properties (organic carbon, clay) at the scale of the agricultural plot by using UAS imagery. An agricultural plot of 28 ha, located in the western region of Paris France, was studied from March to May 2016. An area of 3.6 ha was delimited within the plot and a total of 16 flights were completed. The UAS platforms used were the eBee fixed wing provided by Sensefly® flying at an altitude from 60m to 130m and the iris+ 3DR® Quadcopter (from 30m to 100m). Two multispectral visible near-infrared cameras were used: the AirInov® MultiSPEC 4C® and the Micasense® RedEdge®. 42 ground control points (GCP) were sampled within the 3.6 ha plot. A centimetric Trimble Geo 7x DGPS was used to determine precise GCP positions. On each GCP the soil horizons were described and the top soil were sampled for standard physico-chemical analysis. Ground spectral measurements with a Spectral Evolution® SR-3500 spectroradiometer were made synchronously with the drone flights. 22 additional GCP were placed around the 3.6 ha area in order to realize a precise georeferencing. The multispectral mosaics were calculated using the Agisoft Photoscan® software and all mapping processings were done with the ESRI ArcGIS® 10.3 software. The soil properties were estimated by partial least squares regression (PLSR) between the laboratory analyses and the multispectral information of the UAS images, with the PLS package of the R software. The objective was to establish a model that would achieve an acceptable prediction quality using minimum number of points. For this, we tested 5 models with a decreasing

  3. Transport of cyazofamid and kresoxim methyl in runoff at the plot and catchment scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lefrancq, Marie; Joaquín García Verdú, Antonio; Maillard, Elodie; Imfeld, Gwenaël; Payraudeau, Sylvain

    2013-04-01

    Surface runoff and erosion during the course of rainfall events represent major processes of pesticides transport from agricultural land to aquatic ecosystem. In general, field and catchment studies on pesticide transfer are carried out separately. A study at both scales may enable to improve the understanding of scale effects on processes involved in pesticides transport and to give clues on the source areas within an agricultural catchment. In this study, the transport in runoff of two widely used fungicides, i.e. kresoxim methyl (KM) and cyazofamid (CY) was assessed in a 43 ha vineyard catchment and the relative contribution of the total fungicides export from one representative plot was evaluated. During an entire period of fungicide application, from May to August 2011, the discharge and loads of dissolved and particle-laden KM and CY were monitored at the plot and catchment scales. The results showed larger export coefficient of KM and CY from catchment (0.064 and 0.041‰ for KM and CY respectively) than from the studied plot (0.009 and 0.023 ‰ for KM and CY respectively). It suggests that the plot margins especially the road network contributed as well to the fungicide loads. This result underlines the impact of fungicide drift on non-target areas. Furthermore, a larger rainfall threshold is necessary at the plot scale to trigger runoff and mobilise pesticides than on the road network. At the plot scale, a rapid dissipation of the both fungicides in the top soil was observed. It highlights that the risky period encompasses the first rainfall events triggering runoff after the applications. At both scales, KM and CY were not detected in suspended solids (i.e. > 0.7 µm). However their partitioning in runoff water differed. 64.1 and 91.8% of the KM load was detected in the dissolved phase (i.e. particulate phase (i.e. between 0.22 and 0.7 µm) at the plot and catchment scales respectively. Although KM and CY have similar lab-defined properties, our results

  4. Measurements of the effectiveness of conservation agriculture at the field scale using radioisotopic techniques and runoff plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mabit, L.; Klik, A.; Toloza, A.; Benmansour, M.; Geisler, A.; Gerstmann, U. C.

    2009-04-01

    Growing evidence of the cost of soil erosion on agricultural land and off site impact of associated processes has emphasized the needs for quantitative assessment of erosion rates to develop and assess erosion control technology and to allocate conservation resources and development of conservation regulation, policies and programmes. Our main study goal was to assess the magnitude of deposition rates using Fallout Radionuclides ‘FRNs' (137-Cs and 210-Pb) and the mid-term (13 years) erosion rates using conventional runoff plot measurements in a small agricultural watershed under conventional and conservation tillage practices. The tillage treatments were conventional tillage system (CT), mechanical plough to 30 cm depth (the most common tillage system within the watershed); conservation tillage (CS) with cover crops during winter; and direct seeding (DS) no tillage with cover crops during winter. The experimental design - located in Mistelbach watershed 60 km north of Vienna/Austria - consists of one 3-metre-wide and 15-metre-long runoff plot (silt loam - slope of 14%) for each tillage system (CT, CS and DS) with the plots placed in the upper part of an agricultural field. 76 soil samples were collected to evaluate the initial fallout of 137-Cs and 210-Pb in a small forested area close to the experimental field, along a systematic multi-grid design,. In the sedimentation area of the watershed and down slope the agricultural field, 2 additional soil profiles were collected to 1 m depth. All soil samples were air dried, sieved to 2mm and analysed for their 137-Cs and 210-Pb contents using gamma detector. The main results and conclusion can be summarised as following: i) The initial 137-Cs fallout as measured in the 76 forested soil samples ranged from 1123 to 3354 Bq/m2 for an average of 1954 Bq/m2 with a coefficient of variation of 20.4 %. ii) Long-term erosion measurements (1994-2006) from runoff plots located in the upper part of the agricultural field just up

  5. Identifying the Tillage Effects on Phosphorus Export from Phaeozems-Dominated Agricultural Watershed: a Plot-Scale Rainfall-Runoff Study in Northeast China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Yuyan; Xu, Y. Jun; Xiao, Weihua; Wang, Jianhua; Hao, Cailian; Zhou, Pu; Shi, Min

    2017-12-01

    Evaluating tillage effects on soil phosphorus (P) loss at the plot-scale has significant implication for developing best management practices (BMPs) to protect water quality and soil productivity management in agricultural watersheds. This paper aims to quantify P loss from tilled soils under different rainfall patterns in a Phaeozems-dominated agricultural watershed. Eleven rainfall events were monitored at three experimental sites growing corns with conventional till, conservational till, and no-till during a growing season from July to August in 2013. Mean event mean concentration of dissolved phosphorus was 0.130, 0.213 and 0.614 mg L-1 and mean particulate phosphorus transfer rate was 103.502, 33.359 and 27.127 g ha-1 hr-1, respectively for three tillage practices. Results showed that less tillage practices could significantly reduce sediment runoff and PP loss, accompanied with a moderate reduction of runoff yield. While the proportion of PP has been cut down, the proportion of DP could account for the majority. Hydrological factors, including antecedent soil moisture and rainfall variables, could exert various effects on DP, PP and sediment losses under different tillage conditions. Further, the results of this study imply that the soil P loss management and water quality protection in black soil region of Northeast China should take consideration of diverse effects of tillage on phosphorus loss and the dynamics of P between different forms.

  6. Integrated management of water resources demand and supply in irrigated agriculture from plot to regional scale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Schütze

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Growing water scarcity in agriculture is an increasing problem in future in many regions of the world. Recent trends of weather extremes in Saxony, Germany also enhance drought risks for agricultural production. In addition, signals of longer and more intense drought conditions during the vegetation period can be found in future regional climate scenarios for Saxony. However, those climate predictions are associated with high uncertainty and therefore, e.g. stochastic methods are required to analyze the impact of changing climate patterns on future crop water requirements and water availability. For assessing irrigation as a measure to increase agricultural water security a generalized stochastic approach for a spatial distributed estimation of future irrigation water demand is proposed, which ensures safe yields and a high water productivity at the same time. The developed concept of stochastic crop water production functions (SCWPF can serve as a central decision support tool for both, (i a cost benefit analysis of farm irrigation modernization on a local scale and (ii a regional water demand management using a multi-scale approach for modeling and implementation. The new approach is applied using the example of a case study in Saxony, which is dealing with the sustainable management of future irrigation water demands and its implementation.

  7. SCALPLO, Plotting of Flux Output from SCALE Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hersman, A.; De Leege, P.F.A.; Hoogenboom, J.E.

    1993-01-01

    1 - Description of program or function: SCALPLO is a plot program, designed to plot flux, power and spectrum information. Data exchange between SCALE modules and SCALPLO is via CCCC-interface files. As not all modules can produce these files, there are special routines supplied with SCALPLO that can produce CCCC-like files. These routines can be included in the code and for XSDRPM, CITATION, ANISN and DOT, the place to include these routines is supplied. 2 - Method of solution: SCALPLO consists of two sections. Firstly the pre-processor, which selects and reads the required data. Secondly the plot section which produces the plot on the selected output device. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: SCALPLO requires DISSPLA version 11.0 or higher. The choice of output device depends on the devices installed

  8. Preferential transport of isoproturon at a plot scale and a field scale tile-drained site

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zehe, Erwin; Flühler, Hannes

    2001-06-01

    Irrigation experiments using the tracers Brilliant Blue (BB) and Bromide (Br) were conducted on three plots of 1.4×1.4 m 2 (plot scale) and a field scale subsurface drained test site (900 m 2) to clarify mechanisms causing rapid transport of surface applied Isoproturon (IPU) during preferential flow events. One of the small plots (site 10) and the field scale test site are located on the same field. One day after irrigation of the plot scale sites the Br and IPU concentration in two vertical soil profiles as well as the macroporousity on separate profiles and hydraulic properties of single macropores were determined. During irrigation of the field scale test site discharge, soil moisture as well as the concentration of IPU and Br in the drainage outlet were measured. Preferential flow in deep penetrating earthworm burrows caused a fast breakthrough of IPU and Br into the tile drain (1.2 m depth) at the field scale site as well as leaching of IPU into the subsoil (>0.8 m) at site 10. The results suggest a hierarchy of preconditions for the occurrence of preferential flow events of which a sufficient number of deep penetrating macropores interconnected to the soil surface seems to be the most important one. Moreover there is evidence that facilitated transport of IPU attached to mobile soil particles occurred during the preferential flow events at the field scale site and site 10. The susceptibility for preferential flow as well as the susceptibility for facilitated transport appear to be intrinsic properties of the investigated soil.

  9. Recovery based on plot experiments is a poor predictor of landscape-level population impacts of agricultural pesticides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Topping, Christopher John; Kjaer, Lene Jung; Hommen, Udo; Høye, Toke Thomas; Preuss, Thomas G; Sibly, Richard M; van Vliet, Peter

    2014-07-01

    Current European Union regulatory risk assessment allows application of pesticides provided that recovery of nontarget arthropods in-crop occurs within a year. Despite the long-established theory of source-sink dynamics, risk assessment ignores depletion of surrounding populations and typical field trials are restricted to plot-scale experiments. In the present study, the authors used agent-based modeling of 2 contrasting invertebrates, a spider and a beetle, to assess how the area of pesticide application and environmental half-life affect the assessment of recovery at the plot scale and impact the population at the landscape scale. Small-scale plot experiments were simulated for pesticides with different application rates and environmental half-lives. The same pesticides were then evaluated at the landscape scale (10 km × 10 km) assuming continuous year-on-year usage. The authors' results show that recovery time estimated from plot experiments is a poor indicator of long-term population impact at the landscape level and that the spatial scale of pesticide application strongly determines population-level impact. This raises serious doubts as to the utility of plot-recovery experiments in pesticide regulatory risk assessment for population-level protection. Predictions from the model are supported by empirical evidence from a series of studies carried out in the decade starting in 1988. The issues raised then can now be addressed using simulation. Prediction of impacts at landscape scales should be more widely used in assessing the risks posed by environmental stressors. © 2014 SETAC.

  10. Predicting plot soil loss by empirical and process-oriented approaches: A review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soil erosion directly affects the quality of the soil, its agricultural productivity and its biological diversity. Many mathematical models have been developed to estimate plot soil erosion at different temporal scales. At present, empirical soil loss equations and process-oriented models are consid...

  11. Green leaf phenology at Landsat resolution: scaling from the plot to satellite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, J. I.; Mustard, J. F.; Vadeboncour, M.

    2005-12-01

    Despite the large number of in situ, plot-level phenological measurements and satellite-derived phenological studies, there has been little success to date in merging these records temporally or spatially. In particular, while most phenological patterns and trends derived from satellites appear realistic and coherent, they may not reflect spatial and temporal patterns at the plot level. An obvious explanation is the drastic scale difference from plot-level to most satellite observations. In this research, we bridge this scale gap through higher resolution satellite records (Landsat) and quantify the accuracy of satellite-derived metrics with direct field measurements. We compiled fifty-seven Landsat scenes from southern New England (P12 R51) from 1984 to 2002. Green vegetation areal abundance for each scene was derived from spectral mixture analysis and a single set of endmembers. The leaf area signal was fit with a logistic-growth simulating sigmoid curve to derive phenological markers (half-maximum leaf-onset and offset). Spring leaf-onset dates in homogenous stands of deciduous forests displayed significant and persistent local variability. The local variability was validated with multiple springtime ground observations (r2 = 0.91). The highest degree of verified small-scale variation occurred where contiguous forests displayed leaf-onset gradients of 10-14 days over short distances (example, our results indicate that deciduous forests in the Providence, RI metropolitan area leaf out 5-7 days earlier than comparable rural areas. In preliminary work, we validated the Landsat-derived metrics with similar analyses of MODIS and AVHRR, and demonstrate that aggregating diverse local phenologies into coarse grids may convolute interpretations. Despite these complications, the platform-independent curve-fit methodology may be extended across platforms and field data. The methodologically consistent approach, in tandem with Landsat data, allows us to effectively scale

  12. Systemic perspectives on scaling agricultural innovations. A review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wigboldus, Seerp; Klerkx, Laurens; Leeuwis, Cees; Schut, Marc; Muilerman, Sander; Jochemsen, Henk

    2016-01-01

    Agricultural production involves the scaling of agricultural innovations such as disease-resistant and drought-tolerant maize varieties, zero-tillage techniques, permaculture cultivation practices based on perennial crops and automated milking systems. Scaling agricultural innovations should take

  13. Evaluation of the Soil Conservation Service curve number methodology using data from agricultural plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lal, Mohan; Mishra, S. K.; Pandey, Ashish; Pandey, R. P.; Meena, P. K.; Chaudhary, Anubhav; Jha, Ranjit Kumar; Shreevastava, Ajit Kumar; Kumar, Yogendra

    2017-01-01

    The Soil Conservation Service curve number (SCS-CN) method, also known as the Natural Resources Conservation Service curve number (NRCS-CN) method, is popular for computing the volume of direct surface runoff for a given rainfall event. The performance of the SCS-CN method, based on large rainfall (P) and runoff (Q) datasets of United States watersheds, is evaluated using a large dataset of natural storm events from 27 agricultural plots in India. On the whole, the CN estimates from the National Engineering Handbook (chapter 4) tables do not match those derived from the observed P and Q datasets. As a result, the runoff prediction using former CNs was poor for the data of 22 (out of 24) plots. However, the match was little better for higher CN values, consistent with the general notion that the existing SCS-CN method performs better for high rainfall-runoff (high CN) events. Infiltration capacity (fc) was the main explanatory variable for runoff (or CN) production in study plots as it exhibited the expected inverse relationship between CN and fc. The plot-data optimization yielded initial abstraction coefficient (λ) values from 0 to 0.659 for the ordered dataset and 0 to 0.208 for the natural dataset (with 0 as the most frequent value). Mean and median λ values were, respectively, 0.030 and 0 for the natural rainfall-runoff dataset and 0.108 and 0 for the ordered rainfall-runoff dataset. Runoff estimation was very sensitive to λ and it improved consistently as λ changed from 0.2 to 0.03.

  14. Assessing heterogeneity in soil nitrogen cycling: a plot-scale approach

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    Peter Baas; Jacqueline E. Mohan; David Markewitz; Jennifer D. Knoepp

    2014-01-01

    The high level of spatial and temporal heterogeneity in soil N cycling processes hinders our ability to develop an ecosystem-wide understanding of this cycle. This study examined how incorporating an intensive assessment of spatial variability for soil moisture, C, nutrients, and soil texture can better explain ecosystem N cycling at the plot scale. Five sites...

  15. Mechanisms of basin-scale nitrogen load reductions under intensified irrigated agriculture.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecka Törnqvist

    Full Text Available Irrigated agriculture can modify the cycling and transport of nitrogen (N, due to associated water diversions, water losses, and changes in transport flow-paths. We investigate dominant processes behind observed long-term changes in dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN concentrations and loads of the extensive (465,000 km2 semi-arid Amu Darya River basin (ADRB in Central Asia. We specifically considered a 40-year period (1960-2000 of large irrigation expansion, reduced river water flows, increased fertilizer application and net increase of N input into the soil-water system. Results showed that observed decreases in riverine DIN concentration near the Aral Sea outlet of ADRB primarily were due to increased recirculation of irrigation water, which extends the flow-path lengths and enhances N attenuation. The observed DIN concentrations matched a developed analytical relation between concentration attenuation and recirculation ratio, showing that a fourfold increase in basin-scale recirculation can increase DIN attenuation from 85 to 99%. Such effects have previously only been observed at small scales, in laboratory experiments and at individual agricultural plots. These results imply that increased recirculation can have contributed to observed increases in N attenuation in agriculturally dominated drainage basins in different parts of the world. Additionally, it can be important for basin scale attenuation of other pollutants, including phosphorous, metals and organic matter. A six-fold lower DIN export from ADRB during the period 1981-2000, compared to the period 1960-1980, was due to the combined result of drastic river flow reduction of almost 70%, and decreased DIN concentrations at the basin outlet. Several arid and semi-arid regions around the world are projected to undergo similar reductions in discharge as the ADRB due to climate change and agricultural intensification, and may therefore undergo comparable shifts in DIN export as shown here

  16. Fungicides transport in runoff from vineyard plot and catchment: contribution of non-target areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lefrancq, Marie; Payraudeau, Sylvain; García Verdú, Antonio Joaquín; Maillard, Elodie; Millet, Maurice; Imfeld, Gwenaël

    2014-04-01

    Surface runoff and erosion during the course of rainfall events are major processes of pesticides transport from agricultural land to aquatic ecosystem. These processes are generally evaluated either at the plot or the catchment scale. Here, we compared at both scales the transport and partitioning in runoff water of two widely used fungicides, i.e., kresoxim-methyl (KM) and cyazofamid (CY). The objective was to evaluate the relationship between fungicides runoff from the plot and from the vineyard catchment. The results show that seasonal exports for KM and CY at the catchment were larger than those obtained at the plot. This underlines that non-target areas within the catchment largely contribute to the overall load of runoff-associated fungicides. Estimations show that 85 and 62 % of the loads observed for KM and CY at the catchment outlet cannot be explained by the vineyard plots. However, the partitioning of KM and CY between three fractions, i.e., the suspended solids (>0.7 μm) and two dissolved fractions (i.e., between 0.22 and 0.7 µm and plot scales enable to evaluate the sources areas of pesticide off-site transport.

  17. Runoff and soil erosion plot-scale studies under natural rainfall: A meta-analysis of the Brazilian experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Research to measure soil erosion rates in the United States from natural rainfall runoff plots began in the early 1900’s. In Brazil, the first experimental study at the plot-scale was conducted in the 1940’s; however, the monitoring process and the creation of new experimental field plots have not c...

  18. Scaling and the frequency dependence of Nyquist plot maxima of the electrical impedance of the human thigh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiffman, Carl

    2017-11-30

    To define and elucidate the properties of reduced-variable Nyquist plots. Non-invasive measurements of the electrical impedance of the human thigh. A retrospective analysis of the electrical impedances of 154 normal subjects measured over the past decade shows that 'scaling' of the Nyquist plots for human thigh muscles is a property shared by healthy thigh musculature, irrespective of subject and the length of muscle segment. Here the term scaling signifies the near and sometimes 'perfect' coalescence of the separate X versus R plots into one 'reduced' Nyquist plot by the simple expedient of dividing R and X by X m , the value of X at the reactance maximum. To the extent allowed by noise levels one can say that there is one 'universal' reduced Nyquist plot for the thigh musculature of healthy subjects. There is one feature of the Nyquist curves which is not 'universal', however, namely the frequency f m at which the maximum in X is observed. That is found to vary from 10 to 100 kHz. depending on subject and segment length. Analysis shows, however, that the mean value of 1/f m is an accurately linear function of segment length, though there is a small subject-to-subject random element as well. Also, following the recovery of an otherwise healthy victim of ankle fracture demonstrates the clear superiority of measurements above about 800 kHz, where scaling is not observed, in contrast to measurements below about 400 kHz, where scaling is accurately obeyed. The ubiquity of 'scaling' casts new light on the interpretation of impedance results as they are used in electrical impedance myography and bioelectric impedance analysis.

  19. Modeling Short-Range Soil Variability and its Potential Use in Variable-Rate Treatment of Experimental Plots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A Moameni

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract In Iran, the experimental plots under fertilizer trials are managed in such a way that the whole plot area uniformly receives agricultural inputs. This could lead to biased research results and hence to suppressing of the efforts made by the researchers. This research was conducted in a selected site belonging to the Gonbad Agricultural Research Station, located in the semiarid region, northeastern Iran. The aim was to characterize the short-range spatial variability of the inherent and management-depended soil properties and to determine if this variation is large and can be managed at practical scales. The soils were sampled using a grid 55 m apart. In total, 100 composite soil samples were collected from topsoil (0-30 cm and were analyzed for calcium carbonate equivalent, organic carbon, clay, available phosphorus, available potassium, iron, copper, zinc and manganese. Descriptive statistics were applied to check data trends. Geostatistical analysis was applied to variography, model fitting and contour mapping. Sampling at 55 m made it possible to split the area of the selected experimental plot into relatively uniform areas that allow application of agricultural inputs with variable rates. Keywords: Short-range soil variability, Within-field soil variability, Interpolation, Precision agriculture, Geostatistics

  20. Plot-scale field experiment of surface hydrologic processes with EOS implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laymon, Charles A.; Macari, Emir J.; Costes, Nicholas C.

    1992-01-01

    Plot-scale hydrologic field studies were initiated at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center to a) investigate the spatial and temporal variability of surface and subsurface hydrologic processes, particularly as affected by vegetation, and b) develop experimental techniques and associated instrumentation methodology to study hydrologic processes at increasingly large spatial scales. About 150 instruments, most of which are remotely operated, have been installed at the field site to monitor ground atmospheric conditions, precipitation, interception, soil-water status, and energy flux. This paper describes the nature of the field experiment, instrumentation and sampling rationale, and presents preliminary findings.

  1. Macroecology of Australian Tall Eucalypt Forests: Baseline Data from a Continental-Scale Permanent Plot Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Sam W.; Prior, Lynda D.; Stephens, Helen C.; Bowman, David M. J. S.

    2015-01-01

    Tracking the response of forest ecosystems to climate change demands large (≥1 ha) monitoring plots that are repeatedly measured over long time frames and arranged across macro-ecological gradients. Continental scale networks of permanent forest plots have identified links between climate and carbon fluxes by monitoring trends in tree growth, mortality and recruitment. The relationship between tree growth and climate in Australia has been recently articulated through analysis of data from smaller forest plots, but conclusions were limited by (a) absence of data on recruitment and mortality, (b) exclusion of non-eucalypt species, and (c) lack of knowledge of stand age or disturbance histories. To remedy these gaps we established the Ausplots Forest Monitoring Network: a continental scale network of 48 1 ha permanent plots in highly productive tall eucalypt forests in the mature growth stage. These plots are distributed across cool temperate, Mediterranean, subtropical and tropical climates (mean annual precipitation 850 to 1900 mm per year; mean annual temperature 6 to 21°C). Aboveground carbon stocks (AGC) in these forests are dominated by eucalypts (90% of AGC) whilst non-eucalypts in the understorey dominated species diversity and tree abundance (84% of species; 60% of stems). Aboveground carbon stocks were negatively related to mean annual temperature, with forests at the warm end of the temperature range storing approximately half the amount of carbon as forests at the cool end of the temperature range. This may reflect thermal constraints on tree growth detected through other plot networks and physiological studies. Through common protocols and careful sampling design, the Ausplots Forest Monitoring Network will facilitate the integration of tall eucalypt forests into established global forest monitoring initiatives. In the context of projections of rapidly warming and drying climates in Australia, this plot network will enable detection of links between

  2. Scaling wood volume estimates from inventory plots to landscapes with airborne LiDAR in temperate deciduous forest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shaun R. Levick

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Monitoring and managing carbon stocks in forested ecosystems requires accurate and repeatable quantification of the spatial distribution of wood volume at landscape to regional scales. Grid-based forest inventory networks have provided valuable records of forest structure and dynamics at individual plot scales, but in isolation they may not represent the carbon dynamics of heterogeneous landscapes encompassing diverse land-management strategies and site conditions. Airborne LiDAR has greatly enhanced forest structural characterisation and, in conjunction with field-based inventories, it provides avenues for monitoring carbon over broader spatial scales. Here we aim to enhance the integration of airborne LiDAR surveying with field-based inventories by exploring the effect of inventory plot size and number on the relationship between field-estimated and LiDAR-predicted wood volume in deciduous broad-leafed forest in central Germany. Results Estimation of wood volume from airborne LiDAR was most robust (R2 = 0.92, RMSE = 50.57 m3 ha−1 ~14.13 Mg C ha−1 when trained and tested with 1 ha experimental plot data (n = 50. Predictions based on a more extensive (n = 1100 plot network with considerably smaller (0.05 ha plots were inferior (R2 = 0.68, RMSE = 101.01 ~28.09 Mg C ha−1. Differences between the 1 and 0.05 ha volume models from LiDAR were negligible however at the scale of individual land-management units. Sample size permutation tests showed that increasing the number of inventory plots above 350 for the 0.05 ha plots returned no improvement in R2 and RMSE variability of the LiDAR-predicted wood volume model. Conclusions Our results from this study confirm the utility of LiDAR for estimating wood volume in deciduous broad-leafed forest, but highlight the challenges associated with field plot size and number in establishing robust relationships between airborne LiDAR and field derived wood volume. We

  3. Scaling wood volume estimates from inventory plots to landscapes with airborne LiDAR in temperate deciduous forest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levick, Shaun R; Hessenmöller, Dominik; Schulze, E-Detlef

    2016-12-01

    Monitoring and managing carbon stocks in forested ecosystems requires accurate and repeatable quantification of the spatial distribution of wood volume at landscape to regional scales. Grid-based forest inventory networks have provided valuable records of forest structure and dynamics at individual plot scales, but in isolation they may not represent the carbon dynamics of heterogeneous landscapes encompassing diverse land-management strategies and site conditions. Airborne LiDAR has greatly enhanced forest structural characterisation and, in conjunction with field-based inventories, it provides avenues for monitoring carbon over broader spatial scales. Here we aim to enhance the integration of airborne LiDAR surveying with field-based inventories by exploring the effect of inventory plot size and number on the relationship between field-estimated and LiDAR-predicted wood volume in deciduous broad-leafed forest in central Germany. Estimation of wood volume from airborne LiDAR was most robust (R 2  = 0.92, RMSE = 50.57 m 3 ha -1  ~14.13 Mg C ha -1 ) when trained and tested with 1 ha experimental plot data (n = 50). Predictions based on a more extensive (n = 1100) plot network with considerably smaller (0.05 ha) plots were inferior (R 2  = 0.68, RMSE = 101.01 ~28.09 Mg C ha -1 ). Differences between the 1 and 0.05 ha volume models from LiDAR were negligible however at the scale of individual land-management units. Sample size permutation tests showed that increasing the number of inventory plots above 350 for the 0.05 ha plots returned no improvement in R 2 and RMSE variability of the LiDAR-predicted wood volume model. Our results from this study confirm the utility of LiDAR for estimating wood volume in deciduous broad-leafed forest, but highlight the challenges associated with field plot size and number in establishing robust relationships between airborne LiDAR and field derived wood volume. We are moving into a forest management era where

  4. Large-Scale Agriculture and Outgrower Schemes in Ethiopia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wendimu, Mengistu Assefa

    , the impact of large-scale agriculture and outgrower schemes on productivity, household welfare and wages in developing countries is highly contentious. Chapter 1 of this thesis provides an introduction to the study, while also reviewing the key debate in the contemporary land ‘grabbing’ and historical large...... sugarcane outgrower scheme on household income and asset stocks. Chapter 5 examines the wages and working conditions in ‘formal’ large-scale and ‘informal’ small-scale irrigated agriculture. The results in Chapter 2 show that moisture stress, the use of untested planting materials, and conflict over land...... commands a higher wage than ‘formal’ large-scale agriculture, while rather different wage determination mechanisms exist in the two sectors. Human capital characteristics (education and experience) partly explain the differences in wages within the formal sector, but play no significant role...

  5. Features of the standard evaluation of agricultural land in 2017

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Володимир Опара

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Normative pecuniary valuation of land belongs to important economic regulators of land relations in Ukraine. Indicators of monetary valuation of land plots are used to determine the size of the land tax, the State duty at exchange, inheritance and the donation of land rent for land plots of the state and communal property, loss of agricultural and forestry production, as well as in the development of indicators and economic mechanisms to stimulate rational use and protection of lands. Normative monetary valuation of agricultural land is defined according to the standards of capitalized rent income on land for agricultural purposes and indicators of soils bonitet by drafting evaluation scales of agroindustrial groups of soils in natural agricultural areas. Index of standard capitalized rent on income reflects the profitability of a business. The soil differences appear on soil maps and they are the main target of the regulatory evaluation. The main source of information about the soil cover of agricultural land should actually be made by Derzhgeocadastr archives and its subordinate State enterprises according to the results of standard evaluation of a single agricultural land plot under the territorial authority of Derzhgeocadastr through administrative services at the location of the land. An extract from the technical documentation about the regulatory assessments of land must be published in time not exceeding three working days from the date of receipt of the corresponding application. The introduction of new methodological approach to the standard evaluation of agricultural lands involves the simplification of access of landowners and land users to data evaluation, based on possible continuous evaluation of administrative districts and providing information about the assessment of the particular land plot in the form of extract from the technical documentation of the standard evaluation, which will be determined on the basis of standard

  6. The effectiveness of agricultural stewardship for improving water quality at the catchment scale: Experiences from an NVZ and ECSFDI watershed

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kay, Paul; Grayson, Richard; Phillips, Martin; Stanley, Karen; Dodsworth, Alan; Hanson, Ann; Walker, Andrew; Foulger, Miles; McDonnell, Iain; Taylor, Simon

    2012-02-01

    SummaryAgriculture is estimated to be responsible for 70% of nitrate and 30-50% of phosphorus pollution, contributing to ecological and water treatment problems. Despite the fact that significant gaps remain in our understanding, it is known that agricultural stewardship can be highly effective in controlling water pollution at the plot and field scales. Knowledge at the catchment scale is, to a large extent, entirely lacking though and this is of paramount concern given that the catchment is the management unit used by regulatory authorities. The few studies that have examined the impact of agricultural stewardship at the catchment scale have found that Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) in the UK have resulted in little improvement in water quality which concurs with the current catchment study. In addition to NVZs, there was little evidence to suggest that the England Catchment Sensitive Farming Delivery Initiative had impacted water quality and suggestions have been made for improvements, such as ensuring that stewardship measures are used in key pollution source areas and their implementation and impacts are monitored more closely. This will be essential if agricultural catchment management schemes are going to provide the benefits expected of them. Nevertheless, more intensive monitoring than that carried out by regulators showed a significant trend in decreasing winter nitrate peaks in some streams which is hypothesised to be due to recent reduced inorganic fertiliser application as a result of increasing prices. It was concluded that, collectively, these findings indicate that agricultural stewardship measures have the potential to improve water quality at the catchment scale but that voluntary schemes with insufficient financial reward or regulatory pressure are unlikely to be successful.

  7. SCALPLO - a universal program for plotting flux output from SCALE modules and related programs. User's manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hersman, A.; Leege, P.F.A. de; Hoogenboom, J.E.

    1992-04-01

    The FORTRAN-77 program SCALPLO is being developed to make an easy and quick graphic survey of flux and/or power data calculated with SCALE modules or other core calculation or shielding codes. The basic plot functions it can perform are one- and two-dimensional plots of flux or power distributions and flux energy spectra. More specifically it can produce plots of the flux distribution in a one-dimensional geometry for one or more energy groups in one figure. It can also plot the flux distribution along a cut through a two- or three-dimensional geometry along one of the coordinate axes and it can plot a two-dimensional view of the flux distribution of a two-dimensional geometry or of a plane cut through a three-dimensional geometry. The same can be done for the power distribution in a system. Furthermore SCALPLO can plot the particle flux spectrum as a function of energy, either as group fluxes or as group fluxes per unit energy or per unit lethargy. (orig./HP)

  8. Scaling up high throughput field phenotyping of corn and soy research plots using ground rovers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peshlov, Boyan; Nakarmi, Akash; Baldwin, Steven; Essner, Scott; French, Jasenka

    2017-05-01

    Crop improvement programs require large and meticulous selection processes that effectively and accurately collect and analyze data to generate quality plant products as efficiently as possible, develop superior cropping and/or crop improvement methods. Typically, data collection for such testing is performed by field teams using hand-held instruments or manually-controlled devices. Although steps are taken to reduce error, the data collected in such manner can be unreliable due to human error and fatigue, which reduces the ability to make accurate selection decisions. Monsanto engineering teams have developed a high-clearance mobile platform (Rover) as a step towards high throughput and high accuracy phenotyping at an industrial scale. The rovers are equipped with GPS navigation, multiple cameras and sensors and on-board computers to acquire data and compute plant vigor metrics per plot. The supporting IT systems enable automatic path planning, plot identification, image and point cloud data QA/QC and near real-time analysis where results are streamed to enterprise databases for additional statistical analysis and product advancement decisions. Since the rover program was launched in North America in 2013, the number of research plots we can analyze in a growing season has expanded dramatically. This work describes some of the successes and challenges in scaling up of the rover platform for automated phenotyping to enable science at scale.

  9. Nonlinear Dot Plots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, Nils; Weiskopf, Daniel

    2018-01-01

    Conventional dot plots use a constant dot size and are typically applied to show the frequency distribution of small data sets. Unfortunately, they are not designed for a high dynamic range of frequencies. We address this problem by introducing nonlinear dot plots. Adopting the idea of nonlinear scaling from logarithmic bar charts, our plots allow for dots of varying size so that columns with a large number of samples are reduced in height. For the construction of these diagrams, we introduce an efficient two-way sweep algorithm that leads to a dense and symmetrical layout. We compensate aliasing artifacts at high dot densities by a specifically designed low-pass filtering method. Examples of nonlinear dot plots are compared to conventional dot plots as well as linear and logarithmic histograms. Finally, we include feedback from an expert review.

  10. SCALPLO - a universal program for plotting flux output from SCALE modules and related programs. User`s manual

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hersman, A; Leege, P F.A. de; Hoogenboom, J E

    1992-04-01

    The FORTRAN-77 program SCALPLO is being developed to make an easy and quick graphic survey of flux and/or power data calculated with SCALE modules or other core calculation or shielding codes. The basic plot functions it can perform are one- and two-dimensional plots of flux or power distributions and flux energy spectra. More specifically it can produce plots of the flux distribution in a one-dimensional geometry for one or more energy groups in one figure. It can also plot the flux distribution along a cut through a two- or three-dimensional geometry along one of the coordinate axes and it can plot a two-dimensional view of the flux distribution of a two-dimensional geometry or of a plane cut through a three-dimensional geometry. The same can be done for the power distribution in a system. Furthermore SCALPLO can plot the particle flux spectrum as a function of energy, either as group fluxes or as group fluxes per unit energy or per unit lethargy. (orig./HP).

  11. Trap Nesting Wasps and Bees in Agriculture: A Comparison of Sown Wildflower and Fallow Plots in Florida.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Joshua W; Smithers, Cherice; Irvin, Allyn; Kimmel, Chase B; Stanley-Stahr, Cory; Daniels, Jaret C; Ellis, James D

    2017-10-10

    Wildflower strip plantings in intensive agricultural systems have become a widespread tool for promoting pollination services and biological conservation because of their use by wasps and bees. Many of the trap-nesting wasps are important predators of common crop pests, and cavity-nesting bees that utilize trap-nests are important pollinators for native plants and many crops. The impact of wildflower strips on the nesting frequency of trap-nesting wasps or bees within localized areas has not been thoroughly investigated. Trap-nests made of bamboo reeds ( Bambusa sp.) were placed adjacent to eight 0.1 ha wildflower plots and paired fallow areas (control plots) to determine if wildflower strips encourage the nesting of wasps and bees. From August 2014 to November 2015, occupied reeds were gathered and adults were collected as they emerged from the trap-nests. Treatment (wildflower or fallow plots) did not impact the number of occupied reeds or species richness of trap-nesting wasps using the occupied reeds. The wasps Pachodynerus erynnis , Euodynerus megaera , Parancistrocerus pedestris , and Isodontia spp. were the most common trap-nesting species collected. Less than 2% of the occupied reeds contained bees, and all were from the genus Megachile . The nesting wasp and bee species demonstrated preferences for reeds with certain inside diameters (IDs). The narrow range of ID preferences exhibited by each bee/wasp may provide opportunities to take advantage of their natural histories for biological control and/or pollination purposes.

  12. Trap Nesting Wasps and Bees in Agriculture: A Comparison of Sown Wildflower and Fallow Plots in Florida

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua W. Campbell

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Wildflower strip plantings in intensive agricultural systems have become a widespread tool for promoting pollination services and biological conservation because of their use by wasps and bees. Many of the trap-nesting wasps are important predators of common crop pests, and cavity-nesting bees that utilize trap-nests are important pollinators for native plants and many crops. The impact of wildflower strips on the nesting frequency of trap-nesting wasps or bees within localized areas has not been thoroughly investigated. Trap-nests made of bamboo reeds (Bambusa sp. were placed adjacent to eight 0.1 ha wildflower plots and paired fallow areas (control plots to determine if wildflower strips encourage the nesting of wasps and bees. From August 2014 to November 2015, occupied reeds were gathered and adults were collected as they emerged from the trap-nests. Treatment (wildflower or fallow plots did not impact the number of occupied reeds or species richness of trap-nesting wasps using the occupied reeds. The wasps Pachodynerus erynnis, Euodynerus megaera, Parancistrocerus pedestris, and Isodontia spp. were the most common trap-nesting species collected. Less than 2% of the occupied reeds contained bees, and all were from the genus Megachile. The nesting wasp and bee species demonstrated preferences for reeds with certain inside diameters (IDs. The narrow range of ID preferences exhibited by each bee/wasp may provide opportunities to take advantage of their natural histories for biological control and/or pollination purposes.

  13. Selection of Plot Remeasurement in an Annual Inventory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mark H. Hansen; Hans T. Schreuder; Dave Heinzen

    2000-01-01

    A plot selection approach is proposed based on experience from the Annual Forest Inventory System (AFIS) in the Aspen-Birch Unit of northestern Minnesota. The emphasisis on a mixture of strategies. Although the Agricultural Act of 1998 requires that a fixed 20 percent of plots be measured each year in each state, sooner or later we will need to vary the scheme to...

  14. Strategies for implementing Climate Smart Agriculture and creating marketable Greenhouse emission reduction credits, for small scale rice farmers in Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahuja, R.; Kritee, K.; Rudek, J.; Van Sanh, N.; Thu Ha, T.

    2014-12-01

    Industrial agriculture systems, mostly in developed and some emerging economies, are far different from the small holder farms that dot the landscapes in Asia and Africa. At Environmental Defense Fund, along with our partners from non-governmental, corporate, academic and government sectors and farmers, we have worked actively in India and Vietnam for the last four years to better understand how small scale farmers working on rice paddy (and other upland crops) cultivation can best deal with climate change. Some of the questions we have tried to answer are: What types of implementable best practices, both old and new, on small farm systems lend themselves to improved yields, farm incomes, climate resilience and mitigation? Can these practices be replicated everywhere or is the change more landscape and people driven? What are the institutional, cultural, financial and risk-perception related barriers that prevent scaling up of these practices? How do we innovate and overcome these barriers? The research community needs to work more closely together and leverage multiple scientific, economic and policy disciplines to fully answer these questions. In the case of small farm systems, we find that it helps to follow certain steps if the climate-smart (or low carbon) farming programs are to succeed and the greenhouse credits generated are to be marketed: Demographic data collection and plot demarcation Farmer networks and diaries Rigorous baseline determination via surveys Alternative practice determination via consultation with local universities/experts Measurements on representative plots for 3-4 years (including GHG emissions, yields, inputs, economic and environmental savings) to help calibrate biogeochemical models and/or calculate regional emission factors. Propagation of alternative practices across the landscape via local NGOs/governments Recording of parameters necessary to extrapolate representative plot GHG emission reductions to all farmers in a given

  15. The impact of forest structure and spatial scale on the relationship between ground plot above ground biomass and GEDI lidar waveforms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armston, J.; Marselis, S.; Hancock, S.; Duncanson, L.; Tang, H.; Kellner, J. R.; Calders, K.; Disney, M.; Dubayah, R.

    2017-12-01

    The NASA Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) will place a multi-beam waveform lidar instrument on the International Space Station (ISS) to provide measurements of forest vertical structure globally. These measurements of structure will underpin empirical modelling of above ground biomass density (AGBD) at the scale of individual GEDI lidar footprints (25m diameter). The GEDI pre-launch calibration strategy for footprint level models relies on linking AGBD estimates from ground plots with GEDI lidar waveforms simulated from coincident discrete return airborne laser scanning data. Currently available ground plot data have variable and often large uncertainty at the spatial resolution of GEDI footprints due to poor colocation, allometric model error, sample size and plot edge effects. The relative importance of these sources of uncertainty partly depends on the quality of ground measurements and region. It is usually difficult to know the magnitude of these uncertainties a priori so a common approach to mitigate their influence on model training is to aggregate ground plot and waveform lidar data to a coarser spatial scale (0.25-1ha). Here we examine the impacts of these principal sources of uncertainty using a 3D simulation approach. Sets of realistic tree models generated from terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data or parametric modelling matched to tree inventory data were assembled from four contrasting forest plots across tropical rainforest, deciduous temperate forest, and sclerophyll eucalypt woodland sites. These tree models were used to simulate geometrically explicit 3D scenes with variable tree density, size class and spatial distribution. GEDI lidar waveforms are simulated over ground plots within these scenes using monte carlo ray tracing, allowing the impact of varying ground plot and waveform colocation error, forest structure and edge effects on the relationship between ground plot AGBD and GEDI lidar waveforms to be directly assessed. We

  16. Agricultural Credit Utilization among Small Scale Women Farmers in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... monitor regularly the disbursement of agricultural loan to women farmers at the appropriate planning season with reasonable interest charge and that extension agents should ensure that the loan is utilized for only agricultural purposes. Key words: Credit utilization, small-scale farmer's income generation, Niger State.

  17. Water content estimated from point scale to plot scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akyurek, Z.; Binley, A. M.; Demir, G.; Abgarmi, B.

    2017-12-01

    Soil moisture controls the portioning of rainfall into infiltration and runoff. Here we investigate measurements of soil moisture using a range of techniques spanning different spatial scales. In order to understand soil water content in a test basin, 512 km2 in area, in the south of Turkey, a Cosmic Ray CRS200B soil moisture probe was installed at elevation of 1459 m and an ML3 ThetaProbe (CS 616) soil moisture sensor was established at 5cm depth used to get continuous soil moisture. Neutron count measurements were corrected for the changes in atmospheric pressure, atmospheric water vapour and intensity of incoming neutron flux. The calibration of the volumetric soil moisture was performed, from the laboratory analysis, the bulk density varies between 1.719 (g/cm3) -1.390 (g/cm3), and the dominant soil texture is silty clay loam and silt loamThe water content reflectometer was calibrated for soil-specific conditions and soil moisture estimates were also corrected with respect to soil temperature. In order to characterize the subsurface, soil electrical resistivity tomography was used. Wenner and Schlumberger array geometries were used with electrode spacing varied from 1m- 5 m along 40 m and 200 m profiles. From the inversions of ERT data it is apparent that within 50 m distance from the CRS200B, the soil is moderately resistive to a depth of 2m and more conductive at greater depths. At greater distances from the CRS200B, the ERT results indicate more resistive soils. In addition to the ERT surveys, ground penetrating radar surveys using a common mid-point configuration was used with 200MHz antennas. The volumetric soil moisture obtained from GPR appears to overestimate those based on TDR observations. The values obtained from CS616 (at a point scale) and CRS200B (at a mesoscale) are compared with the values obtained at a plot scale. For the field study dates (20-22.06.2017) the volumetric moisture content obtained from CS616 were 25.14%, 25.22% and 25

  18. visPIG--a web tool for producing multi-region, multi-track, multi-scale plots of genetic data.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew Scales

    Full Text Available We present VISual Plotting Interface for Genetics (visPIG; http://vispig.icr.ac.uk, a web application to produce multi-track, multi-scale, multi-region plots of genetic data. visPIG has been designed to allow users not well versed with mathematical software packages and/or programming languages such as R, Matlab®, Python, etc., to integrate data from multiple sources for interpretation and to easily create publication-ready figures. While web tools such as the UCSC Genome Browser or the WashU Epigenome Browser allow custom data uploads, such tools are primarily designed for data exploration. This is also true for the desktop-run Integrative Genomics Viewer (IGV. Other locally run data visualisation software such as Circos require significant computer skills of the user. The visPIG web application is a menu-based interface that allows users to upload custom data tracks and set track-specific parameters. Figures can be downloaded as PDF or PNG files. For sensitive data, the underlying R code can also be downloaded and run locally. visPIG is multi-track: it can display many different data types (e.g association, functional annotation, intensity, interaction, heat map data,…. It also allows annotation of genes and other custom features in the plotted region(s. Data tracks can be plotted individually or on a single figure. visPIG is multi-region: it supports plotting multiple regions, be they kilo- or megabases apart or even on different chromosomes. Finally, visPIG is multi-scale: a sub-region of particular interest can be 'zoomed' in. We describe the various features of visPIG and illustrate its utility with examples. visPIG is freely available through http://vispig.icr.ac.uk under a GNU General Public License (GPLv3.

  19. Use of satellite and modeled soil moisture data for predicting event soil loss at plot scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Todisco, F.; Brocca, L.; Termite, L. F.; Wagner, W.

    2015-09-01

    The potential of coupling soil moisture and a Universal Soil Loss Equation-based (USLE-based) model for event soil loss estimation at plot scale is carefully investigated at the Masse area, in central Italy. The derived model, named Soil Moisture for Erosion (SM4E), is applied by considering the unavailability of in situ soil moisture measurements, by using the data predicted by a soil water balance model (SWBM) and derived from satellite sensors, i.e., the Advanced SCATterometer (ASCAT). The soil loss estimation accuracy is validated using in situ measurements in which event observations at plot scale are available for the period 2008-2013. The results showed that including soil moisture observations in the event rainfall-runoff erosivity factor of the USLE enhances the capability of the model to account for variations in event soil losses, the soil moisture being an effective alternative to the estimated runoff, in the prediction of the event soil loss at Masse. The agreement between observed and estimated soil losses (through SM4E) is fairly satisfactory with a determination coefficient (log-scale) equal to ~ 0.35 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of ~ 2.8 Mg ha-1. These results are particularly significant for the operational estimation of soil losses. Indeed, currently, soil moisture is a relatively simple measurement at the field scale and remote sensing data are also widely available on a global scale. Through satellite data, there is the potential of applying the SM4E model for large-scale monitoring and quantification of the soil erosion process.

  20. Use of satellite and modelled soil moisture data for predicting event soil loss at plot scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Todisco, F.; Brocca, L.; Termite, L. F.; Wagner, W.

    2015-03-01

    The potential of coupling soil moisture and a~USLE-based model for event soil loss estimation at plot scale is carefully investigated at the Masse area, in Central Italy. The derived model, named Soil Moisture for Erosion (SM4E), is applied by considering the unavailability of in situ soil moisture measurements, by using the data predicted by a soil water balance model (SWBM) and derived from satellite sensors, i.e. the Advanced SCATterometer (ASCAT). The soil loss estimation accuracy is validated using in situ measurements in which event observations at plot scale are available for the period 2008-2013. The results showed that including soil moisture observations in the event rainfall-runoff erosivity factor of the RUSLE/USLE, enhances the capability of the model to account for variations in event soil losses, being the soil moisture an effective alternative to the estimated runoff, in the prediction of the event soil loss at Masse. The agreement between observed and estimated soil losses (through SM4E) is fairly satisfactory with a determination coefficient (log-scale) equal to of ~ 0.35 and a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of ~ 2.8 Mg ha-1. These results are particularly significant for the operational estimation of soil losses. Indeed, currently, soil moisture is a relatively simple measurement at the field scale and remote sensing data are also widely available on a global scale. Through satellite data, there is the potential of applying the SM4E model for large-scale monitoring and quantification of the soil erosion process.

  1. Scale dependent drivers of wild bee diversity in tropical heterogeneous agricultural landscapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basu, Parthiba; Parui, Arpan Kumar; Chatterjee, Soumik; Dutta, Aditi; Chakraborty, Pushan; Roberts, Stuart; Smith, Barbara

    2016-10-01

    Factors associated with agricultural intensification, for example, loss of seminatural vegetation and pesticide use has been shown to adversely affect the bee community. These factors may impact the bee community differently at different landscape scales. The scale dependency is expected to be more pronounced in heterogeneous landscapes. However, the scale-dependent response of the bee community to drivers of its decline is relatively understudied, especially in the tropics where the agricultural landscape is often heterogeneous. This study looked at effects of agricultural intensification on bee diversity at patch and landscape scales in a tropical agricultural landscape. Wild bees were sampled using 12 permanent pan trap stations. Patch and landscape characteristics were measured within a 100 m (patch scale) and a 500 m (landscape scale) radius of pan trap stations. Information on pesticide input was obtained from farmer surveys. Data on vegetation cover, productivity, and percentage of agricultural and fallow land (FL) were collected using satellite imagery. Intensive areas in a bee-site network were less specialized in terms of resources to attract rare bee species while the less intensive areas, which supported more rare species, were more vulnerable to disturbance. A combination of patch quality and diversity as well as pesticide use regulates species diversity at the landscape scale (500 m), whereas pesticide quantity drove diversity at the patch scale (100 m). At the landscape scale, specialization of each site in terms of resources for bees increased with increasing patch diversity and FL while at the patch scale specialization declined with increased pesticide use. Bee functional groups responded differentially to landscape characteristics as well as pesticide use. Wood nesting bees were negatively affected by the number of pesticides used but other bee functional groups were not sensitive to pesticides. Synthesis and Applications : Different factors

  2. Large-scale Agricultural Land Acquisitions in West Africa | IDRC ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    This project will examine large-scale agricultural land acquisitions in nine West African countries -Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Benin, Mali, Togo, Senegal, Niger, and Côte d'Ivoire. ... They will use the results to increase public awareness and knowledge about the consequences of large-scale land acquisitions.

  3. Linking ecology and aesthetics in sustainable agricultural landscapes: Lessons from the Palouse region of Washington, U.S.A

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linda R. Klein; William G. Hendrix; Virginia I. Lohr; Jolie B. Kaytes; Rodney D. Sayler; Mark E. Swanson; William J. Elliot; John P. Reganold

    2015-01-01

    Inspired by international escalation in agricultural sustainability debates, we explored the promise of landscape-scale conservation buffers to mitigate environmental damage, improve ecological function, and enhance scenic quality. Although the ecological benefits of buffer vegetation are well established by plot- and field-scale research, buffer adoption by farmers is...

  4. Beyond the plot: technology extrapolation domains for scaling out agronomic science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rattalino Edreira, Juan I.; Cassman, Kenneth G.; Hochman, Zvi; van Ittersum, Martin K.; van Bussel, Lenny; Claessens, Lieven; Grassini, Patricio

    2018-05-01

    Ensuring an adequate food supply in systems that protect environmental quality and conserve natural resources requires productive and resource-efficient cropping systems on existing farmland. Meeting this challenge will be difficult without a robust spatial framework that facilitates rapid evaluation and scaling-out of currently available and emerging technologies. Here we develop a global spatial framework to delineate ‘technology extrapolation domains’ based on key climate and soil factors that govern crop yields and yield stability in rainfed crop production. The proposed framework adequately represents the spatial pattern of crop yields and stability when evaluated over the data-rich US Corn Belt. It also facilitates evaluation of cropping system performance across continents, which can improve efficiency of agricultural research that seeks to intensify production on existing farmland. Populating this biophysical spatial framework with appropriate socio-economic attributes provides the potential to amplify the return on investments in agricultural research and development by improving the effectiveness of research prioritization and impact assessment.

  5. BliP PLOT : PLOT DISTRIBUSI DATA BERDIMENSI - SATU

    OpenAIRE

    Anisa Anisa; Indwiati Indwiati

    2014-01-01

    Blip Plot, adalah salah satu plot yang sibuat untuk menampilkan data berdimensi-satu. Pada dasarnya plot ini terdiri dari kotak, garis, dan titik. Sebagaimana plot distribusi berdimensi-satu yang lain, BliP Plot menampilkan nilai-nilai data individu dalam titik-titik atau garis-garis, dan informasi berkelompok dalam garis atau kotak. Kelebihannya, Blip Plot menampilkan banyak keistimewaan baru seperti plot variable-widht dan beberapa pilihan pola titik. Keuntungan utama dari Blip ...

  6. Runoff Responses to Forest Thinning at Plot and Catchment Scales in a Headwater Catchment Draining Japanese Cypress Forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    We examined the effect of forest thinning on runoff generation at plot and catchment scales in headwater basins draining a Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) forest. We removed 58.3% of the stems (corresponding to 43.2% of the basal area) in the treated headwater basin (catc...

  7. Evaluation of a plot-scale methane emission model using eddy covariance observations and footprint modelling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Budishchev

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Most plot-scale methane emission models – of which many have been developed in the recent past – are validated using data collected with the closed-chamber technique. This method, however, suffers from a low spatial representativeness and a poor temporal resolution. Also, during a chamber-flux measurement the air within a chamber is separated from the ambient atmosphere, which negates the influence of wind on emissions. Additionally, some methane models are validated by upscaling fluxes based on the area-weighted averages of modelled fluxes, and by comparing those to the eddy covariance (EC flux. This technique is rather inaccurate, as the area of upscaling might be different from the EC tower footprint, therefore introducing significant mismatch. In this study, we present an approach to validate plot-scale methane models with EC observations using the footprint-weighted average method. Our results show that the fluxes obtained by the footprint-weighted average method are of the same magnitude as the EC flux. More importantly, the temporal dynamics of the EC flux on a daily timescale are also captured (r2 = 0.7. In contrast, using the area-weighted average method yielded a low (r2 = 0.14 correlation with the EC measurements. This shows that the footprint-weighted average method is preferable when validating methane emission models with EC fluxes for areas with a heterogeneous and irregular vegetation pattern.

  8. Soil erosion measurements under organic and conventional land use treatments and different tillage systems using micro-scale runoff plots and a portable rainfall simulator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seitz, Steffen; Goebes, Philipp; Song, Zhengshan; Wittwer, Raphaël; van der Heijden, Marcel; Scholten, Thomas

    2015-04-01

    Soil erosion is a major environmental problem of our time and negatively affects soil organic matter (SOM), aggregate stability or nutrient availability for instance. It is well known that agricultural practices have a severe influence on soil erosion by water. Several long-term field trials show that the use of low input strategies (e.g. organic farming) instead of conventional high-input farming systems leads to considerable changes of soil characteristics. Organic farming relies on crop rotation, absence of agrochemicals, green manure and weed control without herbicides. As a consequence, SOM content in the top soil layer is usually higher than on arable land under conventional use. Furthermore, the soil surface is better protected against particle detachment and overland flow due to a continuous vegetation cover and a well-developed root system increases soil stability. Likewise, tillage itself can cause soil erosion on arable land. In this respect, conservation and reduced tillage systems like No-Till or Ridge-Till provide a protecting cover from the previous year's residue and reduce soil disturbance. Many studies have been carried out on the effect of farming practices on soil erosion, but with contrasting results. To our knowledge, most of those studies rely on soil erosion models to calculate soil erosion rates and replicated experimental field measurement designs are rarely used. In this study, we performed direct field assessment on a farming system trial in Rümlang, Switzerland (FAST: Farming System and Tillage experiment Agroscope) to investigate the effect of organic farming practises and tillage systems on soil erosion. A portable single nozzle rainfall simulator and a light weight tent have been used with micro-scale runoff plots (0.4 m x 0.4 m). Four treatments (Conventional/Tillage, Conventional/No-Tillage, Organic/Tillage, Organic/Reduced-tillage) have been sampled with 8 replications each for a total of 32 runoff plots. All plots have been

  9. The Brazilian national system of forest permanent plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeda Maria Malheiros de Oliveira; Maria Augusta Doetzer Rosot; Patricia Povoa de Mottos; Joberto Veloso de Freitas; Guilherme Luis Augusto Gomide; < i> et al< /i>

    2009-01-01

    The Brazilian National System of Forest Permanent Plots (SisPP) is a governmental initiative designed and being implemented in partnership by the Ministry of Environment (MMA), represented by the National Forest Programme (PNF) and the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB) and the Embrapa Forestry (a research center of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation - Embrapa...

  10. Agricultural Incentives: Implications for Small-Scale and Subsistence Farming in the US Caribbean Islands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alvarez-Berrios, N.; Parés-Ramos, I.; Gould, W. A.

    2017-12-01

    The effects of climate change threaten the world's most sensitive agroecosystems and our potential to reach agricultural productivity levels needed to feed a projected global population of 9.7 billion people by 2050. The US Caribbean agriculture is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, due to the region's frequent exposure to extreme weather events, its geographic and economic scale, shortage of labor force, and rapid urban expansion. Currently, agriculture contributes less than 1% of the island's GDP, and over 80% of the food consumed in the region is imported. Despite low production levels, there is widespread interest in reinvigorating the agricultural sector's contribution to the economy. Local and federal institutions play a major role strengthening the agricultural sector by providing access to incentives, loans, and education for best management practices. However, many of these efforts conform to agricultural systems of larger scale of production and temperate environments. In this study, we explore agricultural incentives programs and their implication for highly diverse, small-scale, and subsistence operations that characterize agricultural systems in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. We analyze records and maps from the USDA Farm Service Agency, to typify participating farms, and to track changes in land cover, farm size, crop diversity, practices, and production levels resulting from their enrollment in such programs. Preliminary results indicate that many incentives programs are not tailored to agricultural tropical systems and prescribe alternatives that exclude traditional farming methods employed in small-scale and subsistence farms (e.g. crop insurance that benefit monoculture over intercropped systems). Moreover, many of the incentives are contradictory in their recommendations (e.g., crop insurance benefit sun-grown coffee production, while best agricultural practices recommend agroforestry with shade-grown coffee

  11. Slope Stability of Geosynthetic Clay Liner Test Plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fourteen full-scale field test plots containing five types of geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) were constructed on 2H:IV and 3H:IV slopes for the purpose of assessing slope stability. The test plots were designed to simulate typical final cover systems for landfill. Slides occurr...

  12. INVESTIGATION OF 1 : 1,000 SCALE MAP GENERATION BY STEREO PLOTTING USING UAV IMAGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Rhee

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Large scale maps and image mosaics are representative geospatial data that can be extracted from UAV images. Map drawing using UAV images can be performed either by creating orthoimages and digitizing them, or by stereo plotting. While maps generated by digitization may serve the need for geospatial data, many institutions and organizations require map drawing using stereoscopic vision on stereo plotting systems. However, there are several aspects to be checked for UAV images to be utilized for stereo plotting. The first aspect is the accuracy of exterior orientation parameters (EOPs generated through automated bundle adjustment processes. It is well known that GPS and IMU sensors mounted on a UAV are not very accurate. It is necessary to adjust initial EOPs accurately using tie points. For this purpose, we have developed a photogrammetric incremental bundle adjustment procedure. The second aspect is unstable shooting conditions compared to aerial photographing. Unstable image acquisition may bring uneven stereo coverage, which will result in accuracy loss eventually. Oblique stereo pairs will create eye fatigue. The third aspect is small coverage of UAV images. This aspect will raise efficiency issue for stereo plotting of UAV images. More importantly, this aspect will make contour generation from UAV images very difficult. This paper will discuss effects relate to these three aspects. In this study, we tried to generate 1 : 1,000 scale map from the dataset using EOPs generated from software developed in-house. We evaluated Y-disparity of the tie points extracted automatically through the photogrammetric incremental bundle adjustment process. We could confirm that stereoscopic viewing is possible. Stereoscopic plotting work was carried out by a professional photogrammetrist. In order to analyse the accuracy of the map drawing using stereoscopic vision, we compared the horizontal and vertical position difference between adjacent models after

  13. Investigation of 1 : 1,000 Scale Map Generation by Stereo Plotting Using Uav Images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhee, S.; Kim, T.

    2017-08-01

    Large scale maps and image mosaics are representative geospatial data that can be extracted from UAV images. Map drawing using UAV images can be performed either by creating orthoimages and digitizing them, or by stereo plotting. While maps generated by digitization may serve the need for geospatial data, many institutions and organizations require map drawing using stereoscopic vision on stereo plotting systems. However, there are several aspects to be checked for UAV images to be utilized for stereo plotting. The first aspect is the accuracy of exterior orientation parameters (EOPs) generated through automated bundle adjustment processes. It is well known that GPS and IMU sensors mounted on a UAV are not very accurate. It is necessary to adjust initial EOPs accurately using tie points. For this purpose, we have developed a photogrammetric incremental bundle adjustment procedure. The second aspect is unstable shooting conditions compared to aerial photographing. Unstable image acquisition may bring uneven stereo coverage, which will result in accuracy loss eventually. Oblique stereo pairs will create eye fatigue. The third aspect is small coverage of UAV images. This aspect will raise efficiency issue for stereo plotting of UAV images. More importantly, this aspect will make contour generation from UAV images very difficult. This paper will discuss effects relate to these three aspects. In this study, we tried to generate 1 : 1,000 scale map from the dataset using EOPs generated from software developed in-house. We evaluated Y-disparity of the tie points extracted automatically through the photogrammetric incremental bundle adjustment process. We could confirm that stereoscopic viewing is possible. Stereoscopic plotting work was carried out by a professional photogrammetrist. In order to analyse the accuracy of the map drawing using stereoscopic vision, we compared the horizontal and vertical position difference between adjacent models after drawing a specific

  14. A Scale-Explicit Framework for Conceptualizing the Environmental Impacts of Agricultural Land Use Changes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iago Lowe Hale

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Demand for locally-produced food is growing in areas outside traditionally dominant agricultural regions due to concerns over food safety, quality, and sovereignty; rural livelihoods; and environmental integrity. Strategies for meeting this demand rely upon agricultural land use change, in various forms of either intensification or extensification (converting non-agricultural land, including native landforms, to agricultural use. The nature and extent of the impacts of these changes on non-food-provisioning ecosystem services are determined by a complex suite of scale-dependent interactions among farming practices, site-specific characteristics, and the ecosystem services under consideration. Ecosystem modeling strategies which honor such complexity are often impenetrable by non-experts, resulting in a prevalent conceptual gap between ecosystem sciences and the field of sustainable agriculture. Referencing heavily forested New England as an example, we present a conceptual framework designed to synthesize and convey understanding of the scale- and landscape-dependent nature of the relationship between agriculture and various ecosystem services. By accounting for the total impact of multiple disturbances across a landscape while considering the effects of scale, the framework is intended to stimulate and support the collaborative efforts of land managers, scientists, citizen stakeholders, and policy makers as they address the challenges of expanding local agriculture.

  15. Bridging scale gaps between regional maps of forest aboveground biomass and field sampling plots using TanDEM-X data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, W.; Zhang, Z.; Sun, G.

    2017-12-01

    Several large-scale maps of forest AGB have been released [1] [2] [3]. However, these existing global or regional datasets were only approximations based on combining land cover type and representative values instead of measurements of actual forest aboveground biomass or forest heights [4]. Rodríguez-Veiga et al[5] reported obvious discrepancies of existing forest biomass stock maps with in-situ observations in Mexico. One of the biggest challenges to the credibility of these maps comes from the scale gaps between the size of field sampling plots used to develop(or validate) estimation models and the pixel size of these maps and the availability of field sampling plots with sufficient size for the verification of these products [6]. It is time-consuming and labor-intensive to collect sufficient number of field sampling data over the plot size of the same as resolutions of regional maps. The smaller field sampling plots cannot fully represent the spatial heterogeneity of forest stands as shown in Figure 1. Forest AGB is directly determined by forest heights, diameter at breast height (DBH) of each tree, forest density and tree species. What measured in the field sampling are the geometrical characteristics of forest stands including the DBH, tree heights and forest densities. The LiDAR data is considered as the best dataset for the estimation of forest AGB. The main reason is that LiDAR can directly capture geometrical features of forest stands by its range detection capabilities.The remotely sensed dataset, which is capable of direct measurements of forest spatial structures, may serve as a ladder to bridge the scale gaps between the pixel size of regional maps of forest AGB and field sampling plots. Several researches report that TanDEM-X data can be used to characterize the forest spatial structures [7, 8]. In this study, the forest AGB map of northeast China were produced using ALOS/PALSAR data taking TanDEM-X data as a bridges. The TanDEM-X InSAR data used in

  16. [Wildlife damage mitigation in agricultural crops in a Bolivian montane forest].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez, Eddy; Pacheco, Luis F

    2014-12-01

    Wildlife is often blamed for causing damage to human activities, including agricultural practices and the result may be a conflict between human interests and species conservation. A formal assessment of the magnitude of damage is necessary to adequately conduct management practices and an assessment of the efficiency of different management practices is necessary to enable managers to mitigate the conflict with rural people. This study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of agricultural management practices and controlled hunting in reducing damage to subsistence annual crops at the Cotapata National Park and Natural Area of Integrated Management. The design included seven fields with modified agricultural practices, four fields subjected to control hunting, and five fields held as controls. We registered cultivar type, density, frequency of visiting species to the field, crops lost to wildlife, species responsible for damage, and crop biomass. Most frequent species in the fields were Dasyprocta punctata and Dasypus novemcinctus. Hunted plots were visited 1.6 times more frequently than agriculturally managed plots. Crop lost to wildlife averaged 7.28% at agriculturally managed plots, 4.59% in plots subjected to hunting, and 27.61% in control plots. Species mainly responsible for damage were Pecari tajacu, D. punctata, and Sapajus apella. We concluded that both management strategies were effective to reduce damage by >50% as compared to unmanaged crop plots.

  17. Multi-scale variation in spatial heterogeneity for microbial community structure in an eastern Virginia agricultural field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franklin, Rima B.; Mills, Aaron L.

    2003-01-01

    To better understand the distribution of soil microbial communities at multiple spatial scales, a survey was conducted to examine the spatial organization of community structure in a wheat field in eastern Virginia (USA). Nearly 200 soil samples were collected at a variety of separation distances ranging from 2.5 cm to 11 m. Whole-community DNA was extracted from each sample, and community structure was compared using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) DNA fingerprinting. Relative similarity was calculated between each pair of samples and compared using geostatistical variogram analysis to study autocorrelation as a function of separation distance. Spatial autocorrelation was found at scales ranging from 30 cm to more than 6 m, depending on the sampling extent considered. In some locations, up to four different correlation length scales were detected. The presence of nested scales of variability suggests that the environmental factors regulating the development of the communities in this soil may operate at different scales. Kriging was used to generate maps of the spatial organization of communities across the plot, and the results demonstrated that bacterial distributions can be highly structured, even within a habitat that appears relatively homogeneous at the plot and field scale. Different subsets of the microbial community were distributed differently across the plot, and this is thought to be due to the variable response of individual populations to spatial heterogeneity associated with soil properties. c2003 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Geo-Ontologies Are Scale Dependent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frank, A. U.

    2009-04-01

    Philosophers aim at a single ontology that describes "how the world is"; for information systems we aim only at ontologies that describe a conceptualization of reality (Guarino 1995; Gruber 2005). A conceptualization of the world implies a spatial and temporal scale: what are the phenomena, the objects and the speed of their change? Few articles (Reitsma et al. 2003) seem to address that an ontology is scale specific (but many articles indicate that ontologies are scale-free in another sense namely that they are scale free in the link densities between concepts). The scale in the conceptualization can be linked to the observation process. The extent of the support of the physical observation instrument and the sampling theorem indicate what level of detail we find in a dataset. These rules apply for remote sensing or sensor networks alike. An ontology of observations must include scale or level of detail, and concepts derived from observations should carry this relation forward. A simple example: in high resolution remote sensing image agricultural plots and roads between them are shown, at lower resolution, only the plots and not the roads are visible. This gives two ontologies, one with plots and roads, the other with plots only. Note that a neighborhood relation in the two different ontologies also yield different results. References Gruber, T. (2005). "TagOntology - a way to agree on the semantics of tagging data." Retrieved October 29, 2005., from http://tomgruber.org/writing/tagontology-tagcapm-talk.pdf. Guarino, N. (1995). "Formal Ontology, Conceptual Analysis and Knowledge Representation." International Journal of Human and Computer Studies. Special Issue on Formal Ontology, Conceptual Analysis and Knowledge Representation, edited by N. Guarino and R. Poli 43(5/6). Reitsma, F. and T. Bittner (2003). Process, Hierarchy, and Scale. Spatial Information Theory. Cognitive and Computational Foundations of Geographic Information ScienceInternational Conference

  19. Vegetation resurvey is robust to plot location uncertainty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kopecký, Martin; Macek, Martin

    2017-01-01

    Aim Resurveys of historical vegetation plots are increasingly used for the assessment of decadal changes in plant species diversity and composition. However, historical plots are usually relocated only approximately. This potentially inflates temporal changes and undermines results. Location Temperate deciduous forests in Central Europe. Methods To explore if robust conclusions can be drawn from resurvey studies despite location uncertainty, we compared temporal changes in species richness, frequency, composition and compositional heterogeneity between exactly and approximately relocated plots. We hypothesized that compositional changes should be lower and changes in species richness should be less variable on exactly relocated plots, because pseudo-turnover inflates temporal changes on approximately relocated plots. Results Temporal changes in species richness were not more variable and temporal changes in species composition and compositional heterogeneity were not higher on approximately relocated plots. Moreover, the frequency of individual species changed similarly on both plot types. Main conclusions The resurvey of historical vegetation plots is robust to uncertainty in original plot location and, when done properly, provides reliable evidence of decadal changes in plant communities. This provides important background for other resurvey studies and opens up the possibility for large-scale assessments of plant community change. PMID:28503083

  20. An integrated approach to monitoring ecosystem services and agriculture: implications for sustainable agricultural intensification in Rwanda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosa, Melissa F; Bonham, Curan A; Dempewolf, Jan; Arakwiye, Bernadette

    2017-01-01

    Maintaining the long-term sustainability of human and natural systems across agricultural landscapes requires an integrated, systematic monitoring system that can track crop productivity and the impacts of agricultural intensification on natural resources. This study presents the design and practical implementation of a monitoring framework that combines satellite observations with ground-based biophysical measurements and household surveys to provide metrics on ecosystem services and agricultural production at multiple spatial scales, reaching from individual households and plots owned by smallholder farmers to 100-km 2 landscapes. We developed a set of protocols for monitoring and analyzing ecological and agricultural household parameters within two 10 × 10-km landscapes in Rwanda, including soil fertility, crop yield, water availability, and fuelwood sustainability. Initial results suggest providing households that rely on rainfall for crop irrigation with timely climate information and improved technical inputs pre-harvest could help increase crop productivity in the short term. The value of the monitoring system is discussed as an effective tool for establishing a baseline of ecosystem services and agriculture before further change in land use and climate, identifying limitations in crop production and soil fertility, and evaluating food security, economic development, and environmental sustainability goals set forth by the Rwandan government.

  1. [Effects of sampling plot number on tree species distribution prediction under climate change].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Yu; He, Hong-Shi; Wu, Zhi-Wei; Li, Xiao-Na; Luo, Xu

    2013-05-01

    Based on the neutral landscapes under different degrees of landscape fragmentation, this paper studied the effects of sampling plot number on the prediction of tree species distribution at landscape scale under climate change. The tree species distribution was predicted by the coupled modeling approach which linked an ecosystem process model with a forest landscape model, and three contingent scenarios and one reference scenario of sampling plot numbers were assumed. The differences between the three scenarios and the reference scenario under different degrees of landscape fragmentation were tested. The results indicated that the effects of sampling plot number on the prediction of tree species distribution depended on the tree species life history attributes. For the generalist species, the prediction of their distribution at landscape scale needed more plots. Except for the extreme specialist, landscape fragmentation degree also affected the effects of sampling plot number on the prediction. With the increase of simulation period, the effects of sampling plot number on the prediction of tree species distribution at landscape scale could be changed. For generalist species, more plots are needed for the long-term simulation.

  2. The Anatomy of Medium-Scale Farm Growth in Zambia: What Are the Implications for the Future of Smallholder Agriculture?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicholas Sitko

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Lost in the debates about the appropriate scale of production to promote agricultural growth in Africa is the rapid expansion of medium-scale farmers. Using Zambia as a case study, this article explores the causes and consequences of this middle-tier transformation on the future of small-scale agriculture. Combining political economic analysis with household survey data, this article examines the relationships between the growth in medium-scale farmers and changing conditions of land access, inequality, and alienation for small-scale farmers. Growth of medium-scale farmers is associated with high land inequality and rapid land alienation in high potential agricultural areas. This growth is shown to be partially driven by wage earner investment in land acquisition and is leading to substantial under-utilization of agricultural land. These processes are both limiting agricultural growth potential and foreclosing future options for an inclusive agricultural development strategy.

  3. Consequences of dispersal for the quantitative study of adaptation in small-scale plots: a case study of an avian island population

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lambrechts, M.M.; Visser, M.E.; Verboven, N.

    2000-01-01

    Lifetime recruitment of breeding offspring estimated in small- scale study plots (i.e local recruitment) is considered to be the best available ecological measure of contributions to following generations, and sufficient for the quantitative study of adaptation in natural populations. Recent

  4. NPLOT - NASTRAN PLOT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mcentire, K.

    1994-01-01

    becomes command driven, enabling the user to manipulate the display or execute a command without having to return to the menu. NPLOT is also able to plot deformed shapes allowing it to perform post-processing. The program can read displacements, either static displacements or eigenvectors, from a MSC/NASTRAN F06 file or a UAI/NASTRAN PRT file. The displacements are written into a unformatted scratch file where they are available for rapid access when the user wishes to display a deformed shape. All subcases or mode shapes can be read in at once. Then it is easy to enable the deformed shape, to change subcases or mode shapes and to change the scale factor for subsequent plots. NPLOT is written in VAX FORTRAN for DEC VAX series computers running VMS. As distributed, the NPLOT source code makes calls to the DI3000 graphics package from Precision Visuals; however, a set of interface routines is provided to translate the DI3000 calls into Tektronix PLOT10/TCS graphics library calls so that NPLOT can use the standard Tektronix 4010 which many PC terminal emulation software programs support. NPLOT is available in VAX BACKUP format on a 9-track 1600 BPI DEC VAX BACKUP format magnetic tape (standard media) or a TK50 tape cartridge. This program was developed in 1991. DEC, VAX, VMS, and TK50 are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. Tektronix, PLOT10, and TCS are trademarks of Tektronix, Inc. DI3000 is a registered trademark of Precision Visuals, Inc. NASTRAN is a registered trademark of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. MSC/ is a trademark of MacNeal-Schwendler Corporation. UAI is a trademark of Universal Analytics, Inc.

  5. Effects of logging and recruitment on community phylogenetic structure in 32 permanent forest plots of Kampong Thom, Cambodia

    OpenAIRE

    Toyama, Hironori; Kajisa, Tsuyoshi; Tagane, Shuichiro; Mase, Keiko; Chhang, Phourin; Samreth, Vanna; Ma, Vuthy; Sokh, Heng; Ichihashi, Ryuji; Onoda, Yusuke; Mizoue, Nobuya; Yahara, Tetsukazu

    2015-01-01

    Ecological communities including tropical rainforest are rapidly changing under various disturbances caused by increasing human activities. Recently in Cambodia, illegal logging and clear-felling for agriculture have been increasing. Here, we study the effects of logging, mortality and recruitment of plot trees on phylogenetic community structure in 32 plots in Kampong Thom, Cambodia. Each plot was 0.25 ha; 28 plots were established in primary evergreen forests and four were established in se...

  6. Scale-Aware Pansharpening Algorithm for Agricultural Fragmented Landscapes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mario Lillo-Saavedra

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Remote sensing (RS has played an important role in extensive agricultural monitoring and management for several decades. However, the current spatial resolution of satellite imagery does not have enough definition to generalize its use in highly-fragmented agricultural landscapes, which represents a significant percentage of the world’s total cultivated surface. To characterize and analyze this type of landscape, multispectral (MS images with high and very high spatial resolutions are required. Multi-source image fusion algorithms are normally used to improve the spatial resolution of images with a medium spatial resolution. In particular, pansharpening (PS methods allow one to produce high-resolution MS images through a coherent integration of spatial details from a panchromatic (PAN image with spectral information from an MS. The spectral and spatial quality of source images must be preserved to be useful in RS tasks. Different PS strategies provide different trade-offs between the spectral and the spatial quality of the fused images. Considering that agricultural landscape images contain many levels of significant structures and edges, the PS algorithms based on filtering processes must be scale-aware and able to remove different levels of detail in any input images. In this work, a new PS methodology based on a rolling guidance filter (RGF is proposed. The main contribution of this new methodology is to produce artifact-free pansharpened images, improving the MS edges with a scale-aware approach. Three images have been used, and more than 150 experiments were carried out. An objective comparison with widely-used methodologies shows the capability of the proposed method as a powerful tool to obtain pansharpened images preserving the spatial and spectral information.

  7. On the rebound: soil organic carbon stocks can bounce back to near forest levels when agroforests replace agriculture in southern India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hombegowda, H. C.; van Straaten, O.; Köhler, M.; Hölscher, D.

    2016-01-01

    Tropical agroforestry has an enormous potential to sequester carbon while simultaneously producing agricultural yields and tree products. The amount of soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestered is influenced by the type of the agroforestry system established, the soil and climatic conditions, and management. In this regional-scale study, we utilized a chronosequence approach to investigate how SOC stocks changed when the original forests are converted to agriculture, and then subsequently to four different agroforestry systems (AFSs): home garden, coffee, coconut and mango. In total we established 224 plots in 56 plot clusters across 4 climate zones in southern India. Each plot cluster consisted of four plots: a natural forest reference, an agriculture reference and two of the same AFS types of two ages (30-60 years and > 60 years). The conversion of forest to agriculture resulted in a large loss the original SOC stock (50-61 %) in the top meter of soil depending on the climate zone. The establishment of home garden and coffee AFSs on agriculture land caused SOC stocks to rebound to near forest levels, while in mango and coconut AFSs the SOC stock increased only slightly above the agriculture SOC stock. The most important variable regulating SOC stocks and its changes was tree basal area, possibly indicative of organic matter inputs. Furthermore, climatic variables such as temperature and precipitation, and soil variables such as clay fraction and soil pH were likewise all important regulators of SOC and SOC stock changes. Lastly, we found a strong correlation between tree species diversity in home garden and coffee AFSs and SOC stocks, highlighting possibilities to increase carbon stocks by proper tree species assemblies.

  8. Food security through large scale investments in agriculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rulli, M.; D'Odorico, P.

    2013-12-01

    Most of the human appropriation of freshwater resources is for food production. There is some concern that in the near future the finite freshwater resources available on Earth might not be sufficient to meet the increasing human demand for agricultural products. In the late 1700s Malthus argued that in the long run the humanity would not have enough resources to feed itself. Malthus' analysis, however, did not account for the emergence of technological innovations that could increase the rate of food production. The modern and contemporary history has seen at least three major technological advances that have increased humans' access to food, namely, the industrial revolution, the green revolution, and the intensification of global trade. Here we argue that a fourth revolution has just started to happen. It involves foreign direct investments in agriculture, which intensify the crop yields of potentially highly productive agricultural lands by introducing the use of more modern technologies. The increasing demand for agricultural products and the uncertainty of international food markets has recently drawn the attention of governments and agribusiness firms toward investments in productive agricultural land, mostly in the developing world. The targeted countries are typically located in regions that have remained only marginally utilized because of lack of modern technology. It is expected that in the long run large scale land acquisitions for commercial farming will bring the technology required to close the existing yield gaps. While the extent of the acquired land and the associated appropriation of freshwater resources have been investigated in detail, the amount of food this land can produce and the number of people it could feed still need to be quantified. Here we use a unique dataset of verified land deals to provide a global quantitative assessment of the rates of crop and food appropriation potentially associated with large scale land acquisitions. We

  9. Improving plot- and regional-scale crop models for simulating impacts of climate variability and extremes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, F.; Rötter, R.

    2013-12-01

    Many studies on global climate report that climate variability is increasing with more frequent and intense extreme events1. There are quite large uncertainties from both the plot- and regional-scale models in simulating impacts of climate variability and extremes on crop development, growth and productivity2,3. One key to reducing the uncertainties is better exploitation of experimental data to eliminate crop model deficiencies and develop better algorithms that more adequately capture the impacts of extreme events, such as high temperature and drought, on crop performance4,5. In the present study, in a first step, the inter-annual variability in wheat yield and climate from 1971 to 2012 in Finland was investigated. Using statistical approaches the impacts of climate variability and extremes on wheat growth and productivity were quantified. In a second step, a plot-scale model, WOFOST6, and a regional-scale crop model, MCWLA7, were calibrated and validated, and applied to simulate wheat growth and yield variability from 1971-2012. Next, the estimated impacts of high temperature stress, cold damage, and drought stress on crop growth and productivity based on the statistical approaches, and on crop simulation models WOFOST and MCWLA were compared. Then, the impact mechanisms of climate extremes on crop growth and productivity in the WOFOST model and MCWLA model were identified, and subsequently, the various algorithm and impact functions were fitted against the long-term crop trial data. Finally, the impact mechanisms, algorithms and functions in WOFOST model and MCWLA model were improved to better simulate the impacts of climate variability and extremes, particularly high temperature stress, cold damage and drought stress for location-specific and large area climate impact assessments. Our studies provide a good example of how to improve, in parallel, the plot- and regional-scale models for simulating impacts of climate variability and extremes, as needed for

  10. Splatterplots: overcoming overdraw in scatter plots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayorga, Adrian; Gleicher, Michael

    2013-09-01

    We introduce Splatterplots, a novel presentation of scattered data that enables visualizations that scale beyond standard scatter plots. Traditional scatter plots suffer from overdraw (overlapping glyphs) as the number of points per unit area increases. Overdraw obscures outliers, hides data distributions, and makes the relationship among subgroups of the data difficult to discern. To address these issues, Splatterplots abstract away information such that the density of data shown in any unit of screen space is bounded, while allowing continuous zoom to reveal abstracted details. Abstraction automatically groups dense data points into contours and samples remaining points. We combine techniques for abstraction with perceptually based color blending to reveal the relationship between data subgroups. The resulting visualizations represent the dense regions of each subgroup of the data set as smooth closed shapes and show representative outliers explicitly. We present techniques that leverage the GPU for Splatterplot computation and rendering, enabling interaction with massive data sets. We show how Splatterplots can be an effective alternative to traditional methods of displaying scatter data communicating data trends, outliers, and data set relationships much like traditional scatter plots, but scaling to data sets of higher density and up to millions of points on the screen.

  11. The rainfall plot: its motivation, characteristics and pitfalls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domanska, Diana; Vodák, Daniel; Lund-Andersen, Christin; Salvatore, Stefania; Hovig, Eivind; Sandve, Geir Kjetil

    2017-05-18

    A visualization referred to as rainfall plot has recently gained popularity in genome data analysis. The plot is mostly used for illustrating the distribution of somatic cancer mutations along a reference genome, typically aiming to identify mutation hotspots. In general terms, the rainfall plot can be seen as a scatter plot showing the location of events on the x-axis versus the distance between consecutive events on the y-axis. Despite its frequent use, the motivation for applying this particular visualization and the appropriateness of its usage have never been critically addressed in detail. We show that the rainfall plot allows visual detection even for events occurring at high frequency over very short distances. In addition, event clustering at multiple scales may be detected as distinct horizontal bands in rainfall plots. At the same time, due to the limited size of standard figures, rainfall plots might suffer from inability to distinguish overlapping events, especially when multiple datasets are plotted in the same figure. We demonstrate the consequences of plot congestion, which results in obscured visual data interpretations. This work provides the first comprehensive survey of the characteristics and proper usage of rainfall plots. We find that the rainfall plot is able to convey a large amount of information without any need for parameterization or tuning. However, we also demonstrate how plot congestion and the use of a logarithmic y-axis may result in obscured visual data interpretations. To aid the productive utilization of rainfall plots, we demonstrate their characteristics and potential pitfalls using both simulated and real data, and provide a set of practical guidelines for their proper interpretation and usage.

  12. PRP: a FORTRAN IV interactive plotting program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrew, A. S.; Linde, J.

    A computer program, PRP, has been designed to plot any arithmetic combination selected from a set of major and trace element data on a y- x graph. y and x are defined and entered as a program string (y, x) which is interpreted sequentially. Operators ( +, -, ∗, /, ( unary) , square root, log 10, In c, antilog 10, exponential, integer, absolute value, (,),,) and integer or real numbers may be included. Axis lengths and scales are determined by the user. Five different plotting symbols are available.

  13. Distribution of lithium in agricultural and grazing land soils at European continental scale (GEMAS project)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Negrel, Philippe; Reimann, Clemens; Ladenberger, Anna; Birke, Manfred

    2017-04-01

    The environmental chemistry of Li has received attention because Li has been shown to have numerous and important implications for human health and agriculture and the stable isotope composition of lithium is a powerful geochemical tool that provides quantitative information about Earth processes such as sediment recycling, global chemical weathering and its role in the carbon cycle, hydrothermal alteration, and groundwater evolution. However, the role of bedrock sources, weathering and climate changes in the repartition of Li at the continental scale has been scarcely investigated. Agricultural soil (Ap-horizon, 0-20 cm) and grazing land soil (Gr-horizon, 0-10 cm) samples were collected from a large part of Europe (33 countries, 5.6 million km2) as a part of the GEMAS (GEochemical Mapping of Agricultural and grazing land Soil) soil mapping project. GEMAS soil data have been used to provide a general view of element mobility and source rocks at the continental scale, either by reference to average crustal abundances or to normalized patterns of element mobility during weathering processes. The survey area includes a diverse group of soil parent materials with varying geological history, a wide range of climate zones and landscapes. The concentrations of Li in European soil were determined by ICP-MS after a hot aqua regia extraction, and their spatial distribution patterns generated by means of a GIS software. Due to the partial nature of the aqua regia extraction, the mean concentration of Li in the European agricultural soil (ca 11.4 mg/kg in Ap and Gr soils) is about four times lower than in the Earth's upper continental crust (UCC = 41 mg/kg). The combined plot histogram - density trace one- dimensional scattergram - boxplot of the aqua regia data displays the univariate data distribution of Li. The one-dimensional scattergram and boxplot highlight the existence of many outliers at the lower end of the Li distribution and very few at the upper end. Though the

  14. Introduction to the JEEG Agricultural Geophysics Special Issue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allred, Barry J.; Smith, Bruce D.

    2010-01-01

    Near-surface geophysical methods have become increasingly important tools in applied agricultural practices and studies. The great advantage of geophysical methods is their potential rapidity, low cost, and spatial continuity when compared to more traditional methods of assessing agricultural land, such as sample collection and laboratory analysis. Agricultural geophysics investigations commonly focus on obtaining information within the soil profile, which generally does not extend much beyond 2 meters beneath the ground surface. Although the depth of interest oftentimes is rather shallow, the area covered by an agricultural geophysics survey can vary widely in scale, from experimental plots (10 s to 100 s of square meters), to farm fields (10 s to 100 s of hectares), up to the size of watersheds (10 s to 100 s of square kilometers). To date, three predominant methods—resistivity, electromagnetic induction (EMI), and ground-penetrating radar (GPR)—have been used to obtain surface-based geophysical measurements within agricultural settings. However, a recent conference on agricultural geophysics (Bouyoucos Conference on Agricultural Geophysics, September 8–10, 2009, Albuquerque, New Mexico; www.ag-geophysics.org) illustrated that other geophysical methods are being applied or developed. These include airborne electromagnetic induction, magnetometry, seismic, and self-potential methods. Agricultural geophysical studies are also being linked to ground water studies that utilize deeper penetrating geophysical methods than normally used.

  15. Demand for Agricultural Land in Slovakia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dirgasová Katarína

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available In general, soil is perceived as an unreplaceable and unrenewable natural resource that allows plants, animals and man to live. It is significant in several ways out of which the most important is the production of food for population, the production of fodder for livestock and the production of raw materials for food and light industry. Due to these as well as the other reasons, land becomes the object of competition between different subjects which are trying to get it and use it. The aim of the paper is to map and to characterise the demand for agricultural land at the agricultural land market based on the certificates on fulfilment of the requirements on purchase of agricultural land. Based on the data collected throughout 31 months, it was proved that the demand for agricultural land is influenced by price, land quality, area, fragmentation of land ownership, distance of the offered plot from a county seat and localisation of a given land plot.

  16. The scale effect on soil erosion. A plot approach to understand connectivity on slopes under cultivation at variable plot sizes and under Mediterranean climatic conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerdà, Artemi; Bagarello, Vicenzo; Ferro, Vito; Iovino, Massimo; Borja, Manuel Estaban Lucas; Francisco Martínez Murillo, Juan; González Camarena, Rafael

    2017-04-01

    It is well known that soil erosion changes along time and seasons and attention was paid to this issue in the past (González Hidalgo et al., 2010; 2012). However, although the scientific community knows that soil erosion is also a time spatial scale-scale dependent process (Parsons et al., 1990; Cerdà et al., 2009; González Hidalgo et al., 2013; Sadeghi et al., 2015) very little is done on this topic. This is due to the fact that at different scales, different soil erosion mechanisms (splash, sheetflow, rill development) are active and their rates change with the scale of measurement (Wainwright et al., 2002; López-Vicente et al., 2015). This is making the research on soil erosion complex and difficult, and it is necessary to develop a conceptual framework but also measurements that will inform about the soil erosion behaviour. Connectivity is the key concept to understand how changes in the scale results in different rates of soil and water losses (Parsons et al., 1996; Parsons et al., 2015; Poeppl et al., 2016). Most of the research developed around the connectivity concept was applied in watershed or basin scales (Galdino et al., 2016; Martínez-Casasnovas et al., 2016; López Vicente et al., 2016; Marchamalo et al., 2015; Masselink et al., 2016), but very little is known about the connectivity issue at slope scale (Cerdà and Jurgensen, 2011). El Teularet (Eastern Iberian Peninsula) and Sparacia (Sicily) soil erosion experimental stations are being active for 15 years and data collected on different plots sizes can shed light into the effect of scale on runoff generation and soil losses at different scales and give information to understand how the transport of materials is determined by the connectivity between pedon to slope scale (Cerdà et al., 2014; Bagarello et al., 2015a; 2015b). The comparison of the results of the two research stations will shed light into the rates of soil erosion and mechanisms involved that act under different scales. Our

  17. Biodiversity conservation in agriculture requires a multi-scale approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonthier, David J; Ennis, Katherine K; Farinas, Serge; Hsieh, Hsun-Yi; Iverson, Aaron L; Batáry, Péter; Rudolphi, Jörgen; Tscharntke, Teja; Cardinale, Bradley J; Perfecto, Ivette

    2014-09-22

    Biodiversity loss--one of the most prominent forms of modern environmental change--has been heavily driven by terrestrial habitat loss and, in particular, the spread and intensification of agriculture. Expanding agricultural land-use has led to the search for strong conservation strategies, with some suggesting that biodiversity conservation in agriculture is best maximized by reducing local management intensity, such as fertilizer and pesticide application. Others highlight the importance of landscape-level approaches that incorporate natural or semi-natural areas in landscapes surrounding farms. Here, we show that both of these practices are valuable to the conservation of biodiversity, and that either local or landscape factors can be most crucial to conservation planning depending on which types of organisms one wishes to save. We performed a quantitative review of 266 observations taken from 31 studies that compared the impacts of localized (within farm) management strategies and landscape complexity (around farms) on the richness and abundance of plant, invertebrate and vertebrate species in agro-ecosystems. While both factors significantly impacted species richness, the richness of sessile plants increased with less-intensive local management, but did not significantly respond to landscape complexity. By contrast, the richness of mobile vertebrates increased with landscape complexity, but did not significantly increase with less-intensive local management. Invertebrate richness and abundance responded to both factors. Our analyses point to clear differences in how various groups of organisms respond to differing scales of management, and suggest that preservation of multiple taxonomic groups will require multiple scales of conservation. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  18. Plot-, farm-, and watershed-scale effects of coffee cultivation in runoff and sediment production in western Puerto Rico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos-Scharrón, Carlos E; Figueroa-Sánchez, Yasiel

    2017-11-01

    The combination of a topographically abrupt wet-tropical setting with the high level of soil exposure that typifies many sun-grown coffee farms represents optimal conditions for high erosion rates. Although traditionally considered as a main cause for water resource degradation, limited empirical evidence has existed to document its true contribution. This study relies on plot-scale experimental results conducted in western Puerto Rico to assess the impact of cultivated surfaces and farm access roads on runoff and sediment production from the plot to the farm and watershed scales. Results show that unsurfaced and graveled road surfaces produce one- to two-orders of magnitude more per unit area runoff than cultivated lands. Similarly, erosion rates from unsurfaced roads are about 102 g m -2 per cm of rainfall and these are two-orders of magnitude greater than from actively cultivated surfaces. Mitigation practices such as uncompacting road surfaces by ripping and gravel application reduce onsite erosion rates to 0.6% and 8% of unsurfaced conditions, respectively. At the farm scale, coffee farms are estimated to produce sediment at a rate of 12-18 Mg ha -1 yr -1 , and roads are undoubtedly the dominant sediment source responsible for 59-95% of the total sediment produced. The costs associated to ameliorating erosion problems through road graveling are high. Therefore, a combined approach that treats road erosion onsite with one that traps sediment before it reaches river networks is the viable solution to this problem. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Variability of Measured Runoff and Soil Loss from Field Plots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Asadzadeh

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Field plots are widely used in studies related to the measurements of soil loss and modeling of erosion processes. Research efforts are needed to investigate factors affecting the data quality of plots. Spatial scale or size of plots is one of these factors which directly affects measuring runoff and soil loss by means of field plots. The effect of plot size on measured runoff or soil loss from natural plots is known as plot scale effect. On the other hand, variability of runoff and sediment yield from replicated filed plots is a main source of uncertainty in measurement of erosion from plots which should be considered in plot data interpretation processes. Therefore, there is a demand for knowledge of soil erosion processes occurring in plots of different sizes and of factors that determine natural variability, as a basis for obtaining soil loss data of good quality. This study was carried out to investigate the combined effects of these two factors by measurement of runoff and soil loss from replicated plots with different sizes. Materials and Methods: In order to evaluate the variability of runoff and soil loss data seven plots, differing in width and length, were constructed in a uniform slope of 9% at three replicates at Koohin Research Station in Qazvin province. The plots were ploughed up to down slope in September 2011. Each plot was isolated using soil beds with a height of 30 cm, to direct generated surface runoff to the lower part of the plots. Runoff collecting systems composed of gutters, pipes and tankswere installed at the end of each plot. During the two-year study period of 2011-2012, plots were maintained in bare conditions and runoff and soil loss were measured for each single event. Precipitation amounts and characteristics were directly measured by an automatic recording tipping-bucket rain gauge located about 200 m from the experimental plots. The entire runoff volume including eroded sediment was measured on

  20. The footprint of marginal agriculture in the Mediterranean mountain landscape: An analysis of the Central Spanish Pyrenees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lasanta, T; Nadal-Romero, E; Errea, M P

    2017-12-01

    Agriculture forms an essential part of the mountains of the Mediterranean. For centuries, large areas were cultivated to feed the local population, with highly marginal slopes being tilled at times of heavy demographic pressure, using the shifting agriculture system. A great deal of agricultural land was abandoned during the 20th century, giving rise to secondary succession processes that tend to eliminate the agricultural footprint. However, revegetation is a highly complex process leading to areas with dense, well-structured plant cover, and other open areas of scrubland. This article studies the role of traditional agriculture in the deterioration of the landscape. By using experimental plots in the Central Pyrenees to reproduce traditional agriculture and abandonment, maps of field types, and current uses and ground cover, it could be confirmed that shifting agriculture has caused very heavy soil loss, which explains the deterioration of the landscape on several slopes. Burning scrub and adding the ash to the soil as a fertilizer did not greatly help to improve soil quality, but caused high rates of erosion and a very slow process of regrowth. The average data obtained from the shifting experimental plots recorded losses of 1356kgha -1 years -1 , 1.6 times more than the plot of fertilized cereal, and 8.2 times more than the dense scrub plot. Following abandonment, losses in the shifting agriculture plot were almost three times higher than the abandoned sloping field plot. Traditional shifting agriculture in the Pyrenees is the main cause of the deterioration of the landscape 50-70years after agriculture ceased. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. iCanPlot: visual exploration of high-throughput omics data using interactive Canvas plotting.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amit U Sinha

    Full Text Available Increasing use of high throughput genomic scale assays requires effective visualization and analysis techniques to facilitate data interpretation. Moreover, existing tools often require programming skills, which discourages bench scientists from examining their own data. We have created iCanPlot, a compelling platform for visual data exploration based on the latest technologies. Using the recently adopted HTML5 Canvas element, we have developed a highly interactive tool to visualize tabular data and identify interesting patterns in an intuitive fashion without the need of any specialized computing skills. A module for geneset overlap analysis has been implemented on the Google App Engine platform: when the user selects a region of interest in the plot, the genes in the region are analyzed on the fly. The visualization and analysis are amalgamated for a seamless experience. Further, users can easily upload their data for analysis--which also makes it simple to share the analysis with collaborators. We illustrate the power of iCanPlot by showing an example of how it can be used to interpret histone modifications in the context of gene expression.

  2. A National Scale Sustainable Agriculture Matrix of Indicators to Inform Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davidson, E. A.; Zhang, X.

    2017-12-01

    The ratification of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by all member countries of the United Nations demonstrates the determination of the international community in moving towards a sustainable future. To enable and encourage accountability, independent and transparent measurements of national sustainability efforts are essential. Among all sectors, agriculture is fundamental to all three pillars of sustainability, namely environment, society, and economy. However, the definition of a sustainable agriculture and the feasibility of measuring it remain elusive, in part because it encompasses both biophysical and socio-economic components that are still poorly integrated. Therefore, we have been developing a Sustainable Agriculture Matrix (SAM) on a national scale in order to measure country-level performance in agriculture. First proposed by Swaminathan for agricultural research and policy in 1990s, SAM is a collection of indicators measuring sustainable agriculture from environmental, social, and economic dimensions. The environmental dimension evaluates various impacts of agricultural production on the environment, such as water consumption and nutrient pollution. The economic dimension quantifies the costs and benefits for major stakeholders involved in agricultural production, including government, industry, farmers, and consumers. The social dimension considers three major aspects: 1) social welfare (e.g., hunger and poverty rate, nutritional quality, demography of rural community); 2) equity over sectors, space, and gender (e.g., access to resources/services and opportunities, distribution of income, land ownership and tenure rights); 3) systemic risk (e.g., fragility of the global agricultural production and trade system, resilience of a farm or a country to market and natural shocks). Translating the illustrative concepts into measureable indicators will not only provide an independent and transparent measurement of national performance in the

  3. Using ensemble models to identify and apportion heavy metal pollution sources in agricultural soils on a local scale

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Qi; Xie, Zhiyi; Li, Fangbai

    2015-01-01

    This study aims to identify and apportion multi-source and multi-phase heavy metal pollution from natural and anthropogenic inputs using ensemble models that include stochastic gradient boosting (SGB) and random forest (RF) in agricultural soils on the local scale. The heavy metal pollution sources were quantitatively assessed, and the results illustrated the suitability of the ensemble models for the assessment of multi-source and multi-phase heavy metal pollution in agricultural soils on the local scale. The results of SGB and RF consistently demonstrated that anthropogenic sources contributed the most to the concentrations of Pb and Cd in agricultural soils in the study region and that SGB performed better than RF. - Highlights: • Ensemble models including stochastic gradient boosting and random forest are used. • The models were verified by cross-validation and SGB performed better than RF. • Heavy metal pollution sources on a local scale are identified and apportioned. • Models illustrate good suitability in assessing sources in local-scale agricultural soils. • Anthropogenic sources contributed most to soil Pb and Cd pollution in our case. - Multi-source and multi-phase pollution by heavy metals in agricultural soils on a local scale were identified and apportioned.

  4. The Impacts of Pine Tree Die-Off on Snow Accumulation and Distribution at Plot to Catchment Scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biederman, J. A.; Harpold, A. A.; Gutmann, E. D.; Reed, D. E.; Gochis, D. J.; Brooks, P. D.

    2011-12-01

    Seasonal snow cover is a primary water source throughout much of Western North America, where insect-induced tree die-off is changing the montane landscape. Widespread mortality from insects or drought differs from well-studied cases of fire and logging in that tree mortality is not accompanied by other immediate biophysical changes. Much of the impacted landscape is a mosaic of stands of varying species, structure, management history and health overlain on complex terrain. To address the challenge of predicting the effects of forest die-off on snow water input, we quantified snow accumulation and ablation at scales ranging from individual trees, through forest stands, to nested small catchments. Our study sites in Northern Colorado and Southern Wyoming are dominated by lodgepole pine, but they include forest stands that are naturally developed, managed and clear-cut with varying mortality from Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB). Our record for winters 2010 and 2011 includes continuous meteorological data and snow depth in plots with varying MPB impact as well as stand- to catchment-scale snow surveys mid-winter and near maximal accumulation. At the plot scale, snow depth sensors in healthy stands recorded greater inputs during storms (21-42% of depth) and greater seasonal accumulation (15-40%) in canopy gaps than under trees, whereas no spatial effects of canopy geometry were observed in stands with heavy mortality. Similar patterns were observed in snow surveys near peak accumulation. At both impacted and thinned sites, spatial variability in snow depth was more closely associated with larger scale topography and changes in stand structure than with canopy cover. The role of aspect in ablation was observed to increase in impacted stands as both shading and wind attenuation decreased. Evidence of wind-controlled snow distribution was found 80-100 meters from exposed stand edges in impacted forest as compared to 10-15 meters in healthy forest. Integrating from the scale of

  5. Land rental market, off-farm employment and agricultural production in Southeast China: A plot-level case study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Feng, S.; Heerink, N.; Ruben, R.; Qu, F.

    2010-01-01

    This paper performs a plot-level analysis of the impact of land rental market participation and off-farm employment on land investment, input use, and rice yields for 215 plots cultivated by 52 households in three villages in Northeast Jiangxi Province. Our findings show that households that rent

  6. SPECT-series plot-programs for spectral data for the USC-3 computer system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawarasaki, Yuuki

    1976-01-01

    The programs for spectral data plotting, SPECT- series, have been prepared for use in the USC-3 computer system. They are based on the Basic Plot-Subroutine Unit reported previously and used for plot-processing both γ-ray and TOF-spectra. Two programs can process continuously as many data as required, reading from a magnetic-tape file, being of the same format as that in the Magnetic-Tape Base System. Specification of the plot-processing is as follows: the programs can plot (1) any number of data as required on a sheet, (2) in either linear or logarithmic Y-axis scaling, (3) in the arbitrary channel region, and (4) with variable scale-factor. How to program is described in detail. Usage of the representative programs with example outputs is explained. Problems in the improvement of processing speed and utilization efficiency are also discussed. (auth.)

  7. Monitoring of full-scale hydrodynamic cavitation pretreatment in agricultural biogas plant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garuti, Mirco; Langone, Michela; Fabbri, Claudio; Piccinini, Sergio

    2018-01-01

    The implementation of hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) pretreatment for enhancing the methane potential from agricultural biomasses was evaluated in a full scale agricultural biogas plant, with molasses and corn meal as a supplementary energy source. HC batch tests were run to investigate the influence on methane production, particle size and viscosity of specific energy input. 470kJ/kgTS was chosen for the full-scale implementation. Nearly 6-months of operational data showed that the HC pretreatment maximized the specific methane production of about 10%, allowing the biogas plant to get out of the fluctuating markets of supplementary energy sources and to reduce the methane emissions. HC influenced viscosity and particle size of digestate, contributing to reduce the energy demand for mixing, heating and pumping. In the light of the obtained results the HC process appears to be an attractive and energetically promising alternative to other pretreatments for the degradation of biomasses in biogas plant. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Product plots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wickham, Hadley; Hofmann, Heike

    2011-12-01

    We propose a new framework for visualising tables of counts, proportions and probabilities. We call our framework product plots, alluding to the computation of area as a product of height and width, and the statistical concept of generating a joint distribution from the product of conditional and marginal distributions. The framework, with extensions, is sufficient to encompass over 20 visualisations previously described in fields of statistical graphics and infovis, including bar charts, mosaic plots, treemaps, equal area plots and fluctuation diagrams. © 2011 IEEE

  9. Impact of changes in labor resources and transfers of land use rights on agricultural non-point source pollution in Jiangsu Province, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Hua; Xie, Hualin

    2018-02-01

    This study systematically explores the likely mechanisms driving the effect of the transfer of agricultural land use rights (ALURs) on agricultural non-point source pollution (ANSP) in the context of changing agricultural labor resources. It quantitatively estimates the direction and degree of this influence from a microeconomic perspective using data from rural households. The results reveal that economies of scale caused by ALURs transfers contribute to reducing both the ANSP and marginal costs of inputs. Changes in agricultural labor resources lead to reductions in agricultural labor supply and negatively impact on ANSP. Encouraging farmers to participate in ALURs transfers, therefore, helps to reduce ANSP. The government and related departments should implement policies that support farmers who decide to rent an entire village's land or the adjacent land to achieve economies of scale. Accelerating the development of small farm machinery that is suitable for smaller farm plots and the elderly can serve to reduce the use of chemical fertilizer and promote green production and sustainable agricultural development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Plot 3

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lund, Inger-Lise; Gjessing, Susanne; Hermansen, Anne-Mette

    Plot 3 er første udgivelse af et alsidigt dansksystem til mellemtrinnet, hvor digitale medier er integreret i den daglige undervisning.......Plot 3 er første udgivelse af et alsidigt dansksystem til mellemtrinnet, hvor digitale medier er integreret i den daglige undervisning....

  11. A Global-Scale Estimate of Ecosystem Services from Urban Agriculture: Understanding Incentives for Natural Capital in Cities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clinton, N.; Stuhlmacher, M.; Miles, A.; Uludere, N.; Wagner, M.; Georgescu, M.; Herwig, C.; Gong, P.

    2017-12-01

    Despite substantial interest in urban agriculture, little is known about the aggregate benefits conferred by natural capital for growing food in cities. Here we perform a scenario-based analysis to quantify ecosystem services from adoption of urban agriculture at varying intensity. To drive the scenarios, we created global-scale estimates of vacant land, rooftop and building surface area, at one kilometer resolution, from remotely sensed and modeled geospatial data. We used national scale agricultural reports, climate and other geospatial data at global scale to estimate agricultural production and economic returns, storm-water avoidance, energy savings from avoided heating and cooling costs, and ecosystem services provided by nitrogen sequestration, pollination and biocontrol of pests. The results indicate that vacant lands, followed by rooftops, represent the largest opportunities for natural capital put to agricultural use in urban areas. Ecosystem services from putting such spaces to productive use are dominated by agricultural returns, but energy savings conferred by insulative characteristics of growth substrate also provide economic incentives. Storm water avoidance was estimated to be substantial, but no economic value was estimated. Relatively low economic returns were estimated from the other ecosystem services examined. In aggregate, approximately $10-100 billion in economic incentives, before costs, were estimated. The results showed that relatively developed, high-income countries stand the most to gain from urban agricultural adoption due to the unique combination of climate, crop mixture and crop prices. While the results indicate that urban agriculture is not a panacea for urban food security issues, there is potential to simultaneously ameliorate multiple issues around food, energy and water in urbanized areas.

  12. Crop residue decomposition in Minnesota biochar amended plots

    OpenAIRE

    S. L. Weyers; K. A. Spokas

    2014-01-01

    Impacts of biochar application at laboratory scales are routinely studied, but impacts of biochar application on decomposition of crop residues at field scales have not been widely addressed. The priming or hindrance of crop residue decomposition could have a cascading impact on soil processes, particularly those influencing nutrient availability. Our objectives were to evaluate biochar effects on field decomposition of crop residue, using plots that were amended with ...

  13. The Half-Half Plot

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Einmahl, J.H.J.; Gantner, M.

    2009-01-01

    The Half-Half (HH) plot is a new graphical method to investigate qualitatively the shape of a regression curve. The empirical HH-plot counts observations in the lower and upper quarter of a strip that moves horizontally over the scatter plot. The plot displays jumps clearly and reveals further

  14. Water Market-scale Agricultural Planning: Promoting Competing Water Resource Use Efficiency Through Agro-Economics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delorit, J. D.; Block, P. J.

    2017-12-01

    Where strong water rights law and corresponding markets exist as a coupled econo-legal mechanism, water rights holders are permitted to trade allocations to promote economic water resource use efficiency. In locations where hydrologic uncertainty drives the assignment of annual per-water right allocation values by water resource managers, collaborative water resource decision making by water rights holders, specifically those involved in agricultural production, can result in both resource and economic Pareto efficiency. Such is the case in semi-arid North Chile, where interactions between representative farmer groups, treated as competitive bilateral monopolies, and modeled at water market-scale, can provide both price and water right allocation distribution signals for unregulated, temporary water right leasing markets. For the range of feasible per-water right allocation values, a coupled agricultural-economic model is developed to describe the equilibrium distribution of water, the corresponding market price of water rights and the net surplus generated by collaboration between competing agricultural uses. Further, this research describes a per-water right inflection point for allocations where economic efficiency is not possible, and where price negotiation among competing agricultural uses is required. An investigation of the effects of water right supply and demand inequality at the market-scale is completed to characterize optimal market performance under existing water rights law. The broader insights of this research suggest that water rights holders engaged in agriculture can achieve economic benefits from forming crop-type cooperatives and by accurately assessing the economic value of allocation.

  15. Integrated analysis of the effects of agricultural management on nitrogen fluxes at landscape scale

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kros, J., E-mail: hans.kros@wur.nl [Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen (Netherlands); Frumau, K.F.A.; Hensen, A. [Energy Research Centre of The Netherlands, P.O. Box 1, 1755 ZG Petten (Netherlands); Vries, W. de [Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen (Netherlands); Environmental Systems Analysis Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen (Netherlands)

    2011-11-15

    The integrated modelling system INITIATOR was applied to a landscape in the northern part of the Netherlands to assess current nitrogen fluxes to air and water and the impact of various agricultural measures on these fluxes, using spatially explicit input data on animal numbers, land use, agricultural management, meteorology and soil. Average model results on NH{sub 3} deposition and N concentrations in surface water appear to be comparable to observations, but the deviation can be large at local scale, despite the use of high resolution data. Evaluated measures include: air scrubbers reducing NH{sub 3} emissions from poultry and pig housing systems, low protein feeding, reduced fertilizer amounts and low-emission stables for cattle. Low protein feeding and restrictive fertilizer application had the largest effect on both N inputs and N losses, resulting in N deposition reductions on Natura 2000 sites of 10% and 12%, respectively. - Highlights: > We model nitrogen fluxes and the impact of agricultural measures in a rural landscape. > Average model results appear to be comparable to observations. > The measures low protein feeding and restrictive fertilizer application had the largest effect. - Effects of agricultural management on N losses to air and water are evaluated at landscape scale combining a model assessment and measurements.

  16. Multiscale Poincaré plots for visualizing the structure of heartbeat time series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henriques, Teresa S; Mariani, Sara; Burykin, Anton; Rodrigues, Filipa; Silva, Tiago F; Goldberger, Ary L

    2016-02-09

    Poincaré delay maps are widely used in the analysis of cardiac interbeat interval (RR) dynamics. To facilitate visualization of the structure of these time series, we introduce multiscale Poincaré (MSP) plots. Starting with the original RR time series, the method employs a coarse-graining procedure to create a family of time series, each of which represents the system's dynamics in a different time scale. Next, the Poincaré plots are constructed for the original and the coarse-grained time series. Finally, as an optional adjunct, color can be added to each point to represent its normalized frequency. We illustrate the MSP method on simulated Gaussian white and 1/f noise time series. The MSP plots of 1/f noise time series reveal relative conservation of the phase space area over multiple time scales, while those of white noise show a marked reduction in area. We also show how MSP plots can be used to illustrate the loss of complexity when heartbeat time series from healthy subjects are compared with those from patients with chronic (congestive) heart failure syndrome or with atrial fibrillation. This generalized multiscale approach to Poincaré plots may be useful in visualizing other types of time series.

  17. Trellis plots as visual aids for analyzing split plot experiments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kulahci, Murat; Menon, Anil

    2017-01-01

    The analysis of split plot experiments can be challenging due to a complicated error structure resulting from restrictions on complete randomization. Similarly, standard visualization methods do not provide the insight practitioners desire to understand the data, think of explanations, generate...... hypotheses, build models, or decide on next steps. This article demonstrates the effective use of trellis plots in the preliminary data analysis for split plot experiments to address this problem. Trellis displays help to visualize multivariate data by allowing for conditioning in a general way. They can...

  18. Occupational activities associated with a reported history of malaria among women working in small-scale agriculture in South Africa

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    S. Naidoo (Steven); L. London (Leslie); A. Burdorf (Alex); S. Naidoo (Steven); H. Kromhout (Hans)

    2011-01-01

    textabstractMalaria-endemic agricultural communities are at risk for this disease because of crop and agricultural activities. A cross-sectional survey among women in small-scale agriculture on irrigated and dryland areas in Makhatini Flats, KwaZulu-Natal South Africa explored associations with

  19. Use of the soil and water assessment tool to scale sediment delivery from field to watershed in an agricultural landscape with topographic depressions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almendinger, James E; Murphy, Marylee S; Ulrich, Jason S

    2014-01-01

    For two watersheds in the northern Midwest United States, we show that landscape depressions have a significant impact on watershed hydrology and sediment yields and that the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) has appropriate features to simulate these depressions. In our SWAT models of the Willow River in Wisconsin and the Sunrise River in Minnesota, we used Pond and Wetland features to capture runoff from about 40% of the area in each watershed. These depressions trapped considerable sediment, yet further reductions in sediment yield were required for calibration and achieved by reducing the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) cropping-practice (P) factor to 0.40 to 0.45. We suggest terminology to describe annual sediment yields at different conceptual spatial scales and show how SWAT output can be partitioned to extract data at each of these scales. These scales range from plot-scale yields calculated with the USLE to watershed-scale yields measured at the outlet. Intermediate scales include field, upland, pre-riverine, and riverine scales, in descending order along the conceptual flow path from plot to outlet. Sediment delivery ratios, when defined as watershed-scale yields as a percentage of plot-scale yields, ranged from 1% for the Willow watershed (717 km) to 7% for the Sunrise watershed (991 km). Sediment delivery ratios calculated from published relations based on watershed area alone were about 5 to 6%, closer to pre-riverine-scale yields in our watersheds. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  20. From research plots to prototype biomass plantations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kenney, W.A.; Vanstone, B.J.; Gambles, R.L.; Zsuffa, L. [Univ. of Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

    1993-12-31

    The development of biomass energy plantations is now expanding from the research plot phase into the next level of development at larger scale plantings. This is necessary to provide: more accurate information on biomass yields, realistic production cost figures, venues to test harvesting equipment, demonstration sites for potential producers, and a supply of feedstock for prototype conversion facilities. The paper will discuss some of these objectives and some of the challenges encountered in the scale-up process associated with a willow prototype plantation project currently under development in Eastern Canada.

  1. Crop residue decomposition in Minnesota biochar-amended plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weyers, S. L.; Spokas, K. A.

    2014-06-01

    Impacts of biochar application at laboratory scales are routinely studied, but impacts of biochar application on decomposition of crop residues at field scales have not been widely addressed. The priming or hindrance of crop residue decomposition could have a cascading impact on soil processes, particularly those influencing nutrient availability. Our objectives were to evaluate biochar effects on field decomposition of crop residue, using plots that were amended with biochars made from different plant-based feedstocks and pyrolysis platforms in the fall of 2008. Litterbags containing wheat straw material were buried in July of 2011 below the soil surface in a continuous-corn cropped field in plots that had received one of seven different biochar amendments or a uncharred wood-pellet amendment 2.5 yr prior to start of this study. Litterbags were collected over the course of 14 weeks. Microbial biomass was assessed in treatment plots the previous fall. Though first-order decomposition rate constants were positively correlated to microbial biomass, neither parameter was statistically affected by biochar or wood-pellet treatments. The findings indicated only a residual of potentially positive and negative initial impacts of biochars on residue decomposition, which fit in line with established feedstock and pyrolysis influences. Overall, these findings indicate that no significant alteration in the microbial dynamics of the soil decomposer communities occurred as a consequence of the application of plant-based biochars evaluated here.

  2. Crop residue decomposition in Minnesota biochar amended plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weyers, S. L.; Spokas, K. A.

    2014-02-01

    Impacts of biochar application at laboratory scales are routinely studied, but impacts of biochar application on decomposition of crop residues at field scales have not been widely addressed. The priming or hindrance of crop residue decomposition could have a cascading impact on soil processes, particularly those influencing nutrient availability. Our objectives were to evaluate biochar effects on field decomposition of crop residue, using plots that were amended with biochars made from different feedstocks and pyrolysis platforms prior to the start of this study. Litterbags containing wheat straw material were buried below the soil surface in a continuous-corn cropped field in plots that had received one of seven different biochar amendments or a non-charred wood pellet amendment 2.5 yr prior to start of this study. Litterbags were collected over the course of 14 weeks. Microbial biomass was assessed in treatment plots the previous fall. Though first-order decomposition rate constants were positively correlated to microbial biomass, neither parameter was statistically affected by biochar or wood-pellet treatments. The findings indicated only a residual of potentially positive and negative initial impacts of biochars on residue decomposition, which fit in line with established feedstock and pyrolysis influences. Though no significant impacts were observed with field-weathered biochars, effective soil management may yet have to account for repeat applications of biochar.

  3. Mapping Large-Scale Mechanized Agriculture Across the Brazilian Cerrado Between 2001-2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spera, S. A.; Mustard, J. F.; VanWey, L.

    2014-12-01

    Brazil is a global commodities powerhouse. Over the last decade, dynamic changes in agricultural development and land transformations occurred within Brazil's tropical savanna region, the cerrado. This interdisciplinary study uses remote sensing tools to map land cover across more than 3.6 million km2 of cerrado and statistical methods to characterize drivers of this land-cover change. We use the MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index 16-day data product and a decision-tree algorithm, proven highly accurate in Mato Grosso (Spera et al. 2014) and here modified for the broader cerrado region, to characterize crop type, cropping frequency, expansion, and abandonment of large-scale mechanized agriculture during the 2001-2013 period. The algorithm exploits phenological differences between forest, pasture and cerrado, and mechanized agriculture. It is parameterized to distinguish between crop rotations in Mato Grosso, Goias, and the new agricultural frontier spanning Maranhao, Tocantins, Piaui, and Bahia (MaToPiBa). Training and validation data were collected using Google's Earth Engine. We map single-cropped soy, corn, and cotton; double-cropped soy/corn and soy/cotton rotations; and irrigated agriculture across these six Brazilian cerrado states. We find that while double cropping dominates in Mato Grosso and Goias, single cropping is still the dominant form of mechanized agriculture in the burgeoning MaToPiBa region. In western Bahia alone, preliminary results show agriculture has expanded by almost 350,000 ha and double cropping has increased by almost 40,000 ha. With MaToPiBa touted as Brazil's latest and last agricultural frontier, we predict that the region will experience a transition similar to that of Mato Grosso during the 2000s—an expansion and intensification of agriculture—which may beget unprecedented ramifications on regional climate processes that can then affect ecosystem health and the economic feasibility of cultivating rain-fed export crops.

  4. Small scale pelletizing equipment for agriculture; Smaaskalig pelleteringsanlaeggning foer lantbruket

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paulrud, Susanne (The Swedish Environmental Research Inst. Ltd., Stockholm (Sweden)); Wallin, Mikael (Sweden Powers Chippers AB, Boraas (Sweden))

    2009-06-15

    Refining agricultural raw materials is one way for farmers to increase the value of their products. For example, briquettes or pellets made from straw, reed canary grass or hemp can sell for a higher price than in loose or baled forms. The aim of this project was to develop and build a plant for small-scale production of pellets on the farm. Working together with the farmer, the plant would then be tested and adapted for small-scale production of pellets from straw, reed canary grass and hemp. The project also aimed to investigate and summarise suitable systems and solutions for breaking up bales in preparation for use in the pellets module. A pelleting system has been developed and built as a container module (measuring 6 x 2.80 x 2.50 m) by Sweden Power Chippers (SPC). The container system includes a fuel store with push floor, a grinder, an SPC pellet press (pp150, capacity 150 kg/hour for woodbased material), a conveyor belt and a cooling system. The practical operation of the plant was tested on two Swedish farms: Laattra gaard in Vingaaker and Ek gaard in Vara. The bales were broken up in preparation for pelleting using a straw mill of model Tomahawk 505M. The project has demonstrated that the SPC plant has the capacity to be used for agricultural pelleting of fuels from straw, canary reed grass and hemp. Some modification and continued adjustment of the feed system for the fuel remains to be done in order to optimise and ensure the reliability of the pelleting process. A certain amount of modifications to the plant is required to enable cost-effective transportation between different locations. Tests showed that each batch of fuel was unique, even from the same raw material, and that optimisation of the dies is necessary for each specific case. Training is required to run the plant. The farmers have been able to run the plant themselves, for example, starting up the plant, changing the sieve on the grinder, changing dies etc. In order for such small-scale

  5. Rainfall-runoff-soil and nutrient loss relationships for plot size areas of bhetagad watershed in Central Himalaya, India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kothyari, B. P.; Verma, P. K.; Joshi, B. K.; Kothyari, U. C.

    2004-06-01

    The Bhetagad watershed in Kumaon Hills of Central Himalaya represents for hydro-meteorological conditions of the middle mountains over the Hindu Kush Himalayas. This study was conducted to assess the runoff, soil loss and subsequent nutrient losses from different prominent land uses in the Bhetagad watershed of Central Himalayas. Four experimental natural plots each of 20 m length and 5 m width were delineated on four most common land covers viz, pine forests, tea plantation, rainfed agricultural and degraded lands. Monthly values of runoff, soil loss and nutrient loss, for four successive years (1998-2001), from these land uses were quantified following standard methodologies. The annual runoff in these plots ranged between 51 and 3593 m 3/ha while the annual soil loss varied between 0.06 and 5.47 tonnes/ha during the entire study period. The loss of organic matter was found to be maximum in plot having pine forest followed by plot having tea plantation as the land cover. Annual loss of total N (6.24 kg/ha), total P (3.88 kg/ha) and total K (5.98 kg/ha),per unit loss of soil (tonnes/ha), was maximum from the plot having rainfed agricultural crop as the land cover. The loss of total N ranged between 0.30 and 21.27 kg/ha, total P ranged between 0.14 and 9.42 kg/ha, total K ranged from 0.12 to 11.31 kg/ha whereas organic matter loss varied between 3.65 and 255.16 kg/ha, from different experimental plots. The findings will lead towards devising better conservation/management options for mountain land use systems.

  6. On the spatial and temporal correlations in experimentation with agricultural| applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ersbøll, Annette Kjær

    1994-01-01

    introduction to spatio-temporal models in part 3. Classical statistical analysis normally assumes independent observations. Therefore, knowledge concerning the spatial and temporal relation between plots and between measurements are not included in this kind of analysis. However, agricultural experiments often...... layouts. The optimal design and layout from a statistical point of view is the one with the smallest residual variance. The residual ariance between plots consists of an error term which depends on the plot size (the dispersion variance) and an error term independent of the plot size (assumed...

  7. A Remote Sensing Approach for Regional-Scale Mapping of Agricultural Land-Use Systems Based on NDVI Time Series

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beatriz Bellón

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available In response to the need for generic remote sensing tools to support large-scale agricultural monitoring, we present a new approach for regional-scale mapping of agricultural land-use systems (ALUS based on object-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI time series analysis. The approach consists of two main steps. First, to obtain relatively homogeneous land units in terms of phenological patterns, a principal component analysis (PCA is applied to an annual MODIS NDVI time series, and an automatic segmentation is performed on the resulting high-order principal component images. Second, the resulting land units are classified into the crop agriculture domain or the livestock domain based on their land-cover characteristics. The crop agriculture domain land units are further classified into different cropping systems based on the correspondence of their NDVI temporal profiles with the phenological patterns associated with the cropping systems of the study area. A map of the main ALUS of the Brazilian state of Tocantins was produced for the 2013–2014 growing season with the new approach, and a significant coherence was observed between the spatial distribution of the cropping systems in the final ALUS map and in a reference map extracted from the official agricultural statistics of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE. This study shows the potential of remote sensing techniques to provide valuable baseline spatial information for supporting agricultural monitoring and for large-scale land-use systems analysis.

  8. The climate-smart village approach: framework of an integrative strategy for scaling up adaptation options in agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pramod K. Aggarwal

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Increasing weather risks threaten agricultural production systems and food security across the world. Maintaining agricultural growth while minimizing climate shocks is crucial to building a resilient food production system and meeting developmental goals in vulnerable countries. Experts have proposed several technological, institutional, and policy interventions to help farmers adapt to current and future weather variability and to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG emissions. This paper presents the climate-smart village (CSV approach as a means of performing agricultural research for development that robustly tests technological and institutional options for dealing with climatic variability and climate change in agriculture using participatory methods. It aims to scale up and scale out the appropriate options and draw out lessons for policy makers from local to global levels. The approach incorporates evaluation of climate-smart technologies, practices, services, and processes relevant to local climatic risk management and identifies opportunities for maximizing adaptation gains from synergies across different interventions and recognizing potential maladaptation and trade-offs. It ensures that these are aligned with local knowledge and link into development plans. This paper describes early results in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to illustrate different examples of the CSV approach in diverse agroecological settings. Results from initial studies indicate that the CSV approach has a high potential for scaling out promising climate-smart agricultural technologies, practices, and services. Climate analog studies indicate that the lessons learned at the CSV sites would be relevant to adaptation planning in a large part of global agricultural land even under scenarios of climate change. Key barriers and opportunities for further work are also discussed.

  9. The half-half plot

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Einmahl, J.H.J.; Gantner, M.

    2012-01-01

    The Half-Half (HH) plot is a new graphical method to investigate qualitatively the shape of a regression curve. The empirical HH-plot counts observations in the lower and upper quarter of a strip that moves horizontally over the scatterplot. The plot displays jumps clearly and reveals further

  10. Development and application of an agricultural intensity index to invertebrate and algal metrics from streams at two scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waite, Ian R.

    2013-01-01

    Research was conducted at 28-30 sites within eight study areas across the United States along a gradient of nutrient enrichment/agricultural land use between 2003 and 2007. Objectives were to test the application of an agricultural intensity index (AG-Index) and compare among various invertebrate and algal metrics to determine indicators of nutrient enrichment nationally and within three regions. The agricultural index was based on total nitrogen and phosphorus input to the watershed, percent watershed agriculture, and percent riparian agriculture. Among data sources, agriculture within riparian zone showed significant differences among values generated from remote sensing or from higher resolution orthophotography; median values dropped significantly when estimated by orthophotography. Percent agriculture in the watershed consistently had lower correlations to invertebrate and algal metrics than the developed AG-Index across all regions. Percent agriculture showed fewer pairwise comparisons that were significant than the same comparisons using the AG-Index. Highest correlations to the AG-Index regionally were −0.75 for Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera richness (EPTR) and −0.70 for algae Observed/Expected (O/E), nationally the highest was −0.43 for EPTR vs. total nitrogen and −0.62 for algae O/E vs. AG-Index. Results suggest that analysis of metrics at national scale can often detect large differences in disturbance, but more detail and specificity is obtained by analyzing data at regional scales.

  11. Plasma physics plotting package

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hyman, D.H.

    1981-02-01

    We describe a package of plotting routines that do up to six two- or three-dimensional plots on a frame with minimal loss of resolution. The package now runs on a PDP-10 with PLOT-10 TCS primitives and on a Control Data Corporation-7600 and a Cray-1 with TV80LIB primitives on the National Magnetic Fusion Energy Computer Center network. The package is portable to other graphics systems because only the primitive plot calls are used from the underlying system's graphics package

  12. How is overland flow produced under intermittent rain? An analysis using plot-scale rainfall simulation on dryland soils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunkerley, David

    2018-01-01

    The characteristic intermittency of rainfall includes temporary cessations (hiatuses), as well as periods of very low intensity within more intense events. To understand how these characteristics of rainfall affect overland flow production, rainfall simulations involving repeated cycles of on-off intermittency were carried out on dryland soils in arid western New South Wales, Australia. Periods of rain (10 mm/h) and no-rain were applied in alternation with cycle times from 3 min to 25 min, in experiments lasting 1-1.5 h. Results showed that intermittency could delay the onset of runoff by more than 30 min, reduce the runoff ratio, reduce the peak runoff rate, and reduce the apparent event infiltration rate by 30-45%. When hiatuses in rainfall were longer than 15-20 min, runoff that had resulted from prior rain ceased completely before the recommencement of rain. Results demonstrate that if rainfall intermittency is not accounted for, estimates of infiltrability based on runoff plot data can be systematically in error. Despite the use of intermittent rain, the episodic occurrence of runoff could be predicted successfully by fitting multiple affine Horton infiltration equations, whose changing f0 and Kf coefficients, but uniform values of fc, reflected the redistribution of soil moisture and the change in the infiltrability f during hiatuses in rainfall. The value of fc varied little among the fitted equations, so constituting an affine set of relationships. This new approach provides an alternative to the use of steady-state methods that are common in rainfall simulation experiments and which typically yield only an estimate of fc. The new field results confirm that intermittency affects infiltration and runoff depths and timing at plot scale and on intra-event timescales. Additional work on other soil types, and at other spatial and temporal scales, is needed to test the generality of these findings.

  13. User Guide for the Plotting Software for the Los Alamos National Laboratory Nuclear Weapons Analysis Tools Version 2.0

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cleland, Timothy James [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2018-01-02

    The Los Alamos National Laboratory Plotting Software for the Nuclear Weapons Analysis Tools is a Java™ application based upon the open source library JFreeChart. The software provides a capability for plotting data on graphs with a rich variety of display options while allowing the viewer interaction via graph manipulation and scaling to best view the data. The graph types include XY plots, Date XY plots, Bar plots and Histogram plots.

  14. MatrixPlot: visualizing sequence constraints

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gorodkin, Jan; Stærfeldt, Hans Henrik; Lund, Ole

    1999-01-01

    MatrixPlot: visualizing sequence constraints. Sub-title Abstract Summary : MatrixPlot is a program for making high-quality matrix plots, such as mutual information plots of sequence alignments and distance matrices of sequences with known three-dimensional coordinates. The user can add information...

  15. Distributed plot-making

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Lotte Groth; Bossen, Claus

    2016-01-01

    different socio-technical systems (paper-based and electronic patient records). Drawing on the theory of distributed cognition and narrative theory, primarily inspired by the work done within health care by Cheryl Mattingly, we propose that the creation of overview may be conceptualised as ‘distributed plot......-making’. Distributed cognition focuses on the role of artefacts, humans and their interaction in information processing, while narrative theory focuses on how humans create narratives through the plot construction. Hence, the concept of distributed plot-making highlights the distribution of information processing...

  16. Calibration of multivariate scatter plots for exploratory analysis of relations within and between sets of variables in genomic research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graffelman, Jan; van Eeuwijk, Fred

    2005-12-01

    The scatter plot is a well known and easily applicable graphical tool to explore relationships between two quantitative variables. For the exploration of relations between multiple variables, generalisations of the scatter plot are useful. We present an overview of multivariate scatter plots focussing on the following situations. Firstly, we look at a scatter plot for portraying relations between quantitative variables within one data matrix. Secondly, we discuss a similar plot for the case of qualitative variables. Thirdly, we describe scatter plots for the relationships between two sets of variables where we focus on correlations. Finally, we treat plots of the relationships between multiple response and predictor variables, focussing on the matrix of regression coefficients. We will present both known and new results, where an important original contribution concerns a procedure for the inclusion of scales for the variables in multivariate scatter plots. We provide software for drawing such scales. We illustrate the construction and interpretation of the plots by means of examples on data collected in a genomic research program on taste in tomato.

  17. Interactive effects of agricultural management and topography on soil carbon sequestration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ladoni, M.; Kravchenko, S.; Munoz, J.; Erickson, M.

    2012-12-01

    Proper agricultural management scenarios such as no-tillage, cover cropping, agroforestry, have demonstrated potential to increase the amount of carbon sequestered in soil and to mitigate atmospheric carbon levels. The knowledge about positive effects of cover cropping comes mostly from small uniform experimental plots, but whether these positive effects will exists in large scale fields with diverse topography and what would be the magnitude of these effects on a field scale remains to be seen. Our objective is to compare performance of different agricultural managements including those with cover crops in their influences on SOC across diverse topographical landscape in large agricultural fields. The three studied agricultural practices are Conventionally tilled and fertilized management without cover crops (T1), Low-input management with reduced chemical inputs (T3) and Organic (T4) management, the latter two have rye and red clover cover crops as part of their rotations. Within each field 1- 4 transects with three topographical positions of "depression", "slope" and "summit" were identified. The first soil sampling was done in spring 2010 and the second set of soil samples were collected from topographical positions during growing season of 2011. Samples were analyzed for total SOC and also particulate organic carbon (POC) content to show the changes in active pools of SOC. The results showed that topography has a significant influence in performance of cover crops. Agricultural managements with cover crops increased the POC in soil and the magnitude of this increase was different across space. Cover crops built the highest POC in depressions followed by summit and then slope. The conventional agricultural management increased POC in depression but decreased it on slopes. Low-input agricultural management when coupled with cover cropping has a potential to produce the highest increase in active pools of SOC across topographically diverse fields. The ratio of

  18. Overview of the Bushland Evapotranspiration and Agricultural Remote sensing EXperiment 2008 (BEAREX08): A field experiment evaluating methods for quantifying ET at multiple scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evett, Steven R.; Kustas, William P.; Gowda, Prasanna H.; Anderson, Martha C.; Prueger, John H.; Howell, Terry A.

    2012-12-01

    In 2008, scientists from seven federal and state institutions worked together to investigate temporal and spatial variations of evapotranspiration (ET) and surface energy balance in a semi-arid irrigated and dryland agricultural region of the Southern High Plains in the Texas Panhandle. This Bushland Evapotranspiration and Agricultural Remote sensing EXperiment 2008 (BEAREX08) involved determination of micrometeorological fluxes (surface energy balance) in four weighing lysimeter fields (each 4.7 ha) containing irrigated and dryland cotton and in nearby bare soil, wheat stubble and rangeland fields using nine eddy covariance stations, three large aperture scintillometers, and three Bowen ratio systems. In coordination with satellite overpasses, flux and remote sensing aircraft flew transects over the surrounding fields and region encompassing an area contributing fluxes from 10 to 30 km upwind of the USDA-ARS lysimeter site. Tethered balloon soundings were conducted over the irrigated fields to investigate the effect of advection on local boundary layer development. Local ET was measured using four large weighing lysimeters, while field scale estimates were made by soil water balance with a network of neutron probe profile water sites and from the stationary flux systems. Aircraft and satellite imagery were obtained at different spatial and temporal resolutions. Plot-scale experiments dealt with row orientation and crop height effects on spatial and temporal patterns of soil surface temperature, soil water content, soil heat flux, evaporation from soil in the interrow, plant transpiration and canopy and soil radiation fluxes. The BEAREX08 field experiment was unique in its assessment of ET fluxes over a broad range in spatial scales; comparing direct and indirect methods at local scales with remote sensing based methods and models using aircraft and satellite imagery at local to regional scales, and comparing mass balance-based ET ground truth with eddy covariance

  19. Using ensemble models to identify and apportion heavy metal pollution sources in agricultural soils on a local scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qi; Xie, Zhiyi; Li, Fangbai

    2015-11-01

    This study aims to identify and apportion multi-source and multi-phase heavy metal pollution from natural and anthropogenic inputs using ensemble models that include stochastic gradient boosting (SGB) and random forest (RF) in agricultural soils on the local scale. The heavy metal pollution sources were quantitatively assessed, and the results illustrated the suitability of the ensemble models for the assessment of multi-source and multi-phase heavy metal pollution in agricultural soils on the local scale. The results of SGB and RF consistently demonstrated that anthropogenic sources contributed the most to the concentrations of Pb and Cd in agricultural soils in the study region and that SGB performed better than RF. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Agricultural insecticides threaten surface waters at the global scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stehle, Sebastian; Schulz, Ralf

    2015-05-05

    Compared with nutrient levels and habitat degradation, the importance of agricultural pesticides in surface water may have been underestimated due to a lack of comprehensive quantitative analysis. Increasing pesticide contamination results in decreasing regional aquatic biodiversity, i.e., macroinvertebrate family richness is reduced by ∼30% at pesticide concentrations equaling the legally accepted regulatory threshold levels (RTLs). This study provides a comprehensive metaanalysis of 838 peer-reviewed studies (>2,500 sites in 73 countries) that evaluates, for the first time to our knowledge on a global scale, the exposure of surface waters to particularly toxic agricultural insecticides. We tested whether measured insecticide concentrations (MICs; i.e., quantified insecticide concentrations) exceed their RTLs and how risks depend on insecticide development over time and stringency of environmental regulation. Our analysis reveals that MICs occur rarely (i.e., an estimated 97.4% of analyses conducted found no MICs) and there is a complete lack of scientific monitoring data for ∼90% of global cropland. Most importantly, of the 11,300 MICs, 52.4% (5,915 cases; 68.5% of the sites) exceeded the RTL for either surface water (RTLSW) or sediments. Thus, the biological integrity of global water resources is at a substantial risk. RTLSW exceedances depend on the catchment size, sampling regime, and sampling date; are significantly higher for newer-generation insecticides (i.e., pyrethroids); and are high even in countries with stringent environmental regulations. These results suggest the need for worldwide improvements to current pesticide regulations and agricultural pesticide application practices and for intensified research efforts on the presence and effects of pesticides under real-world conditions.

  1. Conservation agriculture effects on soil pore characteristics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Munkholm, Lars Juhl; Abdollahi, Lotfollah

    ploughing to a depth of 20 cm (MP), harrowing to a depth of 8-10 cm (H) and direct drilling (D). Minimally disturbed core samples were taken at 4-8, 12-16 and 18-27 cm depths 11 years after experimental start. Water retention characteristics were measured for a range of matric potential ranging from -10......Conservation tillage in combination with crop rotation, residue management and cover crops are key components of conservation agriculture. A positive long-term effect of applying all components of conservation agriculture on soil structural quality is expected. However, there is a lack...... of quantitative knowledge to support this statement. This study examines the long-term effects of crop rotations, residue management and tillage on soil pore characteristics of two sandy loam soils in Denmark. Results are reported from a split plot field experiment rotation as main plot factor and tillage...

  2. Methane and Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Agriculture on a Regional Scale

    OpenAIRE

    Agnieszka Wysocka-Czubaszek; Robert Czubaszek; Sławomir Roj-Rojewski; Piotr Banaszuk

    2018-01-01

    Nowadays, agriculture has to meet the growing food demand together with high requirements of environmental protection, especially regarding the climate change. The greenhouse gas emissions differ not only on a global, but also on a regional scale, and mitigation strategies are effective when they are adapted properly. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to present the results of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions inventory on a regional level in Poland in years 1999-2015. The CH4...

  3. Remote sensing with simulated unmanned aircraft imagery for precision agriculture applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunt, E. Raymond; Daughtry, Craig S.T.; Mirsky, Steven B.; Hively, W. Dean

    2014-01-01

    An important application of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) may be remote-sensing for precision agriculture, because of its ability to acquire images with very small pixel sizes from low altitude flights. The objective of this study was to compare information obtained from two different pixel sizes, one about a meter (the size of a small vegetation plot) and one about a millimeter. Cereal rye (Secale cereale) was planted at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center for a winter cover crop with fall and spring fertilizer applications, which produced differences in biomass and leaf chlorophyll content. UAS imagery was simulated by placing a Fuji IS-Pro UVIR digital camera at 3-m height looking nadir. An external UV-IR cut filter was used to acquire true-color images; an external red cut filter was used to obtain color-infrared-like images with bands at near-infrared, green, and blue wavelengths. Plot-scale Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index was correlated with dry aboveground biomass ( ${mbi {r}} = 0.58$ ), whereas the Triangular Greenness Index (TGI) was not correlated with chlorophyll content. We used the SamplePoint program to select 100 pixels systematically; we visually identified the cover type and acquired the digital numbers. The number of rye pixels in each image was better correlated with biomass ( ${mbi {r}} = 0.73$ ), and the average TGI from only leaf pixels was negatively correlated with chlorophyll content ( ${mbi {r}} = -0.72$ ). Thus, better information for crop requirements may be obtained using very small pixel sizes, but new algorithms based on computer vision are needed for analysis. It may not be necessary to geospatially register large numbers of photographs with very small pixel sizes. Instead, images could be analyzed as single plots along field transects.

  4. Agricultural and Social Resiliency of Small-Scale Agriculture to Economic and Climatic Shocks: A Comparison of Subsistence versus Market-Based Agricultural Approaches in Rural Guatemala

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malard, J. J.; Melgar-Quiñonez, H.; Pineda, P.; Gálvez, J.; Adamowski, J. F.

    2014-12-01

    Agricultural production is heavily dependent not only on climate but also on markets as well as on the social and community systems managing the agroecosystem. In addition, the ultimate goal of agricultural production, human food security, is also affected not only by net agricultural production but also by similar economic and social factors. These complex feedbacks assume a particular importance in the case of smallholder farms in the tropics, where alternative rural development policies have led to different and contrasting agricultural management systems. Current approaches at comparing such systems generally study their environmental, economic or social components in isolation, potentially missing important interconnections. This research uses a participatory systems dynamics modelling (SDM) framework to compare two small-scale agricultural approaches in rural Guatemala which differ in their social, economic and ecosystem management decisions. The first case study community, in Quiché, has adopted a subsistence-based system that aims to use low levels of outside inputs to produce food for their own consumption, while the second, in Sololá, has opted for market-based agriculture that uses high input levels to obtain marketable crops in order to assure income for the purchase of food and other necessities. Each of these systems has its respective vulnerabilities; while the Sololá community suffers from more environmental degradation issues (soils and pests), the Quiché community, given lower monetary incomes, is more vulnerable to events whose responses require a significant monetary expenditure. Through the SDM approach, we incorporate local stakeholder knowledge of the respective systems, including biophysical and socioeconomic variables, into a joint biophysical and socioeconomic model for each community. These models then allow for the comparison of the resilience of both types of socio-agroecosystems in the face of climatic, economic and biological

  5. Adoption of Small-Scale Irrigation Farming as a Climate-Smart Agriculture Practice and Its Influence on Household Income in the Chinyanja Triangle, Southern Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nelson Mango

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This article is concerned with the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming as a climate-smart agriculture practice and its influence on household income in the Chinyanja Triangle. Chinyanja Triangle is a region that is increasingly experiencing mid-season dry spells and an increase in occurrence of drought, which is attributed largely to climate variability and change. This poses high agricultural production risks, which aggravate poverty and food insecurity. For this region, adoption of small-scale irrigation farming as a climate-smart agriculture practice is very important. Through a binary logistic and ordinary least squares regression, this article determines factors that influence the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming as a climate-smart agriculture practice and its influence on income among smallholder farmers. The results show that off-farm employment, access to irrigation equipment, access to reliable water sources and awareness of water conservation practices, such as rainwater harvesting, have a significant influence on the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming. On the other hand, the farmer’s age, distance travelled to the nearest market and nature of employment negatively influence the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming decisions. Ordinary least squares regression results showed that the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming as a climate-smart agriculture practice has a significant positive influence on agricultural income. We therefore conclude that to empower smallholder farmers to respond quickly to climate variability and change, practices that will enhance the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming in the Chinyanja Triangle are critical, as this will significantly affect agricultural income. In terms of policy, we recommend that the governments of Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, which cover the Chinyanja Triangle, formulate policies that will enhance the adoption of sustainable small scale

  6. Density Distribution Sunflower Plots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William D. Dupont

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Density distribution sunflower plots are used to display high-density bivariate data. They are useful for data where a conventional scatter plot is difficult to read due to overstriking of the plot symbol. The x-y plane is subdivided into a lattice of regular hexagonal bins of width w specified by the user. The user also specifies the values of l, d, and k that affect the plot as follows. Individual observations are plotted when there are less than l observations per bin as in a conventional scatter plot. Each bin with from l to d observations contains a light sunflower. Other bins contain a dark sunflower. In a light sunflower each petal represents one observation. In a dark sunflower, each petal represents k observations. (A dark sunflower with p petals represents between /2-pk k and /2+pk k observations. The user can control the sizes and colors of the sunflowers. By selecting appropriate colors and sizes for the light and dark sunflowers, plots can be obtained that give both the overall sense of the data density distribution as well as the number of data points in any given region. The use of this graphic is illustrated with data from the Framingham Heart Study. A documented Stata program, called sunflower, is available to draw these graphs. It can be downloaded from the Statistical Software Components archive at http://ideas.repec.org/c/boc/bocode/s430201.html . (Journal of Statistical Software 2003; 8 (3: 1-5. Posted at http://www.jstatsoft.org/index.php?vol=8 .

  7. Difference and ratio plots

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svendsen, Anders Jørgen; Holmskov, U; Bro, Peter

    1995-01-01

    and systemic lupus erythematosus from another previously published study (Macanovic, M. and Lachmann, P.J. (1979) Clin. Exp. Immunol. 38, 274) are also represented using ratio plots. Our observations indicate that analysis by regression analysis may often be misleading....... hitherto unnoted differences between controls and patients with either rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus. For this we use simple, but unconventional, graphic representations of the data, based on difference plots and ratio plots. Differences between patients with Burkitt's lymphoma...

  8. PM10 emission efficiency for agricultural soils: Comparing a wind tunnel, a dust generator, and the open-air plot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avecilla, Fernando; Panebianco, Juan E.; Mendez, Mariano J.; Buschiazzo, Daniel E.

    2018-06-01

    The PM10 emission efficiency of soils has been determined through different methods. Although these methods imply important physical differences, their outputs have never been compared. In the present study the PM10 emission efficiency was determined for soils through a wide range of textures, using three typical methodologies: a rotary-chamber dust generator (EDG), a laboratory wind tunnel on a prepared soil bed, and field measurements on an experimental plot. Statistically significant linear correlation was found (p < 0.05) between the PM10 emission efficiency obtained from the EDG and wind tunnel experiments. A significant linear correlation (p < 0.05) was also found between the PM10 emission efficiency determined both with the wind tunnel and the EDG, and a soil texture index (%sand + %silt)/(%clay + %organic matter) that reflects the effect of texture on the cohesion of the aggregates. Soils with higher sand content showed proportionally less emission efficiency than fine-textured, aggregated soils. This indicated that both methodologies were able to detect similar trends regarding the correlation between the soil texture and the PM10 emission. The trends attributed to soil texture were also verified for two contrasting soils under field conditions. However, differing conditions during the laboratory-scale and the field-scale experiments produced significant differences in the magnitude of the emission efficiency values. The causes of these differences are discussed within the paper. Despite these differences, the results suggest that standardized laboratory and wind tunnel procedures are promissory methods, which could be calibrated in the future to obtain results comparable to field values, essentially through adjusting the simulation time. However, more studies are needed to extrapolate correctly these values to field-scale conditions.

  9. National, holistic, watershed-scale approach to understand the sources, transport, and fate of agricultural chemicals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capel, P.D.; McCarthy, K.A.; Barbash, J.E.

    2008-01-01

    This paper is an introduction to the following series of papers that report on in-depth investigations that have been conducted at five agricultural study areas across the United States in order to gain insights into how environmental processes and agricultural practices interact to determine the transport and fate of agricultural chemicals in the environment. These are the first study areas in an ongoing national study. The study areas were selected, based on the combination of cropping patterns and hydrologic setting, as representative of nationally important agricultural settings to form a basis for extrapolation to unstudied areas. The holistic, watershed-scale study design that involves multiple environmental compartments and that employs both field observations and simulation modeling is presented. This paper introduces the overall study design and presents an overview of the hydrology of the five study areas. Copyright ?? 2008 by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America. All rights reserved.

  10. Detecting Chaos from Agricultural Product Price Time Series

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xin Su

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Analysis of the characteristics of agricultural product price volatility and trend forecasting are necessary to formulate and implement agricultural price control policies. Taking wholesale cabbage prices as an example, a multiple test methodology has been adopted to identify the nonlinearity, fractality, and chaos of the data. The approaches used include the R/S analysis, the BDS test, the power spectra, the recurrence plot, the largest Lyapunov exponent, the Kolmogorov entropy, and the correlation dimension. The results show that there is chaos in agricultural wholesale price data, which provides a good theoretical basis for selecting reasonable forecasting models as prediction techniques based on chaos theory can be applied to forecasting agricultural prices.

  11. Patterns and dynamics of Cs-137 soil contamination on the plot scale of the Bryansk Region (Russia): the role of processes, connectivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linnik, Vitaly; Sokolov, Alexander; Saveliev, Anatoly

    2014-05-01

    Character of surface and subsurface water flow was studied using 137Cs as a marker on a forest plot with a size of 50x70 m in the western part of the Bryansk Region, situated in the lower part of a slope that has a southern exposition and is drained by a stream. The range of altitudinal levels of plot amounts to 152,68-154,68 m. The plot was surveyed with a terrain contour level equalling to 20 sm. The data of the survey were used to make a digital elevation model (DEM). The plot has a undulated relief with a general surface slope in southern and southeast directions, with some depressions ranging from dozens of centimeters to several meters and 20-40 cm deep, in which groundwater comes up straight to the surface in spring. 137Cs distribution was investigated using field radiometry survey by different steps: 10m for the total plot, and 2 m for the two local plots with the size of 10x10 m, and 0,5 m step for a subplot with the size of 3x4 m. The total quantity of measuring points was more than 200. For the total plot 137Cs mean value was 950 kBq/m2, min - 463 kBq/m2 and max- 1706 kBq/m2. Local plot in the depression, was characterized by the following levels of the 137Cs pollution: mean, max and min value accordingly were equal 682, 1280, 281 kBq/m2. At the initial period of the accident at the Chernobyl NPP (April-May 1986) the quantity of 137Cs water soluble form could reach 50%, therefore 137Cs could have been carried out because of a surface and subsurface water flow. The dependence of 137Cs distribution on microrelief has been examined. Values of Laplace operator obtained for a detailed (step of 0,1 m, Laplace1) and a generalized grid (step 0,25 m, Laplace2), as well as altitude were regarded as parameters which control 137Cs redistribution. Negative Laplacian corresponds to wash-out zones (convex microrelief) while positive Laplacian corresponds to accumulation zones (concave microrelief). To determine the relation of 137Cs distribution to the mentioned relief

  12. Farmer response to climatic and agricultural market drivers: characteristic time scales and sensitivities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wurster, P. M.; Maneta, M. P.; Vicente-Serrano, S. M.; Beguería, S.; Silverman, N. L.; Holden, Z.

    2017-12-01

    Agriculture in the intermountain western United States is dominated by extensive farming and ranching, mostly reliant on rainfed crops and therefore very exposed to precipitation shortfalls. It is also poorly diversified, dominated by five or six major grain crops, which makes it vulnerable to changes in agricultural markets. The economy of the region is very reliant on this type of agriculture, making the entire economy vulnerable to climatic and market fluctuations. Western agriculture is also of significant importance for national food security. Resource managers in the region are increasingly concerned with the impacts that more frequent and severe droughts, or the collapse of crop prices, may have on producers and food production. Effective resource management requires an understanding not only of the regional impact of adverse climatic and market events, but also of which geographic areas are most vulnerable, and why. Unfortunately, few studies exist that look into how farmers in different geographic areas respond to climate and market drivers. In this study we analyze the influence of precipitation and crop price anomalies on crop production, and map the characteristic time scale of these anomalies that correlate best with production anomalies for the 56 counties of Montana, U.S.A. We conduct this analysis using the standardized precipitation index (SPI), and defining a standardized crop value index (SCVI) and a standardized crop production index (SCPI). We use 38 years of data to calculate precipitation anomalies at monthly time scales and annual data to calculate crop price and production anomalies. The standardization of the indices allows for straightforward comparison of the relative influence of climatic and market fluctuations on production anomalies. We apply our methodology to winter wheat, spring durum wheat, barley, alfalfa, and beets which are the most valuable crops produced in the state. Results from this study show that precipitation anomalies

  13. Environmental effects of growing short-rotation woody crops on former agricultural lands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tolbert, V.R.; Thornton, F.C.; Joslin, J.D.

    1997-01-01

    Field-scale studies in the Southeast have been addressing the environmental effects of converting agricultural lands to biomass crop production since 1994. Erosion, surface water quality and quantity and subsurface movement of water and nutrients from woody crops, switchgrass and agricultural crops are being compared. Nutrient cycling, soil physical changes, and crop productivity are also being monitored at the three sites. Maximum sediment losses occurred in the spring and fall. Losses were greater from sweetgum planted without a cover crop than with a cover crop. Nutrient losses of N and P in runoff and subsurface water occurred primarily after spring fertilizer application. These field plot studies are serving as the basis for a water shed study initiated in 1997. Results from the two studies will be used to develop and model nutrient and hydrologic budgets for woody crop plantings to identify potential constraints to sustainable deployment of short-rotation woody crops in the southeastern United States. (author)

  14. An integrated model for assessing both crop productivity and agricultural water resources at a large scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okada, M.; Sakurai, G.; Iizumi, T.; Yokozawa, M.

    2012-12-01

    Agricultural production utilizes regional resources (e.g. river water and ground water) as well as local resources (e.g. temperature, rainfall, solar energy). Future climate changes and increasing demand due to population increases and economic developments would intensively affect the availability of water resources for agricultural production. While many studies assessed the impacts of climate change on agriculture, there are few studies that dynamically account for changes in water resources and crop production. This study proposes an integrated model for assessing both crop productivity and agricultural water resources at a large scale. Also, the irrigation management to subseasonal variability in weather and crop response varies for each region and each crop. To deal with such variations, we used the Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique to quantify regional-specific parameters associated with crop growth and irrigation water estimations. We coupled a large-scale crop model (Sakurai et al. 2012), with a global water resources model, H08 (Hanasaki et al. 2008). The integrated model was consisting of five sub-models for the following processes: land surface, crop growth, river routing, reservoir operation, and anthropogenic water withdrawal. The land surface sub-model was based on a watershed hydrology model, SWAT (Neitsch et al. 2009). Surface and subsurface runoffs simulated by the land surface sub-model were input to the river routing sub-model of the H08 model. A part of regional water resources available for agriculture, simulated by the H08 model, was input as irrigation water to the land surface sub-model. The timing and amount of irrigation water was simulated at a daily step. The integrated model reproduced the observed streamflow in an individual watershed. Additionally, the model accurately reproduced the trends and interannual variations of crop yields. To demonstrate the usefulness of the integrated model, we compared two types of impact assessment of

  15. Forest Conversion, Agricultural Transitions and the Influence of Multi-scale Market Factors in Southwest Cameroon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ordway, E.; Lambin, E.; Asner, G. P.

    2015-12-01

    The changing structure of demand for commodities associated with food security and energy has had a startling impact on land use change in tropical forests in recent decades. Yet, the composition of conversion in the Congo basin remains a major uncertainty, particularly with regards to the scale of drivers of change. Owing to rapid expansion of production globally and longstanding historical production locally in the Congo basin, oil palm offers a lens through which to evaluate local land use decisions across a spectrum of small- to large-scales of production as well as interactions with regional and global supply chains. We examined the effect of global commodity crop expansion on land use change in Southwest Cameroon using a mixed-methods approach to integrate remote sensing, field surveys and socioeconomic data. Southwest Cameroon (2.5 Mha) has a long history of large- and small-scale agriculture, ranging from mixed crop subsistence agriculture to large monocrop plantations of oil palm, cocoa, and rubber. Trends and spatial patterns of forest conversion and agricultural transitions were analyzed from 2000-2015 using satellite imagery. We used economic, demographic and field survey datasets to assess how regional and global market factors and local commodity crop decisions affect land use patterns. Our results show that oil palm is a major commodity crop expanding in this region, and that conversion is occurring primarily through expansion by medium-scale producers and local elites. Results also indicate that global and regional supply chain dynamics influence local land use decision making. This research contributes new information on land use patterns and dynamics in the Congo basin, an understudied region. More specifically, results from this research contribute information on recent trends of oil palm expansion in Cameroon that will be used in national land use planning strategies.

  16. Isodose plotting for pen plotters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosen, I.I.

    1985-01-01

    A general algorithm for treatment plan isodose line plotting is described which is particularly useful for pen plotters. Unlike other methods of plotting isodose lines, this algorithm is designed specifically to reduce pen motion, thereby reducing plotting time and wear on the transport mechanism. Points with the desired dose value are extracted from the dose matrix and stored, sorted into continuous contours, and then plotted. This algorithm has been implemented on DEC PDP-11/60 and VAX-11/780 computers for use with two models of Houston Instrument pen plotters, two models of Tektronix vector graphics terminals, a DEC VT125 raster graphics terminal, and a DEC VS11 color raster graphics terminal. Its execution time is similar to simpler direct-plotting methods

  17. An automatized frequency analysis for vine plot detection and delineation in remote sensing

    OpenAIRE

    Delenne , Carole; Rabatel , G.; Deshayes , M.

    2008-01-01

    The availability of an automatic tool for vine plot detection, delineation, and characterization would be very useful for management purposes. An automatic and recursive process using frequency analysis (with Fourier transform and Gabor filters) has been developed to meet this need. This results in the determination of vine plot boundary and accurate estimation of interrow width and row orientation. To foster large-scale applications, tests and validation have been carried out on standard ver...

  18. SEGY to ASCII Conversion and Plotting Program 2.0

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldman, Mark R.

    2005-01-01

    INTRODUCTION SEGY has long been a standard format for storing seismic data and header information. Almost every seismic processing package can read and write seismic data in SEGY format. In the data processing world, however, ASCII format is the 'universal' standard format. Very few general-purpose plotting or computation programs will accept data in SEGY format. The software presented in this report, referred to as SEGY to ASCII (SAC), converts seismic data written in SEGY format (Barry et al., 1975) to an ASCII data file, and then creates a postscript file of the seismic data using a general plotting package (GMT, Wessel and Smith, 1995). The resulting postscript file may be plotted by any standard postscript plotting program. There are two versions of SAC: one version for plotting a SEGY file that contains a single gather, such as a stacked CDP or migrated section, and a second version for plotting multiple gathers from a SEGY file containing more than one gather, such as a collection of shot gathers. Note that if a SEGY file has multiple gathers, then each gather must have the same number of traces per gather, and each trace must have the same sample interval and number of samples per trace. SAC will read several common standards of SEGY data, including SEGY files with sample values written in either IBM or IEEE floating-point format. In addition, utility programs are present to convert non-standard Seismic Unix (.sux) SEGY files and PASSCAL (.rsy) SEGY files to standard SEGY files. SAC allows complete user control over all plotting parameters including label size and font, tick mark intervals, trace scaling, and the inclusion of a title and descriptive text. SAC shell scripts create a postscript image of the seismic data in vector rather than bitmap format, using GMT's pswiggle command. Although this can produce a very large postscript file, the image quality is generally superior to that of a bitmap image, and commercial programs such as Adobe Illustrator

  19. Anatomy of a local-scale drought: Application of assimilated remote sensing products, crop model, and statistical methods to an agricultural drought study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mishra, Ashok K.; Ines, Amor V. M.; Das, Narendra N.; Prakash Khedun, C.; Singh, Vijay P.; Sivakumar, Bellie; Hansen, James W.

    2015-07-01

    Drought is of global concern for society but it originates as a local problem. It has a significant impact on water quantity and quality and influences food, water, and energy security. The consequences of drought vary in space and time, from the local scale (e.g. county level) to regional scale (e.g. state or country level) to global scale. Within the regional scale, there are multiple socio-economic impacts (i.e., agriculture, drinking water supply, and stream health) occurring individually or in combination at local scales, either in clusters or scattered. Even though the application of aggregated drought information at the regional level has been useful in drought management, the latter can be further improved by evaluating the structure and evolution of a drought at the local scale. This study addresses a local-scale agricultural drought anatomy in Story County in Iowa, USA. This complex problem was evaluated using assimilated AMSR-E soil moisture and MODIS-LAI data into a crop model to generate surface and sub-surface drought indices to explore the anatomy of an agricultural drought. Quantification of moisture supply in the root zone remains a gray area in research community, this challenge can be partly overcome by incorporating assimilation of soil moisture and leaf area index into crop modeling framework for agricultural drought quantification, as it performs better in simulating crop yield. It was noted that the persistence of subsurface droughts is in general higher than surface droughts, which can potentially improve forecast accuracy. It was found that both surface and subsurface droughts have an impact on crop yields, albeit with different magnitudes, however, the total water available in the soil profile seemed to have a greater impact on the yield. Further, agricultural drought should not be treated equal for all crops, and it should be calculated based on the root zone depth rather than a fixed soil layer depth. We envisaged that the results of

  20. Micro-scale hydrological field experiments in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Minea Gabriel

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The paper (communication presents an overview of hydrologic field experiments at micro-scale in Romania. In order to experimentally investigate micro (plot-scale hydrological impact of soil erosion, the National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management founded Voineşti Experimental Basin (VES in 1964 and the Aldeni Experimental Basins (AEB in 1984. AEB and VES are located in the Curvature Subcarpathians. Experimental plots are organized in a double systems and have an area of 80 m2 (runoff plots at AEB and 300 m2 (water balance plots at VES. Land use of plot: first plot ”grass-land” is covered with perennial grass and second plot (control consists in ”bare soil”. Over the latter one, the soil is hoeing, which results in a greater development of infiltration than in the first plot. Experimental investigations at micro-scale are aimed towards determining the parameters of the water balance equation, during natural and artificial rainfalls, researching of flows and soil erosion processes on experimental plots, extrapolating relations involving runoff coefficients from a small scale to medium scale. Nowadays, the latest evolutions in data acquisition and transmission equipment are represented by sensors (such as: sensors to determinate the soil moisture content. Exploitation and dissemination of hydrologic data is accomplished by research themes/projects, year-books of basic data and papers.

  1. Development of the Seasonal Migrant Agricultural Worker Stress Scale in Sanliurfa, Southeast Turkey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simsek, Zeynep; Ersin, Fatma; Kirmizitoprak, Evin

    2016-01-01

    Stress is one of the main causes of health problems, especially mental disorders. These health problems cause a significant amount of ability loss and increase cost. It is estimated that by 2020, mental disorders will constitute 15% of the total disease burden, and depression will rank second only after ischemic heart disease. Environmental experiences are paramount in increasing the liability of mental disorders in those who constantly face sustained high levels of stress. The objective of this study was to develop a stress scale for seasonal migrant agricultural workers aged 18 years and older. The sample consisted of 270 randomly selected seasonal migrant agricultural workers. The average age of the participants was 33.1 ± 14, and 50.7% were male. The Cronbach alpha coefficient and test-retest methods were used for reliability analyses. Although the factor analysis was performed for the structure validity of the scale, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin coefficient and Bartlett test were used to determine the convenience of the data for the factor analysis. In the reliability analyses, the Cronbach alpha coefficient of internal consistency was calculated as .96, and the test-retest reliability coefficient was .81. In the exploratory factor analysis for validity of the scale, four factors were obtained, and the factors represented workplace physical conditions (25.7% of the total variance), workplace psychosocial and economic factors (19.3% of the total variance), workplace health problems (15.2% of the total variance), and school problems (10.1% of the total variance). The four factors explained 70.3% of the total variance. As a result of the expert opinions and analyses, a stress scale with 48 items was developed. The highest score to be obtained from the scale was 144, and the lowest score was 0. The increase in the score indicates the increase in the stress levels. The findings show that the scale is a valid and reliable assessment instrument that can be used in

  2. Qualitatively Modeling solute fate and transport across scales in an agricultural catchment with diverse lithology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wayman, C. R.; Russo, T. A.; Li, L.; Forsythe, B.; Hoagland, B.

    2017-12-01

    As part of the Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory (SSHCZO) project, we have collected geochemical and hydrological data from several subcatchments and four monitoring sites on the main stem of Shaver's Creek, in Huntingon county, Pennsylvania. One subcatchment (0.43 km2) is under agricultural land use, and the monitoring locations on the larger Shaver's Creek (up to 163 km2) drain watersheds with 0 to 25% agricultural area. These two scales of investigation, coupled with advances made across the SSHCZO on multiple lithologies allow us to extrapolate from the subcatchment to the larger watershed. We use geochemical surface and groundwater data to estimate the solute and water transport regimes within the catchment, and to show how lithology and land use are major controls on ground and surface water quality. One area of investigation includes the transport of nutrients between interflow and regional groundwater, and how that connectivity may be reflected in local surface waters. Water and nutrient (Nitrogen) isotopes, will be used to better understand the relative contributions of local and regional groundwater and interflow fluxes into nearby streams. Following initial qualitative modeling, multiple hydrologic and nutrient transport models (e.g. SWAT and CYCLES/PIHM) will be evaluated from the subcatchment to large watershed scales. We will evaluate the ability to simulate the contributions of regional groundwater versus local groundwater, and also impacts of agricultural land management on surface water quality. Improving estimations of groundwater contributions to stream discharge will provide insight into how much agricultural development can impact stream quality and nutrient loading.

  3. Changes in hydrology and salinity accompanying a century of agricultural conversion in Argentina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jayawickreme, Dushmantha H; Santoni, Celina S; Kim, John H; Jobbágy, Esteban G; Jackson, Robert B

    2011-10-01

    Conversions of natural woodlands to agriculture can alter the hydrologic balance, aquifer recharge, and salinity of soils and groundwater in ways that influence productivity and sustainable land use. Using a land-use change chronosequence in semiarid woodlands of Argentina's Espinal province, we examined the distribution of moisture and solutes and estimated recharge rates on adjacent plots of native woodlands and rain-fed agriculture converted 6-90 years previously. Soil coring and geoelectrical profiling confirmed the presence of spatially extensive salt accumulations in dry woodlands and pervasive salt losses in areas converted to agriculture. A 1.1-km-long electrical resistivity transect traversing woodland, 70-year-old agriculture, and woodland, for instance, revealed a low-resistivity (high-salinity) horizon between approximately 3 m and 13 m depth in the woodlands that was virtually absent in the agricultural site because of leaching. Nine-meter-deep soil profiles indicated a 53% increase in soil water storage after 30 or more years of cultivation. Conservative groundwater-recharge estimates based on chloride tracer methods in agricultural plots ranged from approximately 12 to 45 mm/yr, a substantial increase from the led to >95% loss of sulfate and chloride ions from the shallow vadose zone in most agriculture plots. These losses correspond to over 100 Mg of sulfate and chloride salts potentially released to the region's groundwater aquifers through time with each hectare of deforestation, including a capacity to increase groundwater salinity to >4000 mg/L from these ions alone. Similarities between our findings and those of the dryland salinity problems of deforested woodlands in Australia suggest an important warning about the potential ecohydrological risks brought by the current wave of deforestation in the Espinal and other regions of South America and the world.

  4. Plot-scale evidence of tundra vegetation change and links to recent summer warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarah C. Elmendorf; Gregory H.R. Henry; Robert D. Hollister; Robert G. Bjork; Noemie Boulanger-Lapointe; Elisabeth J. Cooper; Johannes H.C. Cornelissen; Thomas A. Day; Ellen Dorrepaal; Tatiana G. Elumeeva; Mike Gill; William A. Gould; John Harte; David S. Hik; Annika Hofgaard; David R. Johnson; Jill F. Johnstone; Ingijorg Svala Jonsdottir; Janet C. Jorgenson; Kari Klanderud; Julia A. Klein; Saewan Koh; Gaku Kudo; Mark Lara; Esther Levesque; Borgthor Magnusson; Jeremy L. May; Joel A. Mercado; Anders Michelsen; Ulf Molau; Isla H. Myers-Smith; Steven F. Oberbauer; Vladimir G. Onipchenko; Christian Rixen; Niels Martin Schmidt; Gaius R. Shaver; Marko J. Spasojevic; Pora Ellen Porhallsdottir; Anne Tolvanen; Tiffany Troxler; Craig E. Tweedie; Sandra Villareal; Carl-Henrik Wahren; Xanthe Walker; Patrick J. Webber; Jeffrey M. Welker; Sonja Wipf

    2012-01-01

    Temperature is increasing at unprecedented rates across most of the tundra biome1. Remote-sensing data indicate that contemporary climate warming has already resulted in increased productivity over much of the Arctic2,3, but plot-based evidence for vegetation transformation is not widespread. We analysed change in tundra vegetation surveyed between 1980 and 2010 in 158...

  5. Water limited agriculture in Africa: Climate change sensitivity of large scale land investments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rulli, M. C.; D'Odorico, P.; Chiarelli, D. D.; Davis, K. F.

    2015-12-01

    The past few decades have seen unprecedented changes in the global agricultural system with a dramatic increase in the rates of food production fueled by an escalating demand for food calories, as a result of demographic growth, dietary changes, and - more recently - new bioenergy policies. Food prices have become consistently higher and increasingly volatile with dramatic spikes in 2007-08 and 2010-11. The confluence of these factors has heightened demand for land and brought a wave of land investment to the developing world: some of the more affluent countries are trying to secure land rights in areas suitable for agriculture. According to some estimates, to date, roughly 38 million hectares have been acquired worldwide by large scale investors, 16 million of which in Africa. More than 85% of large scale land acquisitions in Africa are by foreign investors. Many land deals are motivated not only by the need for fertile land but for the water resources required for crop production. Despite some recent assessments of the water appropriation associated with large scale land investments, their impact on the water resources of the target countries under present conditions and climate change scenarios remains poorly understood. Here we investigate irrigation water requirements by various crops planted in the acquired land as an indicator of the pressure likely placed by land investors on ("blue") water resources of target regions in Africa and evaluate the sensitivity to climate changes scenarios.

  6. Women and agricultural productivity: Reframing the Issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doss, Cheryl R

    2018-01-01

    Should agricultural development programmes target women in order to increase productivity? This article analyzes the challenges in distinguishing women's agricultural productivity from that of men. Most of the literature compares productivity on plots managed by women with those managed by men, ignoring the majority of agricultural households in which men and women are both involved in management and production. The empirical studies which have been carried out provide scant evidence for where the returns to projects may be highest, in terms of who to target. Yet, programmes that do not consider gendered responsibilities, resources and constraints, are unlikely to succeed, either in terms of increasing productivity or benefitting men and women smallholder farmers.

  7. Plotting system for the MINCS code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watanabe, Tadashi

    1990-08-01

    The plotting system for the MINCS code is described. The transient two-phase flow analysis code MINCS has been developed to provide a computational tool for analysing various two-phase flow phenomena in one-dimensional ducts. Two plotting systems, namely the SPLPLOT system and the SDPLOT system, can be used as the plotting functions. The SPLPLOT system is used for plotting time transients of variables, while the SDPLOT system is for spatial distributions. The SPLPLOT system is based on the SPLPACK system, which is used as a general tool for plotting results of transient analysis codes or experiments. The SDPLOT is based on the GPLP program, which is also regarded as one of the general plotting programs. In the SPLPLOT and the SDPLOT systems, the standardized data format called the SPL format is used in reading data to be plotted. The output data format of MINCS is translated into the SPL format by using the conversion system called the MINTOSPL system. In this report, how to use the plotting functions is described. (author)

  8. IPLOT, interactive MELCOR data plotting system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-01-01

    1 - Description of program or function: IPLOT is an interactive MELCOR data plotting system. It provides several kinds of GUI interfaces for a flexible data plotting. IPLOT capabilities include creation, saving and loading of user specified MELCOR variables trend graphs. IPLOT can use one or several plot files for a graph generation while the graphs can be either in one window or in several windows. Besides IPLOT provides several graph convenient functions such as zooming, re-sizing, printing for a detail analysis of severe accidents. 2 - Methods: Trend values seeking in a plot file is performed by a binary search method for fast performance. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: MELCOR plot files are required for plotting

  9. Tracking Changes in Cardiac Output: Statistical Considerations on the 4-Quadrant Plot and the Polar Plot Methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saugel, Bernd; Grothe, Oliver; Wagner, Julia Y

    2015-08-01

    When comparing 2 technologies for measuring hemodynamic parameters with regard to their ability to track changes, 2 graphical tools are omnipresent in the literature: the 4-quadrant plot and the polar plot recently proposed by Critchley et al. The polar plot is thought to be the more advanced statistical tool, but care should be taken when it comes to its interpretation. The polar plot excludes possibly important measurements from the data. The polar plot transforms the data nonlinearily, which may prevent it from being seen clearly. In this article, we compare the 4-quadrant and the polar plot in detail and thoroughly describe advantages and limitations of each. We also discuss pitfalls concerning the methods to prepare the researcher for the sound use of both methods. Finally, we briefly revisit the Bland-Altman plot for the use in this context.

  10. Innovation behaviour and the use of research and extension services in small-scale agricultural holdings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramos-Sandoval, R.; García-Álvarez-Coque, J.M.; Mas-Verdú, F.

    2016-07-01

    Farmers’ views on research and extension services (RES) included in the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System are rarely investigated. This study analyses the relationship between key factors of innovation behaviour (market orientation, learning orientation, and innovation attitude) and the use of RES through structural equation modelling, focusing on small-scale agricultural holdings. Market orientation and learning orientation appear to be positively correlated, confirming that synergies between both factors provide a background for innovativeness. Learning orientation and farm-holders’ education level, improve knowledge exchange and make the agriculture innovation process more inclusive. However, farmers’ innovation attitude is not clearly correlated with the use of RES. Motivations about “the will to do innovations” are represented by a construct that does not appear to have a determinant effect as a mediator in farmer’s decisions about using RES.

  11. Innovation behaviour and the use of research and extension services in small-scale agricultural holdings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramos-Sandoval, R.; García-Álvarez-Coque, J.M.; Mas-Verdú, F.

    2016-01-01

    Farmers’ views on research and extension services (RES) included in the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System are rarely investigated. This study analyses the relationship between key factors of innovation behaviour (market orientation, learning orientation, and innovation attitude) and the use of RES through structural equation modelling, focusing on small-scale agricultural holdings. Market orientation and learning orientation appear to be positively correlated, confirming that synergies between both factors provide a background for innovativeness. Learning orientation and farm-holders’ education level, improve knowledge exchange and make the agriculture innovation process more inclusive. However, farmers’ innovation attitude is not clearly correlated with the use of RES. Motivations about “the will to do innovations” are represented by a construct that does not appear to have a determinant effect as a mediator in farmer’s decisions about using RES.

  12. Phosphorus in agricultural soils: drivers of its distribution at the global scale

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ringeval, Bruno [ISPA, Villenave d' Ornon (France); Augusto, Laurent [ISPA, Villenave d' Ornon (France); Monod, Herve [Univ. Paris-Saclay, Jouy-en-Josas (France); van Apeldoorn, Dirk [Utrecht Univ., Utrecht (The Netherlands); Bouwman, Lex [Utrecht Univ., Utrecht (The Netherlands); Yang, Xiaojuan [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Achat, David L. [ISPA, Villenave d' Ornon (France); Chini, Louise P. [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Van Oost, Kristof [Univ. Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium); Guenet, Bertrand [Univ. Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Wang, Rong [Univ. Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Peking Univ., Beijing (China); Decharme, Bertrand [CNRS/Meteo-France, Toulouse (France); Nesme, Thomas [ISPA, Villenave d' Ornon (France); Pellerin, Sylvain [ISPA, Villenave d' Ornon (France)

    2017-01-09

    Phosphorus (P) availability in soils limits crop yields in many regions of the world, while excess of soil P triggers aquatic eutrophication in other regions. Numerous processes drive the global spatial distribution of P in agricultural soils, but their relative roles remain unclear. Here, we combined several global datasets describing these drivers with a soil P dynamics model to simulate the distribution of P in agricultural soils and to assess the contributions of the different drivers at the global scale. We analyzed both the labile inorganic P (PILAB), a proxy of the pool involved in plant nutrition and the total soil P (PTOT). We found that the soil biogeochemical background (BIOG) and farming practices (FARM) were the main drivers of the spatial variability in cropland soil P content but that their contribution varied between PTOT vs PILAB. Indeed, 97% of the PTOT spatial variability could be explained by BIOG, while BIOG and FARM explained 41% and 58% of PILAB spatial variability, respectively. Other drivers such as climate, soil erosion, atmospheric P deposition and soil buffering capacity made only very small contribution. Lastly, our study is a promising approach to investigate the potential effect of P as a limiting factor for agricultural ecosystems and for global food production. Additionally, we quantified the anthropogenic perturbation of P cycle and demonstrated how the different drivers are combined to explain the global distribution of agricultural soil P.

  13. Normal probability plots with confidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chantarangsi, Wanpen; Liu, Wei; Bretz, Frank; Kiatsupaibul, Seksan; Hayter, Anthony J; Wan, Fang

    2015-01-01

    Normal probability plots are widely used as a statistical tool for assessing whether an observed simple random sample is drawn from a normally distributed population. The users, however, have to judge subjectively, if no objective rule is provided, whether the plotted points fall close to a straight line. In this paper, we focus on how a normal probability plot can be augmented by intervals for all the points so that, if the population distribution is normal, then all the points should fall into the corresponding intervals simultaneously with probability 1-α. These simultaneous 1-α probability intervals provide therefore an objective mean to judge whether the plotted points fall close to the straight line: the plotted points fall close to the straight line if and only if all the points fall into the corresponding intervals. The powers of several normal probability plot based (graphical) tests and the most popular nongraphical Anderson-Darling and Shapiro-Wilk tests are compared by simulation. Based on this comparison, recommendations are given in Section 3 on which graphical tests should be used in what circumstances. An example is provided to illustrate the methods. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. Soil Microbial Activity in Conventional and Organic Agricultural Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Romero F.V. Carneiro

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate microbial activity in soils under conventional and organic agricultural system management regimes. Soil samples were collected from plots under conventional management (CNV, organic management (ORG and native vegetation (AVN. Soil microbial activity and biomass was significantly greater in ORG compared with CNV. Soil bulk density decreased three years after adoption of organic system. Soil organic carbon (SOC was higher in the ORG than in the CNV. The soil under organic agricultural system presents higher microbial activity and biomass and lower bulk density than the conventional agricultural system.

  15. Effects of logging and recruitment on community phylogenetic structure in 32 permanent forest plots of Kampong Thom, Cambodia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toyama, Hironori; Kajisa, Tsuyoshi; Tagane, Shuichiro; Mase, Keiko; Chhang, Phourin; Samreth, Vanna; Ma, Vuthy; Sokh, Heng; Ichihashi, Ryuji; Onoda, Yusuke; Mizoue, Nobuya; Yahara, Tetsukazu

    2015-02-19

    Ecological communities including tropical rainforest are rapidly changing under various disturbances caused by increasing human activities. Recently in Cambodia, illegal logging and clear-felling for agriculture have been increasing. Here, we study the effects of logging, mortality and recruitment of plot trees on phylogenetic community structure in 32 plots in Kampong Thom, Cambodia. Each plot was 0.25 ha; 28 plots were established in primary evergreen forests and four were established in secondary dry deciduous forests. Measurements were made in 1998, 2000, 2004 and 2010, and logging, recruitment and mortality of each tree were recorded. We estimated phylogeny using rbcL and matK gene sequences and quantified phylogenetic α and β diversity. Within communities, logging decreased phylogenetic diversity, and increased overall phylogenetic clustering and terminal phylogenetic evenness. Between communities, logging increased phylogenetic similarity between evergreen and deciduous plots. On the other hand, recruitment had opposite effects both within and between communities. The observed patterns can be explained by environmental homogenization under logging. Logging is biased to particular species and larger diameter at breast height, and forest patrol has been effective in decreasing logging. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  16. Generalized Probability-Probability Plots

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mushkudiani, N.A.; Einmahl, J.H.J.

    2004-01-01

    We introduce generalized Probability-Probability (P-P) plots in order to study the one-sample goodness-of-fit problem and the two-sample problem, for real valued data.These plots, that are constructed by indexing with the class of closed intervals, globally preserve the properties of classical P-P

  17. Nitrous oxide emissions from European agriculture - an analysis of variability and drivers of emissions from field experiments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rees, R M; Agustin, J; Alberti, G

    2013-01-01

    Nitrous oxide emissions from a network of agricultural experiments in Europe were used to explore the relative importance of site and management controls of emissions. At each site, a selection of management interventions were compared within replicated experimental designs in plot-based experime......Nitrous oxide emissions from a network of agricultural experiments in Europe were used to explore the relative importance of site and management controls of emissions. At each site, a selection of management interventions were compared within replicated experimental designs in plot...

  18. Prospective and participatory integrated assessment of agricultural systems from farm to regional scales: Comparison of three modeling approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delmotte, Sylvestre; Lopez-Ridaura, Santiago; Barbier, Jean-Marc; Wery, Jacques

    2013-11-15

    Evaluating the impacts of the development of alternative agricultural systems, such as organic or low-input cropping systems, in the context of an agricultural region requires the use of specific tools and methodologies. They should allow a prospective (using scenarios), multi-scale (taking into account the field, farm and regional level), integrated (notably multicriteria) and participatory assessment, abbreviated PIAAS (for Participatory Integrated Assessment of Agricultural System). In this paper, we compare the possible contribution to PIAAS of three modeling approaches i.e. Bio-Economic Modeling (BEM), Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) and statistical Land-Use/Land Cover Change (LUCC) models. After a presentation of each approach, we analyze their advantages and drawbacks, and identify their possible complementarities for PIAAS. Statistical LUCC modeling is a suitable approach for multi-scale analysis of past changes and can be used to start discussion about the futures with stakeholders. BEM and ABM approaches have complementary features for scenarios assessment at different scales. While ABM has been widely used for participatory assessment, BEM has been rarely used satisfactorily in a participatory manner. On the basis of these results, we propose to combine these three approaches in a framework targeted to PIAAS. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Radiological site assessment at sun rose claim utilizing ScanPlot{sup SM} technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Downey, H., E-mail: heath.downey@amecfw.com [Amec Foster Wheeler, Portland, ME (United States)

    2015-07-01

    ScanPlot{sup SM} gamma spectroscopy land survey system was utilized for the overland survey of uranium at the Sun Rose Claim in the Northwest Territories. The Sun Rose Claim is a former uranium exploration site and previous investigations had identified uranium ore and waste rock. ScanPlot{sup SM} radiological scan surveys were performed utilizing a backpack system. ScanPlot{sup SM} platform utilized spectroscopy grade sodium iodide detectors configured for optimal spatial coverage and radiation detection. Survey locations were recorded using an on-board global positioning system (GPS). The radiological spectral data from the radiation detectors is automatically logged and linked with the GPS coordinates to an on-board computer to create isocontour figures using a color scale to represent radioactivity levels. The advantage of utilizing the ScanPlot{sup SM} system for this assessment is that the nature and extent of uranium is provided without having to collect and assay a large number of samples. (author)

  20. Ionospheric Values (Daily Work Sheets), F-Plots, Tabulations, Booklets, Catalogs, and Log Books

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — These ionospheric data consist of scaling notes, equipment usage logs, and ionospheric values in the form of daily work sheets, F-Plots, tabulations, and booklets....

  1. Detecting Land-Use Change and On-Farm Investments at the Plot Scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burney, J. A.; Goldblatt, R.; Amezaga, K. Y.; Sanford, L.; Nichols, M. M.

    2017-12-01

    The ability to remotely monitor agro-ecosystems over large spatial scales, at high spatial and temporal resolution, promises to open new and previously un-tractable lines of inquiry about the relationships between management practices, welfare, and resilience in coupled human-natural systems. We use several sources of remotely sensed data (from vegetation indices to synthetic aperture radar) and new analysis methods to infer when and where land-use and management changes take place at the farm level, including processes leading to degradation, like overgrazing or tree removal, as well as processes intended to boost resilience, like irrigation and conservation agriculture. Here, we first show how ecosystem health metrics can be used as indicators of both poverty and vulnerability. This is especially important because many other remotely-sensed economic proxies exhibit hysteresis in one direction; that is, they may respond quickly to positive income shocks (e.g., a change in income may rapidly lead to more construction and an expansion of the urban environment), but little if at all to negative shocks (a drop in income does not lead to deconstruction of buildings). We then present results from three field projects that show how these techniques can be used to detect management changes — reflecting changes in household welfare — in both field and quasi/natural experiments.

  2. An application of plot-scale NDVI in predicting carbon dioxide exchange and leaf area index in heterogeneous subarctic tundra

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dagg, J.; Lafleur, P.

    2010-07-01

    This paper reported on a study that examined the flow of carbon into and out of tundra ecosystems. It is necessary to accurately predict carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) exchange in the Tundra because of the impacts of climate change on carbon stored in permafrost. Understanding the relationships between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and vegetation and CO{sub 2} exchange may explain how small-scale variation in vegetation community extends to remotely sensed estimates of landscape characteristics. In this study, CO{sub 2} fluxes were measured with a portable chamber in a range of Tundra vegetation communities. Biomass and leaf area were measured with destructive harvest, and NDVI was obtained using a hand-held infrared camera. There was a weak correlation between NDVI and leaf area index in some vegetation communities, but a significant correlation between NDVI and biomass, including mosses. NDVI was found to be strongly related to photosynthetic activity and net CO{sub 2} uptake in all vegetation groups. However, NDVI related to ecosystem respiration only in wet sedge. It was concluded that at plot scale, the ability of NDVI to predict ecosystem properties and CO{sub 2} exchange in heterogeneous Tundra vegetation is variable.

  3. An application of plot-scale NDVI in predicting carbon dioxide exchange and leaf area index in heterogeneous subarctic tundra

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dagg, J.; Lafleur, P.

    2010-01-01

    This paper reported on a study that examined the flow of carbon into and out of tundra ecosystems. It is necessary to accurately predict carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) exchange in the Tundra because of the impacts of climate change on carbon stored in permafrost. Understanding the relationships between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and vegetation and CO 2 exchange may explain how small-scale variation in vegetation community extends to remotely sensed estimates of landscape characteristics. In this study, CO 2 fluxes were measured with a portable chamber in a range of Tundra vegetation communities. Biomass and leaf area were measured with destructive harvest, and NDVI was obtained using a hand-held infrared camera. There was a weak correlation between NDVI and leaf area index in some vegetation communities, but a significant correlation between NDVI and biomass, including mosses. NDVI was found to be strongly related to photosynthetic activity and net CO 2 uptake in all vegetation groups. However, NDVI related to ecosystem respiration only in wet sedge. It was concluded that at plot scale, the ability of NDVI to predict ecosystem properties and CO 2 exchange in heterogeneous Tundra vegetation is variable.

  4. Monitoring changes in soil carbon resulting from intensive production, a non-traditional agricultural methodology.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dwyer, Brian P.

    2013-03-01

    New Mexico State University and a group of New Mexico farmers are evaluating an innovative agricultural technique they call Intensive Production (IP). In contrast to conventional agricultural practice, IP uses intercropping, green fallowing, application of soil amendments and soil microbial inocula to sequester carbon as plant biomass, resulting in improved soil quality. Sandia National Laboratories role was to identify a non-invasive, cost effective technology to monitor soil carbon changes. A technological review indicated that Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) best met the farmers objectives. Sandia partnered with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to analyze farmers test plots using a portable LIBS developed at LANL. Real-time LIBS field sample analysis was conducted and grab samples were collected for laboratory comparison. The field and laboratory results correlated well implying the strong potential for LIBS as an economical field scale analytical tool for analysis of elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphate.

  5. Fifth International Symposium on Recurrence Plot

    CERN Document Server

    Riley, Michael; Giuliani, Alessandro; Webber, Charles; Jr, Jr; Translational Recurrences : From Mathematical Theory to Real-World Applications

    2014-01-01

    This book features 13 papers presented at the Fifth International Symposium on Recurrence Plots, held August 2013 in Chicago, IL. It examines recent applications and developments in recurrence plots and recurrence quantifi cation analysis (RQA) with special emphasis on biological and cognitive systems and the analysis of coupled systems using cross-recurrence methods. Readers will discover new applications and insights into a range of systems provided by recurrence plot analysis and new theoretical and mathematical developments in recurrence plots. Recurrence plot based analysis is a powerful tool that operates on real-world complex systems that are nonlinear, non-stationary, noisy, of any statistical distribution, free of any particular model type, and not particularly long. Quantitative analyses promote the detection of system state changes, synchronized dynamical regimes, or classifi cation of system states. Th e book will be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience of recurrence plot users and researc...

  6. A first look at measurement error on FIA plots using blind plots in the Pacific Northwest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Susanna Melson; David Azuma; Jeremy S. Fried

    2002-01-01

    Measurement error in the Forest Inventory and Analysis work of the Pacific Northwest Station was estimated with a recently implemented blind plot measurement protocol. A small subset of plots was revisited by a crew having limited knowledge of the first crew's measurements. This preliminary analysis of the first 18 months' blind plot data indicates that...

  7. deltaPlotR: An R Package for Di?erential Item Functioning Analysis with Ango? s Delta Plot

    OpenAIRE

    David Magis; Bruno Facon

    2014-01-01

    Angoff's delta plot is a straightforward and not computationally intensive method to identify differential item functioning (DIF) among dichotomously scored items. This approach was recently improved by proposing an optimal threshold selection and by considering several item purification processes. Moreover, to support practical DIF analyses with the delta plot and these improvements, the R package deltaPlotR was also developed. The purpose of this paper is twofold: to outline the delta plot ...

  8. TOWARDS DESCRIBING SMALL SCALE AGRICULTURE: AN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    p2333147

    “coloured reserves” of the Northern Cape Province called Leliefontein. The overall objective of ... 1. INTRODUCTION. The South African rural environment today is diverse with agriculture ... livestock (sheep, goats and cattle) farming activities.

  9. Rethinking the Risk Management Process for Genetically Engineered Crop Varieties in Small-scale, Traditionally Based Agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David A. Cleveland

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available Proponents of genetically engineered (GE crops often assume that the risk management used in the industrial world is appropriate for small-scale, traditionally based agriculture in the Third World. Opponents of GE crops often assume that risk management is inappropriate for the Third World, because it is inherently biased in favor of the industrial world. We examine both of these assumptions, by rethinking risk management for GE crops and transgenes, using the example of maize transgene flow from the U.S. to Mexico. Risk management for the Third World is a necessary first step of a broader benefit-cost analysis of GE crops, which would include comparisons with existing varieties and with alternative varieties such as transgenic farmer varieties and organic varieties. Our goal is to use existing information on GE crops and on the social and biological characteristics of Third World agriculture to identify key processes that need to be considered in risk management, and the additional research required to adequately understand them. The four main steps in risk management are hazard identification, risk analysis (exposure x harm, risk evaluation, and risk treatment. We use informal event trees to identify possible exposure to GE crops and transgenes, and resulting biological and social harm; give examples of farmers' ability to evaluate social harm; and discuss the possibilities for risk treatment. We conclude that risk management is relevant for Third World agriculture, but needs to be based on the unique biological and social characteristics of small-scale, traditionally based agriculture, including the knowledge and values of Third World farmers and consumers.

  10. Evaluating uncertainty in 7Be-based soil erosion estimates: an experimental plot approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blake, Will; Taylor, Alex; Abdelli, Wahid; Gaspar, Leticia; Barri, Bashar Al; Ryken, Nick; Mabit, Lionel

    2014-05-01

    Soil erosion remains a major concern for the international community and there is a growing need to improve the sustainability of agriculture to support future food security. High resolution soil erosion data are a fundamental requirement for underpinning soil conservation and management strategies but representative data on soil erosion rates are difficult to achieve by conventional means without interfering with farming practice and hence compromising the representativeness of results. Fallout radionuclide (FRN) tracer technology offers a solution since FRN tracers are delivered to the soil surface by natural processes and, where irreversible binding can be demonstrated, redistributed in association with soil particles. While much work has demonstrated the potential of short-lived 7Be (half-life 53 days), particularly in quantification of short-term inter-rill erosion, less attention has focussed on sources of uncertainty in derived erosion measurements and sampling strategies to minimise these. This poster outlines and discusses potential sources of uncertainty in 7Be-based soil erosion estimates and the experimental design considerations taken to quantify these in the context of a plot-scale validation experiment. Traditionally, gamma counting statistics have been the main element of uncertainty propagated and reported but recent work has shown that other factors may be more important such as: (i) spatial variability in the relaxation mass depth that describes the shape of the 7Be depth distribution for an uneroded point; (ii) spatial variability in fallout (linked to rainfall patterns and shadowing) over both reference site and plot; (iii) particle size sorting effects; (iv) preferential mobility of fallout over active runoff contributing areas. To explore these aspects in more detail, a plot of 4 x 35 m was ploughed and tilled to create a bare, sloped soil surface at the beginning of winter 2013/2014 in southwest UK. The lower edge of the plot was bounded by

  11. Multi-scale associations between vegetation cover and woodland bird communities across a large agricultural region.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen Ikin

    Full Text Available Improving biodiversity conservation in fragmented agricultural landscapes has become an important global issue. Vegetation at the patch and landscape-scale is important for species occupancy and diversity, yet few previous studies have explored multi-scale associations between vegetation and community assemblages. Here, we investigated how patch and landscape-scale vegetation cover structure woodland bird communities. We asked: (1 How is the bird community associated with the vegetation structure of woodland patches and the amount of vegetation cover in the surrounding landscape? (2 Do species of conservation concern respond to woodland vegetation structure and surrounding vegetation cover differently to other species in the community? And (3 Can the relationships between the bird community and the woodland vegetation structure and surrounding vegetation cover be explained by the ecological traits of the species comprising the bird community? We studied 103 woodland patches (0.5 - 53.8 ha over two time periods across a large (6,800 km(2 agricultural region in southeastern Australia. We found that both patch vegetation and surrounding woody vegetation cover were important for structuring the bird community, and that these relationships were consistent over time. In particular, the occurrence of mistletoe within the patches and high values of woody vegetation cover within 1,000 ha and 10,000 ha were important, especially for bird species of conservation concern. We found that the majority of these species displayed similar, positive responses to patch and landscape vegetation attributes. We also found that these relationships were related to the foraging and nesting traits of the bird community. Our findings suggest that management strategies to increase both remnant vegetation quality and the cover of surrounding woody vegetation in fragmented agricultural landscapes may lead to improved conservation of bird communities.

  12. Attitudes of students at College of Food and Agricultural Sciences toward agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammed Saleh Shenaifi

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The primary purpose of the study was to determine the attitudes of students at the College of Agriculture toward agriculture programs and the field of agriculture in an effort to better identify, recruit, and retain students in the College of Agriculture. The population of the study was 110 students from the College of Agriculture freshmen enrolling in course 203 Ag. ext. Communication skills in 2009 and 60 students who transferred from the College of Agriculture to another College. Questionnaire was reviewed for content and face validity by a panel of experts from the department of Agricultural Extension at the College of Agriculture, King Saud University. A five-point Likert-type scale was used. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was found to be 0.89, which indicated the internal consistency of the scale. Ninety-six of the students were from cities and do not have a farm background. Many of them indicated that they were not happy in the College of Agriculture. Only 31.18% of the respondents (53 indicated that more students should be encouraged to enroll in the College of Agriculture, whereas nearly 69 disagreed or were uncertain. The attitudes of students toward the field of Agriculture were positive. Seventy-one of respondents viewed Agriculture as a scientific area of study, nearly 66% of respondents viewed the field of Agriculture as a blend of scientific principles and agricultural practices. Significant differences at the level of 0.01 were detected, in means of students who had been enrolled in Agricultural program and those students who had not. Students who had enrolled in Agriculture program displayed different attitudes toward the field of Agriculture than did students who were in non-Agriculture program. Generally, students who were studying Agriculture programs possessed attitudes, which were supportive of Agriculture as a career field. Freshmen of the College of Agriculture viewed agriculture as being both scientific and technical. It

  13. "Agricultural budget" and the competitiveness of the Polish agriculture

    OpenAIRE

    Lenkiewicz, Stanisław; Rokicki, Bartłomiej

    2014-01-01

    The aim of the publication is to assess the impact of public support on the functioning of the Polish agriculture. In order to achieve this aim the publication includes an analysis of the system of direct payments and rural development policy instruments planned to be implemented in Poland within the CAP 2014-2020. The study also presents an analysis of regional diversity of the Polish agriculture and an assessment of the scale of agricultural investment made in recent years in all the Polish...

  14. Portable and Airborne Small Footprint LiDAR: Forest Canopy Structure Estimation of Fire Managed Plots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia M.C.S. Listopad

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available This study used an affordable ground-based portable LiDAR system to provide an understanding of the structural differences between old-growth and secondary-growth Southeastern pine. It provided insight into the strengths and weaknesses in the structural determination of portable systems in contrast to airborne LiDAR systems. Portable LiDAR height profiles and derived metrics and indices (e.g., canopy cover, canopy height were compared among plots with different fire frequency and fire season treatments within secondary forest and old growth plots. The treatments consisted of transitional season fire with four different return intervals: 1-yr, 2-yr, 3-yr fire return intervals, and fire suppressed plots. The remaining secondary plots were treated using a 2-yr late dormant season fire cycle. The old growth plots were treated using a 2-yr growing season fire cycle. Airborne and portable LiDAR derived canopy cover were consistent throughout the plots, with significantly higher canopy cover values found in 3-yr and fire suppressed plots. Portable LiDAR height profile and metrics presented a higher sensitivity in capturing subcanopy elements than the airborne system, particularly in dense canopy plots. The 3-dimensional structures of the secondary plots with varying fire return intervals were dramatically different to old-growth plots, where a symmetrical distribution with clear recruitment was visible. Portable LiDAR, even though limited to finer spatial scales and specific biases, is a low-cost investment with clear value for the management of forest canopy structure.

  15. PLOT-3D, Graphics Subroutines for 3-D Surface Plots with Arbitrary Rotations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Basinger, D.; Gvildys, J.

    1975-01-01

    1 - Description of problem or function: PLOT-3D is a package of sub- programs designed to draw three-dimensional surfaces from arrays of points (x,y,z). The surfaces can be drawn after arbitrary rotations about the three coordinate axes. 2 - Method of solution: PLOT-3D is a computer program to plot any surface for which each coordinate pair (x,y) is associated with a unique z in the set of points (x,y,z). It uses matrix transformation of the points to generate different views of the surface after arbitrary rotations about the three coordinate axes. Four versions of PLOT-3D are available. Output of version 1 and 3 is by film recorder. Output of version 2 and 4 is by CalComp plotter. Versions 3 and 4 do not draw lines which would be invisible to a viewer looking at an opaque surface, whereas versions 1 and 2 draw every line on the surface. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: Versions 3 and 4 limit number of rows in arrays (x,y,z) to 100 and also number of columns in arrays (x,y,z) to 100

  16. Diversification and intensification of agricultural adaptation from global to local scales.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Minjie Chen

    Full Text Available Smallholder farming systems are vulnerable to a number of challenges, including continued population growth, urbanization, income disparities, land degradation, decreasing farm size and productivity, all of which are compounded by uncertainty of climatic patterns. Understanding determinants of smallholder farming practices is critical for designing and implementing successful interventions, including climate change adaptation programs. We examine two dimensions wherein smallholder farmers may adapt agricultural practices; through intensification (i.e., adopt more practices or diversification (i.e. adopt different practices. We use data on 5314 randomly sampled households located in 38 sites in 15 countries across four regions (East and West Africa, South Asia, and Central America. We estimate empirical models designed to assess determinants of both intensification and diversification of adaptation activities at global scales. Aspects of adaptive capacity that are found to increase intensification of adaptation globally include variables associated with access to information and human capital, financial considerations, assets, household infrastructure and experience. In contrast, there are few global drivers of adaptive diversification, with a notable exception being access to weather information, which also increases adaptive intensification. Investigating reasons for adaptation indicate that conditions present in underdeveloped markets provide the primary impetus for adaptation, even in the context of climate change. We also compare determinants across spatial scales, which reveals a variety of local avenues through which policy interventions can relax economic constraints and boost agricultural adaptation for both intensification and diversification. For example, access to weather information does not affect intensification adaptation in Africa, but is significant at several sites in Bangladesh and India. Moreover, this information leads to

  17. Diversification and intensification of agricultural adaptation from global to local scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Minjie; Wichmann, Bruno; Luckert, Marty; Winowiecki, Leigh; Förch, Wiebke

    2018-01-01

    Smallholder farming systems are vulnerable to a number of challenges, including continued population growth, urbanization, income disparities, land degradation, decreasing farm size and productivity, all of which are compounded by uncertainty of climatic patterns. Understanding determinants of smallholder farming practices is critical for designing and implementing successful interventions, including climate change adaptation programs. We examine two dimensions wherein smallholder farmers may adapt agricultural practices; through intensification (i.e., adopt more practices) or diversification (i.e. adopt different practices). We use data on 5314 randomly sampled households located in 38 sites in 15 countries across four regions (East and West Africa, South Asia, and Central America). We estimate empirical models designed to assess determinants of both intensification and diversification of adaptation activities at global scales. Aspects of adaptive capacity that are found to increase intensification of adaptation globally include variables associated with access to information and human capital, financial considerations, assets, household infrastructure and experience. In contrast, there are few global drivers of adaptive diversification, with a notable exception being access to weather information, which also increases adaptive intensification. Investigating reasons for adaptation indicate that conditions present in underdeveloped markets provide the primary impetus for adaptation, even in the context of climate change. We also compare determinants across spatial scales, which reveals a variety of local avenues through which policy interventions can relax economic constraints and boost agricultural adaptation for both intensification and diversification. For example, access to weather information does not affect intensification adaptation in Africa, but is significant at several sites in Bangladesh and India. Moreover, this information leads to diversification of

  18. A plot tree structure to represent surface flow connectivity in rural catchments: definition and application for mining critical source areas and temporal conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gascuel-Odoux, Chantal; Cordier, Marie-Odile; Grimaldi, Catherine; Salmon-Monviola, Jordy; Masson, Veronique; Squividant, Herve; Trepos, Ronan

    2013-04-01

    Agricultural landscapes are structured by a mosaic of farmers'fields whose boundaries and land use change over time, and by linear elements such as hedgerows, ditches and roads, which are more or less connected to each other. Such man-made features are now well known to have an effect on catchment hydrology, erosion and water quality. In such agricultural landscapes, it is crucial to have an adequate functional representation of the flow pathways and define relevant indicators of surface flow connectivity over the catchment towards the stream, as a necessary step for improving landscape design and water protection. A new conceptual object oriented approach has been proposed by building the drainage network on the identification of the inlets and outlets for surface water flow on each farmers' field and surrounding landscape elements (Aurousseau et al., 2009 ; Gascuel-Odoux et al., 2011), then on delineating a set of elementary plot outlet trees labelled by attributes which feed the stream. This drainage network is therefore represented as a global plot outlet tree which conceptualizes the connectivity of the surface flow patterns over the catchment. This approach has been applied to different catchment areas, integrated in modelling (Gascuel-Odoux et al., 2009) and decision support tools. It provides a functional display of data for decision support which can highlight the plots of potential risk regarding the surface runoff, areas which are often shortly extended over catchments (suspended sediment application). Integrated in modelling and mining tools, it allows to catch typologies of the most spatial pattern involved in water quality degradation (herbicides transport model) (Trepos et al., 2012) and test their permanency in time regarding the variations of climate conditions and agricultural practices (Salmon-Monviola et al., 2011). This set of works joins skills in hydrology, agronomy and computer sciences. Aurousseau P., Gascuel-Odoux C., Squividant H

  19. Plot 5

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lund, Inger-Lise; Hermansen, Anne-Mette; Ferdinand, Trine

    Danskfaglig vejledning informerer om de tanker, der ligger til grund for Plot 5, og beskriver danskfaget ud fra nyere forskning inden for fagets mange delområder. Kapitelvejledning introducerer bogens tekster, forklarer hensigten med kapitlernes opgaver, giver forslag til undervisningen og brugen...

  20. Plot 4

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lund, Inger-Lise; Hermansen, Anne-Mette; Ferdinand, Trine

    Danskfaglig vejledning informerer om de tanker, der ligger til grund for Plot 4, og beskriver danskfaget ud fra nyere forskning inden for fagets mange delområder. Kapitelvejledning introducerer bogens tekster, forklarer hensigten med kapitlernes opgaver, giver forslag til undervisningen og brugen...

  1. Estimating landscape-scale impacts of agricultural management on soil carbon using measurements and models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schipanski, M.; Rosenzweig, S. T.; Robertson, A. D.; Sherrod, L. A.; Ghimire, R.; McMaster, G. S.

    2017-12-01

    Agriculture covers 40% of Earth's ice-free land area and has broad impacts on global biogeochemical cycles. While some agricultural management changes are small in scale or impact, others have the potential to shift biogeochemical cycles at landscape and larger scales if widely adopted. Understanding which management practices have the potential to contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation while maintaining productivity requires scaling up estimates spatially and temporally. We used on-farm, long-term, and landscape scale datasets to estimate how crop rotations impact soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation rates under current and future climate scenarios across the semi-arid Central and Southern Great Plains. We used a stratified, landscape-scale soil sampling approach across 96 farm fields to evaluate crop rotation intensity effects on SOC pools and pesticide inputs. Replacing traditional wheat-fallow rotations with more diverse, continuously cropped rotations increased SOC by 17% and 12% in 0-10 cm and 0-20 cm depths, respectively, and reduced herbicide use by 50%. Using USDA Cropland Data Layer, we estimated soil C accumulation and pesticide reduction potentials of shifting to more intensive rotations. We also used a 30-year cropping systems experiment to calibrate and validate the Daycent model to evaluate rotation intensify effects under future climate change scenarios. The model estimated greater SOC accumulation rates under continuously cropped rotations, but SOC stocks peaked and then declined for all cropping systems beyond 2050 under future climate scenarios. Perennial grasslands were the only system estimated to maintain SOC levels in the future. In the Southern High Plains, soil C declined despite increasing input intensity under current weather while modest gains were simulated under future climate for sorghum-based cropping systems. Our findings highlight the potential vulnerability of semi-arid regions to climate change, which will be

  2. Representing uncertainty on model analysis plots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trevor I. Smith

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Model analysis provides a mechanism for representing student learning as measured by standard multiple-choice surveys. The model plot contains information regarding both how likely students in a particular class are to choose the correct answer and how likely they are to choose an answer consistent with a well-documented conceptual model. Unfortunately, Bao’s original presentation of the model plot did not include a way to represent uncertainty in these measurements. I present details of a method to add error bars to model plots by expanding the work of Sommer and Lindell. I also provide a template for generating model plots with error bars.

  3. Rotary balance data for a single-engine agricultural airplane configuration for an angle-of-attack range of 8 deg to 90 deg

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulcay, W. J.; Chu, J.

    1980-01-01

    Aerodynamic characteristics obtained in a helical flow environment utilizing a rotary balance located in the Langley spin tunnel are presented in plotted form for a 1/10 scale single engine agricultural airplane model. The configurations tested include the basic airplane, various wing leading edge and wing tip devices, elevator, aileron, and rudder control settings, and other modifications. Data are presented without analysis for an angle of attack range of 8 deg to 90 deg, and clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations covering a spin coefficient range from 0 to .9.

  4. Economic scale of utilization of radiation (2): agriculture. Comparison between Japan and the U.S.A.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kume, Tamikazu [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Takasaki, Gunma (Japan). Takasaki Radiation Chemistry Research Establishment; Amano, Etsuo [Fukui Prefectural Univ., Research Center for Bioresources Dept., Awara, Fukui (Japan); Nakanishi, Tomoko M. [Tokyo Univ., Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Tokyo (Japan); Chino, Mitsuo [Akita Prefectural Univ., Faculty of Bioresource Sciences, Akita (Japan)

    2002-10-01

    The economic scale of the application of radiation in the field of agriculture in Japan was estimated from public documents to be about 964M$ (million dollars) in 1997. In the food irradiation, an amount of 15,000t of potatoes irradiated per year in Hokkaido was estimated to be worth 16M$. Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) used for combating losses due to the melon fly in the mainly Okinawa region produced as much as 70M$ in benefits. Production of rice using varieties developed by mutation breeding was about 3% of overall production in Japan and the economic scale was 774M$. Radioisotope (RI) utilized in laboratory work, environmental analysis and chronology was accounted to be as high as 24M$. The relative ratios of radiation processing (136M$), mutation breeding (804M$) and RI utilization (24M$) were 14%, 83%, and 3%, respectively. The economic scale surveys in food irradiation and mutation breeding were extended to the United Sates of America (hereinafter abbreviated as U.S.A. or U.S.) for a direct comparison to the situation in Japan. As to maximum estimation, it amounted to be 3.2b$ (billion dollars) for food irradiation and 11.2b$ for mutation breeding. The economic scale for agriculture products within our scope was 14.5b$ for the U.S. and about 0.8b$ for Japan, implying that the former is larger in magnitude by a factor of about 18. (author)

  5. Economic scale of utilization of radiation (2): agriculture. Comparison between Japan and the U.S.A

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kume, Tamikazu; Nakanishi, Tomoko M.; Chino, Mitsuo

    2002-01-01

    The economic scale of the application of radiation in the field of agriculture in Japan was estimated from public documents to be about 964M$ (million dollars) in 1997. In the food irradiation, an amount of 15,000t of potatoes irradiated per year in Hokkaido was estimated to be worth 16M$. Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) used for combating losses due to the melon fly in the mainly Okinawa region produced as much as 70M$ in benefits. Production of rice using varieties developed by mutation breeding was about 3% of overall production in Japan and the economic scale was 774M$. Radioisotope (RI) utilized in laboratory work, environmental analysis and chronology was accounted to be as high as 24M$. The relative ratios of radiation processing (136M$), mutation breeding (804M$) and RI utilization (24M$) were 14%, 83%, and 3%, respectively. The economic scale surveys in food irradiation and mutation breeding were extended to the United Sates of America (hereinafter abbreviated as U.S.A. or U.S.) for a direct comparison to the situation in Japan. As to maximum estimation, it amounted to be 3.2b$ (billion dollars) for food irradiation and 11.2b$ for mutation breeding. The economic scale for agriculture products within our scope was 14.5b$ for the U.S. and about 0.8b$ for Japan, implying that the former is larger in magnitude by a factor of about 18. (author)

  6. European Vegetation Archive (EVA): an integrated database of European vegetation plots

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chytrý, M; Hennekens, S M; Jiménez-Alfaro, B

    2015-01-01

    vegetation- plot databases on a single software platform. Data storage in EVA does not affect on-going independent development of the contributing databases, which remain the property of the data contributors. EVA uses a prototype of the database management software TURBOVEG 3 developed for joint management......The European Vegetation Archive (EVA) is a centralized database of European vegetation plots developed by the IAVS Working Group European Vegetation Survey. It has been in development since 2012 and first made available for use in research projects in 2014. It stores copies of national and regional...... data source for large-scale analyses of European vegetation diversity both for fundamental research and nature conservation applications. Updated information on EVA is available online at http://euroveg.org/eva-database....

  7. Long-term agricultural experiments inform the development of climate-smart agricultural practices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristina Wolf

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available California's Mediterranean agro-ecosystems are a major source of U.S. fruits and vegetables, and vulnerable to future extremes of precipitation and temperature brought on by climate change, including increased drought and flooding, and more intense and longer heat waves. To develop resilience to these threats, strategies are necessary for climate-smart management of soil and water. Long-term, large-scale, replicated ecological experiments provide unique testbeds for studying such questions. At the UC Davis Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility (RRSAF, the 100-year Century Experiment, initiated in 1992, is investigating the effects of multiple farming practices in a farm-scale replicated study of 10 row crop cropping systems. It includes different fertility management systems: organic, conventional and hybrid (conventional plus winter cover crop systems; different crops: wheat, tomatoes, corn, alfalfa, cover crops and grasslands; and different irrigation systems: rainfed, flood irrigated and drip irrigated. We briefly describe and report on a selection of long-term experiments conducted at RRSAF investigating soil management and irrigation practices, which are an important focus for developing climate-smart strategies in Mediterranean systems. For example, long-term monitoring of soil carbon content revealed that most crop systems have experienced a small increase in soil carbon since 1993, and increases in organically managed plots were substantially higher. As RRSAF continues to build upon this rich dataset from one of a very few long-term row crop experiments in Mediterranean ecosystems, it provides a testbed for identifying climate-smart solutions for these agronomically important ecosystems.

  8. Bacteriological quality of crops irrigated with wastewater in the Xochimilco plots, Mexico City, Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosas, I; Báez, A; Coutiño, M

    1984-05-01

    Xochimilco county plots (Mexico City), one of the most fertile agricultural areas in the Valley of Mexico, produce a large portion of the fresh vegetables consumed in the city. These plots are generally irrigated with domestic wastewater, and for this reason, it was deemed important to examine and evaluate the bacteriological quality of the water, soil, and vegetables from these plots that are harvested and marketed. The soils were also examined for the classical parameters such as nitrates, ammonia, etc., and organic matter and texture. The crops selected for this study were radishes, spinach, lettuce, parsley, and celery because they are usually consumed raw. The highest bacterial counts were encountered in leafy vegetables, i.e., spinach (8,700 for total coliform and 2,400 for fecal coliform) and lettuce (37,000 for total coliform and 3,600 for fecal coliform). Statistically significant differences in bacterial counts between rinsed and unrinsed edible portions of the crops were observed even in rinsed vegetables, and high densities of fecal coliform were detected, indicating that their consumption represents a potential health hazard. The total coliform values found in irrigation water ranged from 4 X 10(4) to 29 X 10(4), and for fecal coliform the values ranged from 5 X 10(2) to 30 X 10(2).

  9. Presenting simulation results in a nested loop plot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rücker, Gerta; Schwarzer, Guido

    2014-12-12

    Statisticians investigate new methods in simulations to evaluate their properties for future real data applications. Results are often presented in a number of figures, e.g., Trellis plots. We had conducted a simulation study on six statistical methods for estimating the treatment effect in binary outcome meta-analyses, where selection bias (e.g., publication bias) was suspected because of apparent funnel plot asymmetry. We varied five simulation parameters: true treatment effect, extent of selection, event proportion in control group, heterogeneity parameter, and number of studies in meta-analysis. In combination, this yielded a total number of 768 scenarios. To present all results using Trellis plots, 12 figures were needed. Choosing bias as criterion of interest, we present a 'nested loop plot', a diagram type that aims to have all simulation results in one plot. The idea was to bring all scenarios into a lexicographical order and arrange them consecutively on the horizontal axis of a plot, whereas the treatment effect estimate is presented on the vertical axis. The plot illustrates how parameters simultaneously influenced the estimate. It can be combined with a Trellis plot in a so-called hybrid plot. Nested loop plots may also be applied to other criteria such as the variance of estimation. The nested loop plot, similar to a time series graph, summarizes all information about the results of a simulation study with respect to a chosen criterion in one picture and provides a suitable alternative or an addition to Trellis plots.

  10. Large-scale effects of migration and conflict in pre-agricultural groups: Insights from a dynamic model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesco Gargano

    Full Text Available The debate on the causes of conflict in human societies has deep roots. In particular, the extent of conflict in hunter-gatherer groups remains unclear. Some authors suggest that large-scale violence only arose with the spreading of agriculture and the building of complex societies. To shed light on this issue, we developed a model based on operatorial techniques simulating population-resource dynamics within a two-dimensional lattice, with humans and natural resources interacting in each cell of the lattice. The model outcomes under different conditions were compared with recently available demographic data for prehistoric South America. Only under conditions that include migration among cells and conflict was the model able to consistently reproduce the empirical data at a continental scale. We argue that the interplay between resource competition, migration, and conflict drove the population dynamics of South America after the colonization phase and before the introduction of agriculture. The relation between population and resources indeed emerged as a key factor leading to migration and conflict once the carrying capacity of the environment has been reached.

  11. Contour plotting programs for printer and Calcomp plotter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moller, P.

    1980-07-01

    Contour plotting programs for plotting contour diagrams on printers or Calcomp plotters are described. The subroutines also exist in versions that are useful for the special application of finding minima and saddlepoints of nuclear potential energy surfaces generated by the subroutine PETR3 of another program package. For the general user, however, the most interesting aspect of the plotting package is probably the possibility of generating printer contour plots. The plotting of printer contour plots is a very fast and convenient way of displaying two-dimensional functions. 3 figures

  12. Plot til lyst

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sandvik, Kjetil

    Den velfungerende krimi faciliterer denne dobbelte plotlæsning ved at muliggøre en særlig form for legende og udforskende interaktion mellem læser og plot: Ved at lægge spor ud og holde tolkningsmuligheder og løsningsmuligheder åbne får vi mulighed for at påtage os og udføre opklaringsarbejdet side......, der inviterer os med ind i selve handlingens rum og forløb og giver os forskellige handlingsmuligheder i forhold til disse. I bogen omtales denne særlige form for plot for forlystelsesplot med henvisning til forlystelsesparken og den særlige form for interaktiv fortælleform, som vi finder der: en...

  13. Spatial modeling of personalized exposure dynamics: the case of pesticide use in small-scale agricultural production landscapes of the developing world

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Binder Claudia R

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Pesticide poisoning is a global health issue with the largest impacts in the developing countries where residential and small-scale agricultural areas are often integrated and pesticides sprayed manually. To reduce health risks from pesticide exposure approaches for personalized exposure assessment (PEA are needed. We present a conceptual framework to develop a spatial individual-based model (IBM prototype for assessing potential exposure of farm-workers conducting small-scale agricultural production, which accounts for a considerable portion of global food crop production. Our approach accounts for dynamics in the contaminant distributions in the environment, as well as patterns of movement and activities performed on an individual level under different safety scenarios. We demonstrate a first prototype using data from a study area in a rural part of Colombia, South America. Results Different safety scenarios of PEA were run by including weighting schemes for activities performed under different safety conditions. We examined the sensitivity of individual exposure estimates to varying patterns of pesticide application and varying individual patterns of movement. This resulted in a considerable variation in estimates of magnitude, frequency and duration of exposure over the model runs for each individual as well as between individuals. These findings indicate the influence of patterns of pesticide application, individual spatial patterns of movement as well as safety conditions on personalized exposure in the agricultural production landscape that is the focus of our research. Conclusion This approach represents a conceptual framework for developing individual based models to carry out PEA in small-scale agricultural settings in the developing world based on individual patterns of movement, safety conditions, and dynamic contaminant distributions. The results of our analysis indicate our prototype model is sufficiently

  14. Large-Scale Agricultural Management and Soil Meso- and Macrofauna Conservation in the Argentine Pampas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Camilo Bedano

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Soil is the most basic resource for sustainable agricultural production; it promotes water quality, is a key component of the biogeochemical cycles and hosts a huge diversity of organisms. However, we are not paying enough attention to soil degradation produced by land use. Modern agriculture has been successful in increasing yields but has also caused extensive environmental damage, particularly soil degradation. In the Argentine Pampas, agriculturization reached a peak with the generalized use of the no-till technological package: genetically modified soybeans tolerant to glyphosate, no-till, glyphosate, and inorganic fertilizers. This phenomenon has been widely spread in the country; the no-till package has been applied in large areas and has been used by tenants in a 60%–70% of cultivated lands. Thus, those who were involved in developing management practices may not be the same as those who will face degradation issues related to those practices. Indeed, most evidence reviewed in this paper suggests that the most widely distributed practices in the Pampas region are actually producing severe soil degradation. Biological degradation is particularly important because soil biota is involved in numerous soil processes on which soil functioning relies, affecting soil fertility and productivity. For example, soil meso- and macrofauna are especially important in nutrient cycling and in soil structure formation and maintenance, and they are key components of the network that links microbial process to the scale of fields and landscapes where ecosystem services are produced. However, the knowledge of the impact of different agricultural managements on soil meso- and macrofauna in Pampas agroecosystems is far from conclusive at this stage. The reason for this lack of definite conclusions is that this area has been given less attention than in other parts of the world; the response of soil fauna to agricultural practices is complex and taxa

  15. Multiple hypothesis clustering in radar plot extraction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huizing, A.G.; Theil, A.; Dorp, Ph. van; Ligthart, L.P.

    1995-01-01

    False plots and plots with inaccurate range and Doppler estimates may severely degrade the performance of tracking algorithms in radar systems. This paper describes how a multiple hypothesis clustering technique can be applied to mitigate the problems involved in plot extraction. The measures of

  16. Storytelling in Earth sciences: The eight basic plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Jonathan

    2012-11-01

    Reporting results and promoting ideas in science in general, and Earth science in particular, is treated here as storytelling. Just as in literature and drama, storytelling in Earth science is characterized by a small number of basic plots. Though the list is not exhaustive, and acknowledging that multiple or hybrid plots and subplots are possible in a single piece, eight standard plots are identified, and examples provided: cause-and-effect, genesis, emergence, destruction, metamorphosis, convergence, divergence, and oscillation. The plots of Earth science stories are not those of literary traditions, nor those of persuasion or moral philosophy, and deserve separate consideration. Earth science plots do not conform those of storytelling more generally, implying that Earth scientists may have fundamentally different motivations than other storytellers, and that the basic plots of Earth Science derive from the characteristics and behaviors of Earth systems. In some cases preference or affinity to different plots results in fundamentally different interpretations and conclusions of the same evidence. In other situations exploration of additional plots could help resolve scientific controversies. Thus explicit acknowledgement of plots can yield direct scientific benefits. Consideration of plots and storytelling devices may also assist in the interpretation of published work, and can help scientists improve their own storytelling.

  17. The development and investigation of the psychometric properties of a burnout scale within a South African agricultural research institution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Doris N. Asiwe

    2014-09-01

    Research purpose: To give an overview of current burnout measures, identify gaps within the literature and develop a new burnout scale for use within South Africa. The research examined the construct validity, reliability, construct equivalence and item bias of this new scale and investigated any differences that exist in relation to demographic variables. Motivation for the study: This study aimed to address various limitations regarding existing measures by developing a reliable and valid instrument for measuring burnout in South African employees that includes cognitive, physical and emotional (affective components. Research approach, design and method: This empirical, quantitative research study delivered a cross-sectional survey, including the burnout scale and a biographical data questionnaire, to 443 employees of an agricultural research institution. Items for the burnout scale were written based on a literature review. Main findings: Exploratory factor analysis with target rotations resulted in a three-factor burnout model. Reliability analysis showed that all three scales (1 were sufficiently internally consistent and (2 showed construct equivalence for Black and White employees and speakers of Afrikaans and African languages. A practically significant difference in burnout levels was found in relation to age. Practical/managerial implications: The scale can be used to assess burnout for different cultural groups within research-based institutions. Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to knowledge regarding the burnout levels of employees in an agricultural research institution in South Africa and provides a new burnout scale that can be utilised in similar institutions.

  18. Quantifying the impact of environmental factors on arthropod communities in agricultural landscapes across organizational levels and spatial scales

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schweiger, O.; Maelfait, J.P.; Wingerden, van W.K.R.E.; Hendrickx, F.; Billeter, R.; Speelmans, M.; Augenstein, I.; Aukema, B.; Aviron, S.; Bailey, D.; Bukacek, R.; Burel, F.; Diekötter, T.; Dirksen, J.; Frenzel, M.; Herzog, F.; Liira, J.; Roubalova, M.; Bugter, R.J.F.

    2005-01-01

    1. In landscapes influenced by anthropogenic activities, such as intensive agriculture, knowledge of the relative importance and interaction of environmental factors on the composition and function of local communities across a range of spatial scales is important for maintaining biodiversity. 2. We

  19. National-Scale Hydrologic Classification & Agricultural Decision Support: A Multi-Scale Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coopersmith, E. J.; Minsker, B.; Sivapalan, M.

    2012-12-01

    Classification frameworks can help organize catchments exhibiting similarity in hydrologic and climatic terms. Focusing this assessment of "similarity" upon specific hydrologic signatures, in this case the annual regime curve, can facilitate the prediction of hydrologic responses. Agricultural decision-support over a diverse set of catchments throughout the United States depends upon successful modeling of the wetting/drying process without necessitating separate model calibration at every site where such insights are required. To this end, a holistic classification framework is developed to describe both climatic variability (humid vs. arid, winter rainfall vs. summer rainfall) and the draining, storing, and filtering behavior of any catchment, including ungauged or minimally gauged basins. At the national scale, over 400 catchments from the MOPEX database are analyzed to construct the classification system, with over 77% of these catchments ultimately falling into only six clusters. At individual locations, soil moisture models, receiving only rainfall as input, produce correlation values in excess of 0.9 with respect to observed soil moisture measurements. By deploying physical models for predicting soil moisture exclusively from precipitation that are calibrated at gauged locations, overlaying machine learning techniques to improve these estimates, then generalizing the calibration parameters for catchments in a given class, agronomic decision-support becomes available where it is needed rather than only where sensing data are located.lassifications of 428 U.S. catchments on the basis of hydrologic regime data, Coopersmith et al, 2012.

  20. Towards integrated modelling of soil organic carbon cycling at landscape scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viaud, V.

    2009-04-01

    Soil organic carbon (SOC) is recognized as a key factor of the chemical, biological and physical quality of soil. Numerous models of soil organic matter turnover have been developed since the 1930ies, most of them dedicated to plot scale applications. More recently, they have been applied to national scales to establish the inventories of carbon stocks directed by the Kyoto protocol. However, only few studies consider the intermediate landscape scale, where the spatio-temporal pattern of land management practices, its interactions with the physical environment and its impacts on SOC dynamics can be investigated to provide guidelines for sustainable management of soils in agricultural areas. Modelling SOC cycling at this scale requires accessing accurate spatially explicit input data on soils (SOC content, bulk density, depth, texture) and land use (land cover, farm practices), and combining both data in a relevant integrated landscape representation. The purpose of this paper is to present a first approach to modelling SOC evolution in a small catchment. The impact of the way landscape is represented on SOC stocks in the catchment was more specifically addressed. This study was based on the field map, the soil survey, the crop rotations and land management practices of an actual 10-km² agricultural catchment located in Brittany (France). RothC model was used to drive soil organic matter dynamics. Landscape representation in the form of a systematic regular grid, where driving properties vary continuously in space, was compared to a representation where landscape is subdivided into a set of homogeneous geographical units. This preliminary work enabled to identify future needs to improve integrated soil-landscape modelling in agricultural areas.

  1. Radio-Agriculture - Ground and Space-Based Determination of Agricultural Productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cockell, C. S.

    The decision to sow seeds in a field, either on a local level (such as on an individual plot) or on vast agricultural complexes, is irreversible. Once the seed is sown, provided there is liquid water, tem- perature conditions are adequate and in some cases light is available, it will germinate. The timing of seed sowing has important effects on subsequent agricultural productivity [1-4]. The correlation between time of sowing and productivity causes several problems. Firstly, sowing seed depends absolutely upon a correct judgement on weather conditions, sometimes to the day. Secondly, not all crops need to be sown at the same time and so resources in manpower and equipment must be available for sowing different crops at different times. Great im- provements in resource allocation could be made if all seeds could be sown at the same time. Thirdly, there is no flexibility once resources to sowing have been committed. For example, in large agricultural areas manpower and machinery might be committed at particular times of the year to sowing, but if the weather conditions are not correct either they must be re-scheduled or productivity is lost. Local factors such as irrigation system availability might also impose upon a farmer a wish to be able to regulate the germination of particular fields, particularly in developing countries.

  2. Topography Mediates the Influence of Cover Crops on Soil Nitrate Levels in Row Crop Agricultural Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Ladoni, Moslem; Kravchenko, Alexandra N.; Robertson, G. Phillip

    2015-01-01

    Supplying adequate amounts of soil N for plant growth during the growing season and across large agricultural fields is a challenge for conservational agricultural systems with cover crops. Knowledge about cover crop effects on N comes mostly from small, flat research plots and performance of cover crops across topographically diverse agricultural land is poorly understood. Our objective was to assess effects of both leguminous (red clover) and non-leguminous (winter rye) cover crops on poten...

  3. 9 CFR 108.3 - Preparation of plot plans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Preparation of plot plans. 108.3... LICENSED ESTABLISHMENTS § 108.3 Preparation of plot plans. Plot plans shall show all of the buildings on a... on the plot plan the use of immediate adjacent properties such as, residential area, pasture, box...

  4. Towards a Quantitative Use of Satellite Remote Sensing in Crop Growth Models for Large Scale Agricultural Production Estimate (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Defourny, P.

    2013-12-01

    The development of better agricultural monitoring capabilities is clearly considered as a critical step for strengthening food production information and market transparency thanks to timely information about crop status, crop area and yield forecasts. The documentation of global production will contribute to tackle price volatility by allowing local, national and international operators to make decisions and anticipate market trends with reduced uncertainty. Several operational agricultural monitoring systems are currently operating at national and international scales. Most are based on the methods derived from the pioneering experiences completed some decades ago, and use remote sensing to qualitatively compare one year to the others to estimate the risks of deviation from a normal year. The GEO Agricultural Monitoring Community of Practice described the current monitoring capabilities at the national and global levels. An overall diagram summarized the diverse relationships between satellite EO and agriculture information. There is now a large gap between the current operational large scale systems and the scientific state of the art in crop remote sensing, probably because the latter mainly focused on local studies. The poor availability of suitable in-situ and satellite data over extended areas hampers large scale demonstrations preventing the much needed up scaling research effort. For the cropland extent, this paper reports a recent research achievement using the full ENVISAT MERIS 300 m archive in the context of the ESA Climate Change Initiative. A flexible combination of classification methods depending to the region of the world allows mapping the land cover as well as the global croplands at 300 m for the period 2008 2012. This wall to wall product is then compared with regards to the FP 7-Geoland 2 results obtained using as Landsat-based sampling strategy over the IGADD countries. On the other hand, the vegetation indices and the biophysical variables

  5. Energy production from agricultural residues: High methane yields in pilot-scale two-stage anaerobic digestion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parawira, W.; Read, J.S.; Mattiasson, B.; Bjoernsson, L.

    2008-01-01

    There is a large, unutilised energy potential in agricultural waste fractions. In this pilot-scale study, the efficiency of a simple two-stage anaerobic digestion process was investigated for stabilisation and biomethanation of solid potato waste and sugar beet leaves, both separately and in co-digestion. A good phase separation between hydrolysis/acidification and methanogenesis was achieved, as indicated by the high carbon dioxide production, high volatile fatty acid concentration and low pH in the acidogenic reactors. Digestion of the individual substrates gave gross energy yields of 2.1-3.4 kWh/kg VS in the form of methane. Co-digestion, however, gave up to 60% higher methane yield, indicating that co-digestion resulted in improved methane production due to the positive synergism established in the digestion liquor. The integrity of the methane filters (MFs) was maintained throughout the period of operation, producing biogas with 60-78% methane content. A stable effluent pH showed that the methanogenic reactors had good ability to withstand the variations in load and volatile fatty acid concentrations that occurred in the two-stage process. The results of this pilot-scale study show that the two-stage anaerobic digestion system is suitable for effective conversion of semi-solid agricultural residues as potato waste and sugar beet leaves

  6. FLOWPLOT2, 2-D, 3-D Fluid Dynamic Plots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cobb, C.K.; Tunstall, J.N.

    1989-01-01

    1 - Description of program or function: FLOWPLOT2 is a plotting program used with numerical or analytical fluid dynamics codes to create velocity vector plots, contour plots of up to three fluid parameters (e.g. pressure, density, and temperature), two-dimensional profile plots, three-dimensional curve plots, and/or three-dimensional surface plots for either the u or v velocity components. If the fluid dynamics code computes a transient or simulated time related solution, FLOWPLOT2 can also be used to generate these plots for any specified time interval. Multiple cases generating different plots for different time intervals may be run in one execution of the program. In addition, plots can be created for selected two- dimensional planes of three-dimensional steady-state problems. The user has the option of producing plots on CalComp or Versatec plotters or microfiche and of creating a compressed dataset before plotting. 2 - Method of solution: FLOWPLOT2 reads a dataset written by the fluid dynamics code. This dataset must be written in a specified format and must contain parametric data at the nodal points of a uniform or non-uniform rectangular grid formed by the intersection of the grid lines of the model. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem - Maxima of: 2500 nodes, 40 y-values for 2-D profile plots and 3-D curve plots, 20 contour values, 3 fluid parameters

  7. Strategi Pengembangan Good Agricultural Practices (GAP di Kabupaten Bangka, Provinsi Kepulauan Bangka Belitung

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fournita Agustina

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to identify the problems faced by agricultural extension workers and to formulate alternative of extension strategies in realizing the application of horticultural GAP by farmers in Bangka Regency. This study was conducted in Bangka Regency of Bangka Belitung Province in February 2014. The data obtained in the field were analyzed using qualitative descriptive analysis and SWOT analysis method. The results of this study indicate that: (1 The problems faced by agricultural extension workers in realizing the application of horticultural GAP by farmers in Kabupaten Bangka are low knowledge and skill about GAP horticulture, the existence of agricultural extension workers that have heavy work load, programme extension does not correspond to the need of farmer horticulture; (2 The strategy of agricultural extension workers in realizing the application of GAP horticulture by farmers in Bangka Regency is to increase the training and visit and demonstration plot (plots GAP horticulture, applying to the Food Security Agency of Bangka Regency related to the lack of education and learning tools horticulture, increasing knowledge and skills on horticultural GAP. Enhance interaction with universities and research institutions, knowledge and skills based on experience farming horticultural crops farmers as well as keeping exercise routines and visits to horticultural farmers

  8. Researches on Agricultural Cooperative Economic Organization Promoting Agricultural Insurance Development

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2011-01-01

    The advantages of cooperative economic organization being the effective carrier of agricultural insurance development are analyzed. Firstly, cooperative economic organization promotes scale management and solves the problem of decentralized operation of small households. Secondly, cooperative economic organization can settle the problem of peasants’ low systematization. Thirdly, cooperative economic organization can largely reduce the costs of agricultural insurance operation. Fourthly, cooperative organization decreases moral risks as well as adverse selection to some extent. Lastly, cooperative organization, to a certain degree, reduces the risks of agricultural production and increases the insurability of agricultural risks. Meanwhile, limitations of agricultural cooperative economic organization being the carrier of agricultural insurance operation are pointed out. Firstly, cooperative economic organization has limited coverage and small size of organization, which is harmful to the diversification of agricultural risks. Secondly, cooperative economic organization lacks capital funds and its development is not standard, which is not perfect for the function exertion as a carrier. Lastly, members of professional cooperative organization have low cultural qualities, which restrict the implementation of agricultural insurance. The modes of farmers’ cooperative economic organization promoting agricultural insurance development are proposed, including mode of agricultural insurance cooperative ( mutual corporation), mode of "leading enterprises (companies) + professional cooperative organization (planting majors) + insurance" and mode of professional cooperatives serving as agricultural insurance agent. Last of all, the promoting role of agricultural insurance in agricultural cooperative economic organization is briefly illustrated.

  9. The detectability of nitrous oxide mitigation efficacy in intensively grazed pastures using a multiple plot micrometeorological technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMillan, A. M. S.; Harvey, M. J.; Martin, R. J.; Bromley, A. M.; Evans, M. J.; Mukherjee, S.; Laubach, J.

    2013-10-01

    Methodologies are required to verify agricultural greenhouse gas mitigation at scales relevant to farm management. Micrometeorological techniques provide a viable approach for comparing fluxes between fields receiving mitigation treatments and control fields. However, they have rarely been applied to spatially verifying treatments aimed at mitigating nitrous oxide emission from intensively grazed pastoral systems. We deployed a micrometeorological system to compare N2O flux among several ~ 1.5 ha plots in intensively grazed dairy pasture. The sample collection and measurement system is referred to as the Field-Scale Nitrous Oxide Mitigation Assessment System (FS-NOMAS) and used a tuneable diode laser absorption spectrometer to measure N2O gradients to high precision at four locations along a 300 m transect. The utility of the FS-NOMAS to assess mitigation efficacy depends largely on its ability to resolve very small vertical N2O gradients. The performance of the FS-NOMAS was assessed in this respect in laboratory and field-based studies. The FS-NOMAS could reliably resolve gradients of 0.039 ppb between a height of 0.5 m and 1.0 m. The gradient resolution achieved corresponded to the ability to detect an inter-plot N2O flux difference of 26.4 μg N2O-N m-2 h-1 under the most commonly encountered conditions of atmospheric mixing (quantified here by a turbulent transfer coefficient), but this ranged from 11 to 59 μg N2O-N m-2 h-1 as the transfer coefficient ranged between its 5th and 95th percentile. Assuming a likely value of 100 μg N2O-N m-2 h-1 for post-grazing N2O fluxes from intensively grazed New Zealand dairy pasture, the system described here would be capable of detecting a mitigation efficacy of 26% for a single (40 min) comparison. We demonstrate that the system has considerably greater sensitivity to treatment effects by measuring cumulative fluxes over extended periods.

  10. The detectability of nitrous oxide mitigation efficacy in intensively grazed pastures using a multiple-plot micrometeorological technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. M. S. McMillan

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Methodologies are required to verify agricultural greenhouse gas mitigation at scales relevant to farm management. Micrometeorological techniques provide a viable approach for comparing fluxes between fields receiving mitigation treatments and control fields. However, they have rarely been applied to spatially verifying treatments aimed at mitigating nitrous oxide emission from intensively grazed pastoral systems. We deployed a micrometeorological system to compare N2O flux among several ~1.5 ha plots in intensively grazed dairy pasture. The sample collection and measurement system is referred to as the Field-Scale Nitrous Oxide Mitigation Assessment System (FS-NOMAS and used a tuneable diode laser absorption spectrometer to measure N2O gradients to high precision at four locations along a 300 m transect. The utility of the FS-NOMAS to assess mitigation efficacy depends largely on its ability to resolve very small vertical N2O gradients. The performance of the FS-NOMAS was assessed in this respect in laboratory and field-based studies. The FS-NOMAS could reliably resolve gradients of 0.039 ppb between a height of 0.5 and 1.0 m. The gradient resolution achieved corresponded to the ability to detect an inter-plot N2O flux difference of 26 μg N2O–N m−2 h−1 under the most commonly encountered conditions of atmospheric mixing (quantified here by a turbulent transfer coefficient, but this ranged from 11 to 59 μg N2O–N m−2 h−1 as the transfer coefficient ranged between its 5th and 95th percentile. Assuming a likely value of 100 μg N2O–N m−2 h−1 for post-grazing N2O fluxes from intensively grazed New Zealand dairy pasture, the system described here would be capable of detecting a mitigation efficacy of 26% for a single (40 min comparison. We demonstrate that the system has considerably greater sensitivity to treatment effects by measuring cumulative fluxes over extended periods.

  11. The detectability of nitrous oxide mitigation efficacy in intensively grazed pastures using a multiple-plot micrometeorological technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMillan, A. M. S.; Harvey, M. J.; Martin, R. J.; Bromley, A. M.; Evans, M. J.; Mukherjee, S.; Laubach, J.

    2014-05-01

    Methodologies are required to verify agricultural greenhouse gas mitigation at scales relevant to farm management. Micrometeorological techniques provide a viable approach for comparing fluxes between fields receiving mitigation treatments and control fields. However, they have rarely been applied to spatially verifying treatments aimed at mitigating nitrous oxide emission from intensively grazed pastoral systems. We deployed a micrometeorological system to compare N2O flux among several ~1.5 ha plots in intensively grazed dairy pasture. The sample collection and measurement system is referred to as the Field-Scale Nitrous Oxide Mitigation Assessment System (FS-NOMAS) and used a tuneable diode laser absorption spectrometer to measure N2O gradients to high precision at four locations along a 300 m transect. The utility of the FS-NOMAS to assess mitigation efficacy depends largely on its ability to resolve very small vertical N2O gradients. The performance of the FS-NOMAS was assessed in this respect in laboratory and field-based studies. The FS-NOMAS could reliably resolve gradients of 0.039 ppb between a height of 0.5 and 1.0 m. The gradient resolution achieved corresponded to the ability to detect an inter-plot N2O flux difference of 26 μg N2O-N m-2 h-1 under the most commonly encountered conditions of atmospheric mixing (quantified here by a turbulent transfer coefficient), but this ranged from 11 to 59 μg N2O-N m-2 h-1 as the transfer coefficient ranged between its 5th and 95th percentile. Assuming a likely value of 100 μg N2O-N m-2 h-1 for post-grazing N2O fluxes from intensively grazed New Zealand dairy pasture, the system described here would be capable of detecting a mitigation efficacy of 26% for a single (40 min) comparison. We demonstrate that the system has considerably greater sensitivity to treatment effects by measuring cumulative fluxes over extended periods.

  12. Evaluating Plot Designs for the Tropics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul C. van Deusen; Bruce Bayle

    1991-01-01

    Theory and procedures are reviewed for determining the best type of plot for a given forest inventory. A general methodology is given that clarifies the relationship between different plot designs and the associated methods to produce the inventory estimates.

  13. Emotional characters for automatic plot creation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Theune, Mariet; Rensen, S.; op den Akker, Hendrikus J.A.; Heylen, Dirk K.J.; Nijholt, Antinus; Göbel, S.; Spierling, U.; Hoffmann, A.; Iurgel, I.; Schneider, O.; Dechau, J.; Feix, A.

    The Virtual Storyteller is a multi-agent framework for automatic story generation. In this paper we describe how plots emerge from the actions of semi-autonomous character agents, focusing on the influence of the characters’ emotions on plot development.

  14. Insights into gait disorders: walking variability using phase plot analysis, Huntington's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collett, Johnny; Esser, Patrick; Khalil, Hanan; Busse, Monica; Quinn, Lori; DeBono, Katy; Rosser, Anne; Nemeth, Andrea H; Dawes, Helen

    2014-09-01

    Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive inherited neurodegenerative disorder. Identifying sensitive methodologies to quantitatively measure early motor changes have been difficult to develop. This exploratory observational study investigated gait variability and symmetry in HD using phase plot analysis. We measured the walking of 22 controls and 35 HD gene carriers (7 premanifest (PreHD)), 16 early/mid (HD1) and 12 late stage (HD2) in Oxford and Cardiff, UK. The unified Huntington's disease rating scale-total motor scores (UHDRS-TMS) and disease burden scores (DBS) were used to quantify disease severity. Data was collected during a clinical walk test (8.8 or 10 m) using an inertial measurement unit attached to the trunk. The 6 middle strides were used to calculate gait variability determined by spatiotemporal parameters (co-efficient of variation (CoV)) and phase plot analysis. Phase plots considered the variability in consecutive wave forms from vertical movement and were quantified by SDA (spatiotemporal variability), SDB (temporal variability), ratio ∀ (ratio SDA:SDB) and Δangleβ (symmetry). Step time CoV was greater in manifest HD (p0.05). Phase plot analysis identified differences between manifest HD and controls for SDB, Ratio ∀ and Δangle (all pplot analysis may be a sensitive method of detecting gait changes in HD and can be performed quickly during clinical walking tests. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Split-plot designs for robotic serial dilution assays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buzas, Jeffrey S; Wager, Carrie G; Lansky, David M

    2011-12-01

    This article explores effective implementation of split-plot designs in serial dilution bioassay using robots. We show that the shortest path for a robot to fill plate wells for a split-plot design is equivalent to the shortest common supersequence problem in combinatorics. We develop an algorithm for finding the shortest common supersequence, provide an R implementation, and explore the distribution of the number of steps required to implement split-plot designs for bioassay through simulation. We also show how to construct collections of split plots that can be filled in a minimal number of steps, thereby demonstrating that split-plot designs can be implemented with nearly the same effort as strip-plot designs. Finally, we provide guidelines for modeling data that result from these designs. © 2011, The International Biometric Society.

  16. Application of mapped plots for single-owner forest surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul C. Van Deusen; Francis Roesch

    2009-01-01

    Mapped plots are used for the nation forest inventory conducted by the U.S. Forest Service. Mapped plots are also useful foro single ownership inventoires. Mapped plots can handle boundary overlap and can aprovide less variable estimates for specified forest conditions. Mapping is a good fit for fixed plot inventories where the fixed area plot is used for both mapping...

  17. Urban Agriculture, Commons and Urban Policies: Scaling up Local Innovation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    François Mancebo

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available May urban agriculture be the cornerstone that helps reconfigure more sustainable cities and if so, under which conditions? And if so, what type of urban agriculture? Such are the two issues underlying this article. Why not counteracting urban sprawl by fostering what could be called “rural sprawl”, by introducing nature and rural characteristics such as farming within the city, in its interstitial areas and wastelands? In this perspective, urban agriculture becomes a common good, bringing people together and reshaping the whole urban fabric that would eventually propose a radical remaking of the urban. Urban agriculture lends particularly well to long-lasting urban policies, especially those turning environmental “bads”—such as brownfields and wastelands—into environmental “goods” and urban amenities. Urban agriculture in interstitial abandoned urban areas may be one of cities’ main seedbeds of creative innovation. It is all about the right to decide and the power to create, renewing and deepening what Henri Lefebvre called The Right to the City.

  18. The importance of bees in natural and agricultural ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul Rhoades

    2013-01-01

    As the world’s most important group of pollinators, bees are a crucial part of agricultural production and natural ecosystem function. Bees and the pollination they provide are relevant to the nursery industry because of their role in the performance of seed increase plots as well as the importance of pollination in supporting persistent plant communities in restored...

  19. Imputing forest carbon stock estimates from inventory plots to a nationally continuous coverage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wilson Barry Tyler

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The U.S. has been providing national-scale estimates of forest carbon (C stocks and stock change to meet United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC reporting requirements for years. Although these currently are provided as national estimates by pool and year to meet greenhouse gas monitoring requirements, there is growing need to disaggregate these estimates to finer scales to enable strategic forest management and monitoring activities focused on various ecosystem services such as C storage enhancement. Through application of a nearest-neighbor imputation approach, spatially extant estimates of forest C density were developed for the conterminous U.S. using the U.S.’s annual forest inventory. Results suggest that an existing forest inventory plot imputation approach can be readily modified to provide raster maps of C density across a range of pools (e.g., live tree to soil organic carbon and spatial scales (e.g., sub-county to biome. Comparisons among imputed maps indicate strong regional differences across C pools. The C density of pools closely related to detrital input (e.g., dead wood is often highest in forests suffering from recent mortality events such as those in the northern Rocky Mountains (e.g., beetle infestations. In contrast, live tree carbon density is often highest on the highest quality forest sites such as those found in the Pacific Northwest. Validation results suggest strong agreement between the estimates produced from the forest inventory plots and those from the imputed maps, particularly when the C pool is closely associated with the imputation model (e.g., aboveground live biomass and live tree basal area, with weaker agreement for detrital pools (e.g., standing dead trees. Forest inventory imputed plot maps provide an efficient and flexible approach to monitoring diverse C pools at national (e.g., UNFCCC and regional scales (e.g., Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest

  20. ngs.plot: Quick mining and visualization of next-generation sequencing data by integrating genomic databases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Li; Shao, Ningyi; Liu, Xiaochuan; Nestler, Eric

    2014-04-15

    Understanding the relationship between the millions of functional DNA elements and their protein regulators, and how they work in conjunction to manifest diverse phenotypes, is key to advancing our understanding of the mammalian genome. Next-generation sequencing technology is now used widely to probe these protein-DNA interactions and to profile gene expression at a genome-wide scale. As the cost of DNA sequencing continues to fall, the interpretation of the ever increasing amount of data generated represents a considerable challenge. We have developed ngs.plot - a standalone program to visualize enrichment patterns of DNA-interacting proteins at functionally important regions based on next-generation sequencing data. We demonstrate that ngs.plot is not only efficient but also scalable. We use a few examples to demonstrate that ngs.plot is easy to use and yet very powerful to generate figures that are publication ready. We conclude that ngs.plot is a useful tool to help fill the gap between massive datasets and genomic information in this era of big sequencing data.

  1. Direct fabrication of high-resolution three-dimensional polymeric scaffolds using electrohydrodynamic hot jet plotting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei, Chuang; Dong, Jingyan

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents the direct three-dimensional (3D) fabrication of polymer scaffolds with sub-10 µm structures using electrohydrodynamic jet (EHD-jet) plotting of melted thermoplastic polymers. Traditional extrusion-based fabrication approaches of 3D periodic porous structures are very limited in their resolution, due to the excessive pressure requirement for extruding highly viscous thermoplastic polymers. EHD-jet printing has become a high-resolution alternative to other forms of nozzle deposition-based fabrication approaches by generating micro-scale liquid droplets or a fine jet through the application of a large electrical voltage between the nozzle and the substrate. In this study, we successfully apply EHD-jet plotting technology with melted biodegradable polymer (polycaprolactone, or PCL) for the fabrication of 2D patterns and 3D periodic porous scaffold structures in potential tissue engineering applications. Process conditions (e.g. electrical voltage, pressure, plotting speed) have been thoroughly investigated to achieve reliable jet printing of fine filaments. We have demonstrated for the first time that the EHD-jet plotting process is capable of the fabrication of 3D periodic structures with sub-10 µm resolution, which has great potential in advanced biomedical applications, such as cell alignment and guidance. (paper)

  2. Box Plots in the Australian Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Jane M.

    2012-01-01

    This article compares the definition of "box plot" as used in the "Australian Curriculum: Mathematics" with other definitions used in the education community; describes the difficulties students experience when dealing with box plots; and discusses the elaboration that is necessary to enable teachers to develop the knowledge…

  3. Hypothetical Outcome Plots Outperform Error Bars and Violin Plots for Inferences about Reliability of Variable Ordering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hullman, Jessica; Resnick, Paul; Adar, Eytan

    2015-01-01

    Many visual depictions of probability distributions, such as error bars, are difficult for users to accurately interpret. We present and study an alternative representation, Hypothetical Outcome Plots (HOPs), that animates a finite set of individual draws. In contrast to the statistical background required to interpret many static representations of distributions, HOPs require relatively little background knowledge to interpret. Instead, HOPs enables viewers to infer properties of the distribution using mental processes like counting and integration. We conducted an experiment comparing HOPs to error bars and violin plots. With HOPs, people made much more accurate judgments about plots of two and three quantities. Accuracy was similar with all three representations for most questions about distributions of a single quantity.

  4. An application to model traffic intensity of agricultural machinery at field scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Augustin, Katja; Kuhwald, Michael; Duttmann, Rainer

    2017-04-01

    Several soil-pressure-models deal with the impact of agricultural machines on soils. In many cases, these models were used for single spots and consider a static machine configuration. Therefore, a statement about the spatial distribution of soil compaction risk for entire working processes is limited. The aim of the study is the development of an application for the spatial modelling of traffic lanes from agricultural vehicles including wheel load, ground pressure and wheel passages at the field scale. The application is based on Open Source software, application and data formats, using python programming language. Minimum input parameters are GPS-positions, vehicles and tires (producer and model) and the tire inflation pressure. Five working processes were distinguished: soil tillage, manuring, plant protection, sowing and harvest. Currently, two different models (Diserens 2009, Rücknagel et al. 2015) were implemented to calculate the soil pressure. The application was tested at a study site in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 2015, field traffic were recorded by RTK-GPS and used machine set ups were noted. Using these input information the traffic lanes, wheel load and soil pressure were calculated for all working processes. For instance, the maize harvest in 2016 with a crop chopper and one transport vehicle crossed about 55 % of the total field area. At some places the machines rolled over up to 46 times. Approximately 35 % of the total area was affected by wheel loads over 7 tons and soil pressures between 163 and 193 kPa. With the information about the spatial distribution of wheel passages, wheel load and soil pressure it is possible to identify hot spots of intensive field traffic. Additionally, the use of the application enables the analysis of soil compaction risk induced by agricultural machines for long- and short-term periods.

  5. Design and implementation of a GPS guidance system for agricultural tractors using augmented reality technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santana-Fernández, Javier; Gómez-Gil, Jaime; del-Pozo-San-Cirilo, Laura

    2010-01-01

    Current commercial tractor guidance systems present to the driver information to perform agricultural tasks in the best way. This information generally includes a treated zones map referenced to the tractor's position. Unlike actual guidance systems where the tractor driver must mentally associate treated zone maps and the plot layout, this paper presents a guidance system that using Augmented Reality (AR) technology, allows the tractor driver to see the real plot though eye monitor glasses with the treated zones in a different color. The paper includes a description of the system hardware and software, a real test done with image captures seen by the tractor driver, and a discussion predicting that the historical evolution of guidance systems could involve the use of AR technology in the agricultural guidance and monitoring systems.

  6. Design and Implementation of a GPS Guidance System for Agricultural Tractors Using Augmented Reality Technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura del-Pozo-San-Cirilo

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Current commercial tractor guidance systems present to the driver information to perform agricultural tasks in the best way. This information generally includes a treated zones map referenced to the tractor’s position. Unlike actual guidance systems where the tractor driver must mentally associate treated zone maps and the plot layout, this paper presents a guidance system that using Augmented Reality (AR technology, allows the tractor driver to see the real plot though eye monitor glasses with the treated zones in a different color. The paper includes a description of the system hardware and software, a real test done with image captures seen by the tractor driver, and a discussion predicting that the historical evolution of guidance systems could involve the use of AR technology in the agricultural guidance and monitoring systems.

  7. Split-plot fractional designs: Is minimum aberration enough?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kulahci, Murat; Ramirez, Jose; Tobias, Randy

    2006-01-01

    Split-plot experiments are commonly used in industry for product and process improvement. Recent articles on designing split-plot experiments concentrate on minimum aberration as the design criterion. Minimum aberration has been criticized as a design criterion for completely randomized fractional...... factorial design and alternative criteria, such as the maximum number of clear two-factor interactions, are suggested (Wu and Hamada (2000)). The need for alternatives to minimum aberration is even more acute for split-plot designs. In a standard split-plot design, there are several types of two...... for completely randomized designs. Consequently, we provide a modified version of the maximum number of clear two-factor interactions design criterion to be used for split-plot designs....

  8. PLOTnFIT: A BASIC program for data plotting and curve fitting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schiffgens, J O

    1989-10-01

    PLOTnFIT is a BASIC program to be used with an IBM or IBM-compatible personal computer (PC) for plotting and fitting curves to measured or observed data for both extrapolation and interpolation. It uses the Least Squares method to calculate the coefficients of nth degree polynomials (e.g., up to 10th degree) of Basis Functions so that each polynomial fits the data in a Least Squares sense, then plots the data and the polynomial that a user decides best represents them. PLOTnFIT is very versatile. It can be used to generate linear, semilog, and log-log graphs and can automatically scale the coordinate axes to suit the data. It can plot more than one data set on a graph (e.g., up to 8 data sets) and more data points than a user is likely to put on one graph (e.g., up to 225 points). A PC diskette containing (1) READIST.PNF (a summary of this NUREG), (2) INI06891.SIS and FOL06891.SIS (two data files), and 3) PLOTNFIT.4TH (the latest version of the program) may be obtained from the National Energy Software Center, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439. (author)

  9. Downscaling near-surface soil moisture from field to plot scale: A comparative analysis under different environmental conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasta, Paolo; Penna, Daniele; Brocca, Luca; Zuecco, Giulia; Romano, Nunzio

    2018-02-01

    Indirect measurements of field-scale (hectometer grid-size) spatial-average near-surface soil moisture are becoming increasingly available by exploiting new-generation ground-based and satellite sensors. Nonetheless, modeling applications for water resources management require knowledge of plot-scale (1-5 m grid-size) soil moisture by using measurements through spatially-distributed sensor network systems. Since efforts to fulfill such requirements are not always possible due to time and budget constraints, alternative approaches are desirable. In this study, we explore the feasibility of determining spatial-average soil moisture and soil moisture patterns given the knowledge of long-term records of climate forcing data and topographic attributes. A downscaling approach is proposed that couples two different models: the Eco-Hydrological Bucket and Equilibrium Moisture from Topography. This approach helps identify the relative importance of two compound topographic indexes in explaining the spatial variation of soil moisture patterns, indicating valley- and hillslope-dependence controlled by lateral flow and radiative processes, respectively. The integrated model also detects temporal instability if the dominant type of topographic dependence changes with spatial-average soil moisture. Model application was carried out at three sites in different parts of Italy, each characterized by different environmental conditions. Prior calibration was performed by using sparse and sporadic soil moisture values measured by portable time domain reflectometry devices. Cross-site comparisons offer different interpretations in the explained spatial variation of soil moisture patterns, with time-invariant valley-dependence (site in northern Italy) and hillslope-dependence (site in southern Italy). The sources of soil moisture spatial variation at the site in central Italy are time-variant within the year and the seasonal change of topographic dependence can be conveniently

  10. Analysis of a Split-Plot Experimental Design Applied to a Low-Speed Wind Tunnel Investigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erickson, Gary E.

    2013-01-01

    A procedure to analyze a split-plot experimental design featuring two input factors, two levels of randomization, and two error structures in a low-speed wind tunnel investigation of a small-scale model of a fighter airplane configuration is described in this report. Standard commercially-available statistical software was used to analyze the test results obtained in a randomization-restricted environment often encountered in wind tunnel testing. The input factors were differential horizontal stabilizer incidence and the angle of attack. The response variables were the aerodynamic coefficients of lift, drag, and pitching moment. Using split-plot terminology, the whole plot, or difficult-to-change, factor was the differential horizontal stabilizer incidence, and the subplot, or easy-to-change, factor was the angle of attack. The whole plot and subplot factors were both tested at three levels. Degrees of freedom for the whole plot error were provided by replication in the form of three blocks, or replicates, which were intended to simulate three consecutive days of wind tunnel facility operation. The analysis was conducted in three stages, which yielded the estimated mean squares, multiple regression function coefficients, and corresponding tests of significance for all individual terms at the whole plot and subplot levels for the three aerodynamic response variables. The estimated regression functions included main effects and two-factor interaction for the lift coefficient, main effects, two-factor interaction, and quadratic effects for the drag coefficient, and only main effects for the pitching moment coefficient.

  11. Brief history of agricultural systems modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, James W; Antle, John M; Basso, Bruno; Boote, Kenneth J; Conant, Richard T; Foster, Ian; Godfray, H Charles J; Herrero, Mario; Howitt, Richard E; Janssen, Sander; Keating, Brian A; Munoz-Carpena, Rafael; Porter, Cheryl H; Rosenzweig, Cynthia; Wheeler, Tim R

    2017-07-01

    Agricultural systems science generates knowledge that allows researchers to consider complex problems or take informed agricultural decisions. The rich history of this science exemplifies the diversity of systems and scales over which they operate and have been studied. Modeling, an essential tool in agricultural systems science, has been accomplished by scientists from a wide range of disciplines, who have contributed concepts and tools over more than six decades. As agricultural scientists now consider the "next generation" models, data, and knowledge products needed to meet the increasingly complex systems problems faced by society, it is important to take stock of this history and its lessons to ensure that we avoid re-invention and strive to consider all dimensions of associated challenges. To this end, we summarize here the history of agricultural systems modeling and identify lessons learned that can help guide the design and development of next generation of agricultural system tools and methods. A number of past events combined with overall technological progress in other fields have strongly contributed to the evolution of agricultural system modeling, including development of process-based bio-physical models of crops and livestock, statistical models based on historical observations, and economic optimization and simulation models at household and regional to global scales. Characteristics of agricultural systems models have varied widely depending on the systems involved, their scales, and the wide range of purposes that motivated their development and use by researchers in different disciplines. Recent trends in broader collaboration across institutions, across disciplines, and between the public and private sectors suggest that the stage is set for the major advances in agricultural systems science that are needed for the next generation of models, databases, knowledge products and decision support systems. The lessons from history should be

  12. Uncertainty propagation analysis of an N2O emission model at the plot and landscape scale

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nol, L.; Heuvelink, G.B.M.; Veldkamp, A.; Vries, de W.; Kros, J.

    2010-01-01

    Nitrous oxide (N2O) emission from agricultural land is an important component of the total annual greenhouse gas (GHG) budget. In addition, uncertainties associated with agricultural N2O emissions are large. The goals of this work were (i) to quantify the uncertainties of modelled N2O emissions

  13. A comparison of FIA plot data derived from image pixels and image objects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charles E. Werstak

    2012-01-01

    The use of Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plot data for producing continuous and thematic maps of forest attributes (e.g., forest type, canopy cover, volume, and biomass) at the regional level from satellite imagery can be challenging due to differences in scale. Specifically, classification errors that may result from assumptions made between what the field data...

  14. A Computer Program for Drip Irrigation System Design for Small Plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philipova, Nina; Nicheva, Olga; Kazandjiev, Valentin; Chilikova-Lubomirova, Mila

    2012-12-01

    A computer programhas been developed for design of surface drip irrigation system. It could be applied for calculation of small scale fields with an area up to 10 ha. The program includes two main parts: crop water requirements and hydraulic calculations of the system. It has been developed in Graphical User Interface in MATLAB and gives opportunity for selecting some parameters from tables such as: agro- physical soil properties, characteristics of the corresponding crop, climatic data. It allows the user of the program to assume and set a definite value, for example the emitter discharge, plot parameters and etc. Eight cases of system layout according to the water source layout and the number of plots of the system operation are laid into hydraulic section of the program. It includes the design of lateral, manifold, main line and pump calculations. The program has been compiled to work in Windows.

  15. Rain concentration and sheltering effect of solar panels on cultivated plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elamri, Yassin; Cheviron, Bruno; Mange, Annabelle; Dejean, Cyril; Liron, François; Belaud, Gilles

    2018-02-01

    Agrivoltaism is the association of agricultural and photovoltaic energy production on the same land area, coping with the increasing pressure on land use and water resources while delivering clean and renewable energy. However, the solar panels located above the cultivated plots also have a seemingly yes unexplored effect on rain redistribution, sheltering large parts of the plot but redirecting concentrated fluxes on a few locations. The spatial heterogeneity in water amounts observed on the ground is high in the general case; its dynamical patterns are directly attributable to the mobile panels through their geometrical characteristics (dimensions, height, coverage percentage) and the strategies selected to rotate them around their support tube. A coefficient of variation is used to measure this spatial heterogeneity and to compare it with the coefficient of uniformity that classically describes the efficiency of irrigation systems. A rain redistribution model (AVrain) was derived from literature elements and theoretical grounds and then validated from experiments in both field and controlled conditions. AVrain simulates the effective rain amounts on the plot from a few forcing data (rainfall, wind velocity and direction) and thus allows real-time strategies that consist in operating the panels so as to limit the rain interception mainly responsible for the spatial heterogeneities. Such avoidance strategies resulted in a sharp decrease in the coefficient of variation, e.g. 0.22 vs. 2.13 for panels held flat during one of the monitored rain events, which is a fairly good uniformity score for irrigation specialists. Finally, the water amounts predicted by AVrain were used as inputs to Hydrus-2D for a brief exploratory study on the impact of the presence of solar panels on rain redistribution at shallow depths within soils: similar, more diffuse patterns were simulated and were coherent with field measurements.

  16. Hypothetical Outcome Plots Outperform Error Bars and Violin Plots for Inferences about Reliability of Variable Ordering.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica Hullman

    Full Text Available Many visual depictions of probability distributions, such as error bars, are difficult for users to accurately interpret. We present and study an alternative representation, Hypothetical Outcome Plots (HOPs, that animates a finite set of individual draws. In contrast to the statistical background required to interpret many static representations of distributions, HOPs require relatively little background knowledge to interpret. Instead, HOPs enables viewers to infer properties of the distribution using mental processes like counting and integration. We conducted an experiment comparing HOPs to error bars and violin plots. With HOPs, people made much more accurate judgments about plots of two and three quantities. Accuracy was similar with all three representations for most questions about distributions of a single quantity.

  17. The Heuristic Interpretation of Box Plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lem, Stephanie; Onghena, Patrick; Verschaffel, Lieven; Van Dooren, Wim

    2013-01-01

    Box plots are frequently used, but are often misinterpreted by students. Especially the area of the box in box plots is often misinterpreted as representing number or proportion of observations, while it actually represents their density. In a first study, reaction time evidence was used to test whether heuristic reasoning underlies this…

  18. Agricultural land management options following large-scale environmental contamination - evaluation for Fukushima affected agricultural land

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vandenhove, Hildegarde

    2013-01-01

    The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has raised questions about the accumulation of radionuclides in soils, the transfer in the food chain and the possibility of continued restricted future land use. This paper summarizes what is generally understood about the application of agricultural countermeasures as a land management option to reduce the radionuclides transfer in the food chain and to facilitate the return of potentially affected soils to agricultural practices in areas impacted by a nuclear accident. (authors)

  19. Agricultural land management options following large-scale environmental contamination - evaluation for Fukushima affected agricultural land

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vandenhove, Hildegarde [Biosphere Impact Studies, Belgian Nuclear Research Center SCK-CEN, Mol (Belgium)

    2013-07-01

    The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has raised questions about the accumulation of radionuclides in soils, the transfer in the food chain and the possibility of continued restricted future land use. This paper summarizes what is generally understood about the application of agricultural countermeasures as a land management option to reduce the radionuclides transfer in the food chain and to facilitate the return of potentially affected soils to agricultural practices in areas impacted by a nuclear accident. (authors)

  20. System for histogram entry, retrieval, and plotting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kellogg, M.; Gallup, J.M.; Shlaer, S.; Spencer, N.

    1977-10-01

    This manual describes the systems for producing histograms and dot plots that were designed for use in connection with the Q general-purpose data-acquisition system. These systems allow for the creation of histograms; the entry, retrieval, and plotting of data in the form of histograms; and the dynamic display of scatter plots as data are acquired. Although the systems are designed for use with Q, they can also be used as a part of other applications. 3 figures

  1. A plot-scale study of firn stratigraphy at Lomonosovfonna, Svalbard, using ice cores, borehole video and GPR surveys in 2012-14

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marchenko, Sergey; Pohjola, Veijo A.; Pettersson, Rickard

    2017-01-01

    Spatial heterogeneity of snow and firn properties on glaciers introduces uncertainty in interpretation of point and profile observations and complicates modelling of meltwater percolation and runoff. Here we present a study of the temporal and spatial dynamics of firn density and stratigraphy...... at the plot-scale (≈10 m × 10 m × 10 m) repeated annually during 2012-14 at the Lomonosovfonna icefield, Svalbard. Results from cores, video inspections in boreholes and radar grid surveys are compared. Ice layers 0.1-50 cm thick comprised ≈8% of the borehole length. Most of them are 1-3 cm thick and could...... in individual boreholes. However, the match between the high amplitude peaks in the grid-averaged radar signal and horizons of preferential ice layer formation revealed by averaging the video surveys over multiple boreholes is higher. These horizons are interpreted as buried firn layers previously exposed...

  2. Documenting and disseminating agricultural indigenous knowledge ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Documenting and disseminating agricultural indigenous knowledge for sustainable food security in Uganda. ... University of Dar es Salaam Library Journal ... Moreover, small-scale farmers should be involved in agricultural extension services ...

  3. Historical Roots of the Spatial, Temporal, and Diversity Scales of Agricultural Decision-Making in Sierra de Santa Marta, Los Tuxtlas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Negrete-Yankelevich, Simoneta; Porter-Bolland, Luciana; Blanco-Rosas, José Luis; Barois, Isabelle

    2013-07-01

    Land degradation is a serious problem in tropical mountainous areas. Market prices, technological development, and population growth are often invoked as the prime causes. Using historical agrarian documents, literature sources, and historical population data, we (1) provide quantitative and qualitative evidence that the land degradation present at Sierra de Santa Marta (Los Tuxtlas, Mexico) has involved a historical reduction in the temporal, spatial, and diversity scales, in which individual farmers make management decisions, and has resulted in decreased maize productivity; and (2) analyze how these three scalar changes can be linked to policy, population growth, and agrarian history. We conclude that the historical reduction in the scales of land use decision-making and practices constitutes a present threat to indigenous agricultural heritage. The long-term viability of agriculture requires that initiatives consider incentives for co-responsibility with an initial focus on self-sufficiency.

  4. Size Effect of the 2-D Bodies on the Geothermal Gradient and Q-A Plot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thakur, M.; Blackwell, D. D.

    2009-12-01

    Using numerical models we have investigated some of the criticisms on the Q-A plot of related to the effect of size of the body on the slope and reduced heat flow. The effects of horizontal conduction depend on the relative difference of radioactivity between the body and the country rock (assuming constant thermal conductivity). Horizontal heat transfer due to different 2-D bodies was numerically studied in order to quantify resulting temperature differences at the Moho and errors on the predication of Qr (reduced heat flow). Using the two end member distributions of radioactivity, the step model (thickness 10km) and exponential model, different 2-D models of horizontal scale (width) ranging from 10 -500 km were investigated. Increasing the horizontal size of the body tends to move observations closer towards the 1-D solution. A temperature difference of 50 oC is produced (for the step model) at Moho between models of width 10 km versus 500 km. In other words the 1-D solution effectively provides large scale averaging in terms of heat flow and temperature field in the lithosphere. For bodies’ ≤ 100 km wide the geotherms at shallower levels are affected, but at depth they converge and are 50 oC lower than that of the infinite plate model temperature. In case of 2-D bodies surface heat flow is decreased due to horizontal transfer of heat, which will shift the Q-A point vertically downward on the Q-A plot. The smaller the size of the body, the more will be the deviation from the 1-D solution and the more will be the movement of Q-A point downwards on a Q-A plot. On the Q-A plot, a limited points of bodies of different sizes with different radioactivity contrast (for the step and exponential model), exactly reproduce the reduced heat flow Qr. Thus the size of the body can affect the slope on a Q-A plot but Qr is not changed. Therefore, Qr ~ 32 mWm-2 obtained from the global terrain average Q-A plot represents the best estimate of stable continental mantle heat

  5. Impacts of nutrients and pesticides from small- and large-scale agriculture on the water quality of Lake Ziway, Ethiopia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Teklu, Berhan M.; Hailu, Amare; Wiegant, Daniel A.; Scholten, Bernice S.; Brink, van den Paul J.

    2018-01-01

    The area around Lake Ziway in Ethiopia is going through a major agricultural transformation with both small-scale farmers and large horticultural companies using pesticides and fertilisers at an increased rate. To be able to understand how this influences the water quality of Lake Ziway, water

  6. Impacts of nutrients and pesticides from small- and large-scale agriculture on the water quality of Lake Ziway, Ethiopia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Teklu, Berhan M.; Hailu, Amare; Wiegant, Daniel A.; Scholten, Bernice S.; Brink, van den Paul J.

    2016-01-01

    The area around Lake Ziway in Ethiopia is going through a major agricultural transformation with both small-scale farmers and large horticultural companies using pesticides and fertilisers at an increased rate. To be able to understand how this influences the water quality of Lake Ziway, water

  7. Scale-dependence of land use effects on water quality of streams in agricultural catchments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buck, Oliver; Niyogi, Dev K.; Townsend, Colin R.

    2004-01-01

    The influence of land use on water quality in streams is scale-dependent and varies in time and space. In this study, land cover patterns and stocking rates were used as measures of agricultural development in two pasture and one native grassland catchment in New Zealand and were related to water quality in streams of various orders. The amount of pasture per subcatchment correlated well to total nitrogen and nitrate in one catchment and turbidity and total phosphorous in the other catchment. Stocking rates were only correlated to total phosphorous in one pasture catchment but showed stronger correlations to ammonium, total phosphorous and total nitrogen in the other pasture catchment. Winter and spring floods were significant sources of nutrients and faecal coliforms from one of the pasture catchments into a wetland complex. Nutrient and faecal coliform concentrations were better predicted by pastural land cover in fourth-order than in second-order streams. This suggests that upstream land use is more influential in larger streams, while local land use and other factors may be more important in smaller streams. These temporal and spatial scale effects indicate that water-monitoring schemes need to be scale-sensitive. - Land use influences water quality of streams at various spatial scales

  8. Scale-dependence of land use effects on water quality of streams in agricultural catchments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Buck, Oliver; Niyogi, Dev K.; Townsend, Colin R

    2004-07-01

    The influence of land use on water quality in streams is scale-dependent and varies in time and space. In this study, land cover patterns and stocking rates were used as measures of agricultural development in two pasture and one native grassland catchment in New Zealand and were related to water quality in streams of various orders. The amount of pasture per subcatchment correlated well to total nitrogen and nitrate in one catchment and turbidity and total phosphorous in the other catchment. Stocking rates were only correlated to total phosphorous in one pasture catchment but showed stronger correlations to ammonium, total phosphorous and total nitrogen in the other pasture catchment. Winter and spring floods were significant sources of nutrients and faecal coliforms from one of the pasture catchments into a wetland complex. Nutrient and faecal coliform concentrations were better predicted by pastural land cover in fourth-order than in second-order streams. This suggests that upstream land use is more influential in larger streams, while local land use and other factors may be more important in smaller streams. These temporal and spatial scale effects indicate that water-monitoring schemes need to be scale-sensitive. - Land use influences water quality of streams at various spatial scales.

  9. [Overview of organic agriculture development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiao Mei; Yu, Hong Jun; Li, Qiang; Jiang, Wei Jie

    2016-04-22

    This paper introduced the concepts of organic agriculture as defined by different international organizations, origin and theoretical development of organic agriculture, as well as its developing trajectory in China (i.e. a late start followed by rapid growth compared to developed countries). The differences between domestic and international organic agriculture were illustrated by scale, crop types, production standards, inputs and planting techniques. Constraints limiting improvements to organic agriculture in aspects of standards, technology, marketing, certification, environmental pollution, enterprise reputation, and national policies were discussed. Future directions and strategies for developing healthy organic agriculture in China were provided.

  10. Recurrence plots of exchange rates of currencies

    OpenAIRE

    Sparavigna, Amelia Carolina

    2014-01-01

    Used to investigate the presence of distinctive recurrent behaviours in natural processes, the recurrence plots can be applied to the analysis of economic data, and, in particular, to the characterization of exchange rates of currencies too. In this paper, we will show that these plots are able to characterize the periods of oscillation and random walk of currencies and enhance their reply to news and events, by means of texture transitions. The examples of recurrence plots given here are obt...

  11. PLOTTAB, Curve and Point Plotting with Error Bars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-01-01

    1 - Description of program or function: PLOTTAB is designed to plot any combination of continuous curves and/or discrete points (with associated error bars) using user supplied titles and X and Y axis labels and units. If curves are plotted, the first curve may be used as a standard; the data and the ratio of the data to the standard will be plotted. 2 - Method of solution: PLOTTAB: The program has no idea of what data is being plotted and yet by supplying titles, X and Y axis labels and units the user can produce any number of plots with each plot containing almost any combination of curves and points with each plot properly identified. In order to define a continuous curve between tabulated points, this program must know how to interpolate between points. By input the user may specify either the default option of linear x versus linear y interpolation or alternatively log x and/or log Y interpolation. In all cases, regardless of the interpolation specified, the program will always interpolate the data to the plane of the plot (linear or log x and y plane) in order to present the true variation of the data between tabulated points, based on the user specified interpolation law. Tabulated points should be tabulated at a sufficient number of x values to insure that the difference between the specified interpolation and the 'true' variation of a curve between tabulated values is relatively small. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: A combination of up to 30 curves and sets of discrete points may appear on each plot. If the user wishes to use this program to compare different sets of data, all of the data must be in the same units

  12. Worm plot to diagnose fit in quantile regression

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buuren, S. van

    2007-01-01

    The worm plot is a series of detrended Q-Q plots, split by covariate levels. The worm plot is a diagnostic tool for visualizing how well a statistical model fits the data, for finding locations at which the fit can be improved, and for comparing the fit of different models. This paper shows how the

  13. Worm plot to diagnose fit in quantile regression

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buuren, S. van

    2007-01-01

    The worm plot is a series of detrended Q-Q plots, split by covariate levels. The worm plot is a diagnostic tool for visualizing how well a statistical model fits the data, for finding locations at which the fit can be improved, and for comparing the fit of different models. This paper shows how

  14. The Shorth Plot

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Einmahl, J.H.J.; Gantner, M.; Sawitzki, G.

    2008-01-01

    The shorth plot is a tool to investigate probability mass concentration. It is a graphical representation of the length of the shorth, the shortest interval covering a certain fraction of the distribution, localized by forcing the intervals considered to contain a given point x. It is easy to

  15. Genome U-Plot: a whole genome visualization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaitatzes, Athanasios; Johnson, Sarah H; Smadbeck, James B; Vasmatzis, George

    2018-05-15

    The ability to produce and analyze whole genome sequencing (WGS) data from samples with structural variations (SV) generated the need to visualize such abnormalities in simplified plots. Conventional two-dimensional representations of WGS data frequently use either circular or linear layouts. There are several diverse advantages regarding both these representations, but their major disadvantage is that they do not use the two-dimensional space very efficiently. We propose a layout, termed the Genome U-Plot, which spreads the chromosomes on a two-dimensional surface and essentially quadruples the spatial resolution. We present the Genome U-Plot for producing clear and intuitive graphs that allows researchers to generate novel insights and hypotheses by visualizing SVs such as deletions, amplifications, and chromoanagenesis events. The main features of the Genome U-Plot are its layered layout, its high spatial resolution and its improved aesthetic qualities. We compare conventional visualization schemas with the Genome U-Plot using visualization metrics such as number of line crossings and crossing angle resolution measures. Based on our metrics, we improve the readability of the resulting graph by at least 2-fold, making apparent important features and making it easy to identify important genomic changes. A whole genome visualization tool with high spatial resolution and improved aesthetic qualities. An implementation and documentation of the Genome U-Plot is publicly available at https://github.com/gaitat/GenomeUPlot. vasmatzis.george@mayo.edu. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  16. The development and investigation of the psychometric properties of a burnout scale within a South African agricultural research institution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Doris N. Asiwe

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Orientation: Burnout of employees is well documented within South Africa, but researchers have adapted imported instruments with a number of limitations. Therefore there is a need to develop a new instrument suitable for use in South Africa. Research purpose: To give an overview of current burnout measures, identify gaps within the literature and develop a new burnout scale for use within South Africa. The research examined the construct validity, reliability, construct equivalence and item bias of this new scale and investigated any differences that exist in relation to demographic variables. Motivation for the study: This study aimed to address various limitations regarding existing measures by developing a reliable and valid instrument for measuring burnout in South African employees that includes cognitive, physical and emotional (affective components. Research approach, design and method: This empirical, quantitative research study delivered a cross-sectional survey, including the burnout scale and a biographical data questionnaire, to 443 employees of an agricultural research institution. Items for the burnout scale were written based on a literature review. Main findings: Exploratory factor analysis with target rotations resulted in a three-factor burnout model. Reliability analysis showed that all three scales (1 were sufficiently internally consistent and (2 showed construct equivalence for Black and White employees and speakers of Afrikaans and African languages. A practically significant difference in burnout levels was found in relation to age. Practical/managerial implications: The scale can be used to assess burnout for different cultural groups within research-based institutions. Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to knowledge regarding the burnout levels of employees in an agricultural research institution in South Africa and provides a new burnout scale that can be utilised in similar institutions.

  17. Thickening the Plot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Brian

    1979-01-01

    Examines the content of daytime serial dramas to determine how the narrative structure promotes a sense of involvement in viewers. Competing plot lines, the lack of a concrete sense of resolution, the pattern of episodes, and the audience's awareness of information kept secret from characters all contribute to audience involvement. (JMF)

  18. A parameter optimization tool for evaluating the physical consistency of the plot-scale water budget of the integrated eco-hydrological model GEOtop in complex terrain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bertoldi, Giacomo; Cordano, Emanuele; Brenner, Johannes; Senoner, Samuel; Della Chiesa, Stefano; Niedrist, Georg

    2017-04-01

    In mountain regions, the plot- and catchment-scale water and energy budgets are controlled by a complex interplay of different abiotic (i.e. topography, geology, climate) and biotic (i.e. vegetation, land management) controlling factors. When integrated, physically-based eco-hydrological models are used in mountain areas, there are a large number of parameters, topographic and boundary conditions that need to be chosen. However, data on soil and land-cover properties are relatively scarce and do not reflect the strong variability at the local scale. For this reason, tools for uncertainty quantification and optimal parameters identification are essential not only to improve model performances, but also to identify most relevant parameters to be measured in the field and to evaluate the impact of different assumptions for topographic and boundary conditions (surface, lateral and subsurface water and energy fluxes), which are usually unknown. In this contribution, we present the results of a sensitivity analysis exercise for a set of 20 experimental stations located in the Italian Alps, representative of different conditions in terms of topography (elevation, slope, aspect), land use (pastures, meadows, and apple orchards), soil type and groundwater influence. Besides micrometeorological parameters, each station provides soil water content at different depths, and in three stations (one for each land cover) eddy covariance fluxes. The aims of this work are: (I) To present an approach for improving calibration of plot-scale soil moisture and evapotranspiration (ET). (II) To identify the most sensitive parameters and relevant factors controlling temporal and spatial differences among sites. (III) Identify possible model structural deficiencies or uncertainties in boundary conditions. Simulations have been performed with the GEOtop 2.0 model, which is a physically-based, fully distributed integrated eco-hydrological model that has been specifically designed for mountain

  19. Estimation of Missing Observations in Two-Level Split-Plot Designs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Almimi, Ashraf A.; Kulahci, Murat; Montgomery, Douglas C.

    2008-01-01

    Inserting estimates for the missing observations from split-plot designs restores their balanced or orthogonal structure and alleviates the difficulties in the statistical analysis. In this article, we extend a method due to Draper and Stoneman to estimate the missing observations from unreplicated...... two-level factorial and fractional factorial split-plot (FSP and FFSP) designs. The missing observations, which can either be from the same whole plot, from different whole plots, or comprise entire whole plots, are estimated by equating to zero a number of specific contrast columns equal...... to the number of the missing observations. These estimates are inserted into the design table and the estimates for the remaining effects (or alias chains of effects as the case with FFSP designs) are plotted on two half-normal plots: one for the whole-plot effects and the other for the subplot effects...

  20. Plot Description (PD)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert E. Keane

    2006-01-01

    The Plot Description (PD) form is used to describe general characteristics of the FIREMON macroplot to provide ecological context for data analyses. The PD data characterize the topographical setting, geographic reference point, general plant composition and cover, ground cover, fuels, and soils information. This method provides the general ecological data that can be...

  1. Regional-scale fluxes of zinc, copper, and nickel into and out of the agricultural soils of the Kermanshah province in western Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmadi Doabi, Shahab; Karami, Mahin; Afyuni, Majid

    2016-04-01

    It is important to study the status and trend of soil contamination with trace elements to make sustainable management strategies for agricultural soils. This study was conducted in order to model zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and nickel (Ni) accumulation rates in agricultural soils of Kermanshah province using input and output fluxes mass balance and to evaluate the associated uncertainties. The input and output fluxes of Zn, Cu, and Ni into (from) the agricultural soils of Kermanshah province via livestock manure, mineral fertilizers, municipal waste compost, pesticides, atmospheric deposition, and crop removal were assessed for the period 2000-2014. The data were collected to compute the fluxes at both township and regional scales from available databases such as regional agricultural statistics. The basic units of the balance were 9 townships of Kermanshah province. Averaged over the entire study region, the estimated net fluxes of Zn, Cu, and Ni into agricultural soils were 341, 84, and131 g ha year(-1), with a range of 211 to 1621, 61 to 463, and 114 to 679 among the townships. The livestock manure was responsible for 55, 56, and 67 % of the total Zn, Cu, and Ni inputs at regional scale, while municipal waste compost and mineral fertilizers accounted for approximately 19, 38, and 15 % and 24, 4, and 14 % of the total Zn, Cu, and Ni inputs, respectively. Atmospheric deposition was a considerable source only for Ni and at township scale (7-29 % of total Ni input). For Zn, Cu, and Ni, the input-to-output ratio of the fluxes ranged from 1.8 to 48.9, 2 to 48.2, and 4 to 303 among townships and averaged 2.8, 3, and 9 for the entire study area, respectively. Considering that outputs other than with crop harvests are minor, this means that Zn, Cu, and Ni (in particular Ni) stocks are rapidly building up in soils of some parts of the study region. Uncertainties in the livestock manure and crop removal data were the main sources of estimation uncertainty in this study

  2. Factors influencing access to agricultural knowledge: The case of smallholder rice farmers in the Kilombero district of Tanzania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wulystan P. Mtega

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Access to agricultural knowledge is important in transforming livelihoods of those relying on agriculture for a living and in enhancing food security. This access to agricultural knowledge is influenced by infrastructure needed for information dissemination. However, information infrastructure is not uniformly distributed within and between countries. It is because of this that some of the farming communities are information rich while others are information poor. In Tanzania, the agricultural sector is characterised by poor research-extension-farmers linkage and inaccessibility of agricultural knowledge at farm level Objective: The study investigated the factors influencing access to agricultural knowledge among smallholder rice farmers in the Kilombero district of Tanzania. Specifically, the study identified categories of agricultural knowledge needed by farmers, determined how farmers access agricultural knowledge, and assessed the factors limiting the accessibility of agricultural knowledge among rice farmers in the Kilombero district. Method: Quantitative data were collected via semi-structured questionnaires administered face-to-face with rice farmers, community leaders, and agricultural agents in four villages at the Kilombero district of the Morogoro region in Tanzania. Results: The key finding indicates that farmers accessed and used agricultural knowledge in undertaking agricultural activities. It was further revealed that the level of acquisition of agricultural knowledge increased with an increase in age. Farmers needed agricultural knowledge on land preparation, seed selection, and rice planting, while few acquired knowledge on agricultural markets. Among the agricultural knowledge sources used, demonstration plots and agricultural extension agents were found to be used by the majority of the farmers. It was also found that a limited number of demonstration plots, late delivery of information services, a limited number

  3. Landscape configurational heterogeneity by small-scale agriculture, not crop diversity, maintains pollinators and plant reproduction in western Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hass, Annika L; Kormann, Urs G; Tscharntke, Teja; Clough, Yann; Baillod, Aliette Bosem; Sirami, Clélia; Fahrig, Lenore; Martin, Jean-Louis; Baudry, Jacques; Bertrand, Colette; Bosch, Jordi; Brotons, Lluís; Burel, Françoise; Georges, Romain; Giralt, David; Marcos-García, María Á; Ricarte, Antonio; Siriwardena, Gavin; Batáry, Péter

    2018-02-14

    Agricultural intensification is one of the main causes for the current biodiversity crisis. While reversing habitat loss on agricultural land is challenging, increasing the farmland configurational heterogeneity (higher field border density) and farmland compositional heterogeneity (higher crop diversity) has been proposed to counteract some habitat loss. Here, we tested whether increased farmland configurational and compositional heterogeneity promote wild pollinators and plant reproduction in 229 landscapes located in four major western European agricultural regions. High-field border density consistently increased wild bee abundance and seed set of radish ( Raphanus sativus ), probably through enhanced connectivity. In particular, we demonstrate the importance of crop-crop borders for pollinator movement as an additional experiment showed higher transfer of a pollen analogue along crop-crop borders than across fields or along semi-natural crop borders. By contrast, high crop diversity reduced bee abundance, probably due to an increase of crop types with particularly intensive management. This highlights the importance of crop identity when higher crop diversity is promoted. Our results show that small-scale agricultural systems can boost pollinators and plant reproduction. Agri-environmental policies should therefore aim to halt and reverse the current trend of increasing field sizes and to reduce the amount of crop types with particularly intensive management. © 2018 The Author(s).

  4. Geometagenomics illuminates the impact of agriculture on the distribution and prevalence of plant viruses at the ecosystem scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernardo, Pauline; Charles-Dominique, Tristan; Barakat, Mohamed; Ortet, Philippe; Fernandez, Emmanuel; Filloux, Denis; Hartnady, Penelope; Rebelo, Tony A; Cousins, Stephen R; Mesleard, François; Cohez, Damien; Yavercovski, Nicole; Varsani, Arvind; Harkins, Gordon W; Peterschmitt, Michel; Malmstrom, Carolyn M; Martin, Darren P; Roumagnac, Philippe

    2018-01-01

    Disease emergence events regularly result from human activities such as agriculture, which frequently brings large populations of genetically uniform hosts into contact with potential pathogens. Although viruses cause nearly 50% of emerging plant diseases, there is little systematic information about virus distribution across agro-ecological interfaces and large gaps in understanding of virus diversity in nature. Here we applied a novel landscape-scale geometagenomics approach to examine relationships between agricultural land use and distributions of plant-associated viruses in two Mediterranean-climate biodiversity hotspots (Western Cape region of South Africa and Rhône river delta region of France). In total, we analysed 1725 geo-referenced plant samples collected over two years from 4.5 × 4.5 km 2 grids spanning farmlands and adjacent uncultivated vegetation. We found substantial virus prevalence (25.8-35.7%) in all ecosystems, but prevalence and identified family-level virus diversity were greatest in cultivated areas, with some virus families displaying strong agricultural associations. Our survey revealed 94 previously unknown virus species, primarily from uncultivated plants. This is the first effort to systematically evaluate plant-associated viromes across broad agro-ecological interfaces. Our findings indicate that agriculture substantially influences plant virus distributions and highlight the extent of current ignorance about the diversity and roles of viruses in nature.

  5. Split-plot designs for multistage experimentation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kulahci, Murat; Tyssedal, John

    2016-01-01

    at the same time will be more efficient. However, there have been only a few attempts in the literature to provide an adequate and easy-to-use approach for this problem. In this paper, we present a novel methodology for constructing two-level split-plot and multistage experiments. The methodology is based...... be accommodated in each stage. Furthermore, split-plot designs for multistage experiments with good projective properties are also provided....

  6. F-15 inlet/engine test techniques and distortion methodologies studies. Volume 2: Time variant data quality analysis plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevens, C. H.; Spong, E. D.; Hammock, M. S.

    1978-01-01

    Time variant data quality analysis plots were used to determine if peak distortion data taken from a subscale inlet model can be used to predict peak distortion levels for a full scale flight test vehicle.

  7. Assessment and Monitoring of Nutrient Management in Irrigated Agriculture for Groundwater Quality Protection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harter, T.; Davis, R.; Smart, D. R.; Brown, P. H.; Dzurella, K.; Bell, A.; Kourakos, G.

    2017-12-01

    Nutrient fluxes to groundwater have been subject to regulatory assessment and control only in a limited number of countries, including those in the European Union, where the Water Framework Directive requires member countries to manage groundwater basis toward achieving "good status", and California, where irrigated lands will be subject to permitting, stringent nutrient monitoring requirements, and development of practices that are protective of groundwater. However, research activities to rigorously assess agricultural practices for their impact on groundwater have been limited and instead focused on surface water protection. For groundwater-related assessment of agricultural practices, a wide range of modeling tools has been employed: vulnerability studies, nitrogen mass balance assessments, crop-soil-system models, and various statistical tools. These tools are predominantly used to identify high risk regions, practices, or crops. Here we present the development of a field site for rigorous in-situ evaluation of water and nutrient management practices in an irrigated agricultural setting. Integrating groundwater monitoring into agricultural practice assessment requires large research plots (on the order of 10s to 100s of hectares) and multi-year research time-frames - much larger than typical agricultural field research plots. Almonds are among the most common crops in California with intensive use of nitrogen fertilizer and were selected for their high water quality improvement potential. Availability of an orchard site with relatively vulnerable groundwater conditions (sandy soils, water table depth less than 10 m) was also important in site selection. Initial results show that shallow groundwater concentrations are commensurate with nitrogen leaching estimates obtained by considering historical, long-term field nitrogen mass balance and groundwater dynamics.

  8. Setting up fuel supply strategies for large-scale bio-energy projects using agricultural and forest residues. A methodology for developing countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Junginger, M.

    2000-08-01

    The objective of this paper is to develop a coherent methodology to set up fuel supply strategies for large-scale biomass-conversion units. This method will explicitly take risks and uncertainties regarding availability and costs in relation to time into account. This paper aims at providing general guidelines, which are not country-specific. These guidelines cannot provide 'perfect fit'-solutions, but aim to give general help to overcome barriers and to set up supply strategies. It will mainly focus on residues from the agricultural and forestry sector. This study focuses on electricity or both electricity and heat production (CHP) with plant scales between 1040 MWe. This range is chosen due to rules of economies of scale. In large-scale plants the benefits of increased efficiency outweigh increased transportation costs, allowing a lower price per kWh which in turn may allow higher biomass costs. However, fuel-supply risks tend to get higher with increasing plant size, which makes it more important to assess them for large(r) conversion plants. Although the methodology does not focus on a specific conversion technology, it should be stressed that the technology must be able to handle a wide variety of biomass fuels with different characteristics because many biomass residues are not available the year round and various fuels are needed for a constant supply. The methodology allows for comparing different technologies (with known investment and operational and maintenance costs from literature) and evaluation for different fuel supply scenarios. In order to demonstrate the methodology, a case study was carried out for the north-eastern part of Thailand (Isaan), an agricultural region. The research was conducted in collaboration with the Regional Wood Energy Development Programme in Asia (RWEDP), a project of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in Bangkok, Thailand. In Section 2 of this paper the methodology will be presented. In Section 3 the economic

  9. NEW METHODS OF NORMATIVE MONETARY EVALUATION OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS: POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Tretiak

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Approaches to the normative monetary evaluation of agricultural lands, adopted by the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated March 23, 1995 No. 213, did not allow to accomplish objective actualization of the indicators, as they did not take into account changes in the economy and the system of agricultural land use that occurred during the implementation of land reform in agriculture. So there is no doubt of the necessity to take into consideration the changes and to improve methodical approaches to the evaluation of agricultural land. The resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated November 16, 2016 No. 831 adopted the updated "Methodology of normative monetary evaluation of agricultural lands ". According to the paragraph 3 of the methodology, normative monetary evaluation of agricultural lands is determined in accordance with the requirements of capitalized rental income for agricultural lands of natural and agricultural districts of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, regions, cities of Kiev and Sevastopol in accordance with the Annex and indicators of soil evaluation by drawing up scales of normative monetary evaluation of agricultural industrial groups of soils of natural and agricultural areas (for farmlands. The first question that arises regarding the updated methods is a natural-agricultural zoning. In fact, in this methodology there is no list of borders, natural agricultural areas in the section of the territories of village councils and settlements included in one or another area. If we use the map of the natural-agricultural zoning and the reference book to it proposed for consideration by the site of State Geocadaster of Diagrams, it contains other boundaries, and another list of village councils, settlements, for example in the section of the mentioned Radekhiv district, than the natural-agricultural zoning was previously approved. So, one of them combines 29, and others combine 2 village councils each

  10. Effects of microelements on soil nematode assemblages seven years after contaminating an agricultural field

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nagy, P.; Bakonyi, G.; Bongers, A.M.T.; Kádár, I.; Fábián, M.; Kiss, I.

    2004-01-01

    Long-term effects of Cd, Cr, Cu, Se and Zn were studied 7 years after artificially contaminating plots of an agricultural field on a calcareous chernozem soil. Effects of three to four different contamination levels (originally 10, 30, 90 and 270 mg kg(-1)) were studied. Nematode density was

  11. SUPERIMPOSED MESH PLOTTING IN MCNP

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    J. HENDRICKS

    2001-02-01

    The capability to plot superimposed meshes has been added to MCNP{trademark}. MCNP4C featured a superimposed mesh weight window generator which enabled users to set up geometries without having to subdivide geometric cells for variance reduction. The variance reduction was performed with weight windows on a rectangular or cylindrical mesh superimposed over the physical geometry. Experience with the new capability was favorable but also indicated that a number of enhancements would be very beneficial, particularly a means of visualizing the mesh and its values. The mathematics for plotting the mesh and its values is described here along with a description of other upgrades.

  12. SplicePlot: a utility for visualizing splicing quantitative trait loci.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Eric; Nance, Tracy; Montgomery, Stephen B

    2014-04-01

    RNA sequencing has provided unprecedented resolution of alternative splicing and splicing quantitative trait loci (sQTL). However, there are few tools available for visualizing the genotype-dependent effects of splicing at a population level. SplicePlot is a simple command line utility that produces intuitive visualization of sQTLs and their effects. SplicePlot takes mapped RNA sequencing reads in BAM format and genotype data in VCF format as input and outputs publication-quality Sashimi plots, hive plots and structure plots, enabling better investigation and understanding of the role of genetics on alternative splicing and transcript structure. Source code and detailed documentation are available at http://montgomerylab.stanford.edu/spliceplot/index.html under Resources and at Github. SplicePlot is implemented in Python and is supported on Linux and Mac OS. A VirtualBox virtual machine running Ubuntu with SplicePlot already installed is also available.

  13. Reaction Order Ambiguity in Integrated Rate Plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Joe

    2008-01-01

    Integrated rate plots are frequently used in reaction kinetics to determine orders of reactions. It is often emphasised, when using this methodology in practice, that it is necessary to monitor the reaction to a substantial fraction of completion for these plots to yield unambiguous orders. The present article gives a theoretical and statistical…

  14. Are more complex physiological models of forest ecosystems better choices for plot and regional predictions?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wenchi Jin; Hong S. He; Frank R. Thompson

    2016-01-01

    Process-based forest ecosystem models vary from simple physiological, complex physiological, to hybrid empirical-physiological models. Previous studies indicate that complex models provide the best prediction at plot scale with a temporal extent of less than 10 years, however, it is largely untested as to whether complex models outperform the other two types of models...

  15. Balancing detail and scale in assessing transparency to improve the governance of agricultural commodity supply chains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godar, Javier; Suavet, Clément; Gardner, Toby A.; Dawkins, Elena; Meyfroidt, Patrick

    2016-03-01

    To date, assessments of the sustainability of agricultural commodity supply chains have largely relied on some combination of macro-scale footprint accounts, detailed life-cycle analyses and fine-scale traceability systems. Yet these approaches are limited in their ability to support the sustainability governance of agricultural supply chains, whether because they are intended for coarser-grained analyses, do not identify individual actors, or are too costly to be implemented in a consistent manner for an entire region of production. Here we illustrate some of the advantages of a complementary middle-ground approach that balances detail and scale of supply chain transparency information by combining consistent country-wide data on commodity production at the sub-national (e.g. municipal) level with per shipment customs data to describe trade flows of a given commodity covering all companies and production regions within that country. This approach can support supply chain governance in two key ways. First, enhanced spatial resolution of the production regions that connect to individual supply chains allows for a more accurate consideration of geographic variability in measures of risk and performance that are associated with different production practices. Second, identification of key actors that operate within a specific supply chain, including producers, traders, shippers and consumers can help discriminate coalitions of actors that have shared stake in a particular region, and that together are capable of delivering more cost-effective and coordinated interventions. We illustrate the potential of this approach with examples from Brazil, Indonesia and Colombia. We discuss how transparency information can deepen understanding of the environmental and social impacts of commodity production systems, how benefits are distributed among actors, and some of the trade-offs involved in efforts to improve supply chain sustainability. We then discuss the challenges and

  16. PLOTNFIT.4TH, Data Plotting and Curve Fitting by Polynomials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schiffgens, J.O.

    1990-01-01

    1 - Description of program or function: PLOTnFIT is used for plotting and analyzing data by fitting nth degree polynomials of basis functions to the data interactively and printing graphs of the data and the polynomial functions. It can be used to generate linear, semi-log, and log-log graphs and can automatically scale the coordinate axes to suit the data. Multiple data sets may be plotted on a single graph. An auxiliary program, READ1ST, is included which produces an on-line summary of the information contained in the PLOTnFIT reference report. 2 - Method of solution: PLOTnFIT uses the least squares method to calculate the coefficients of nth-degree (up to 10. degree) polynomials of 11 selected basis functions such that each polynomial fits the data in a least squares sense. The procedure incorporated in the code uses a linear combination of orthogonal polynomials to avoid 'i11-conditioning' and to perform the curve fitting task with single-precision arithmetic. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem - Maxima of: 225 data points per job (or graph) including all data sets 8 data sets (or tasks) per job (or graph)

  17. Contemplation on Plot and Personification in Tehran Makhuf

    OpenAIRE

    Mirjalil Akrami; Mohammad Pashaei

    2013-01-01

    Abstract Story is one of the important and influential literary genres that deserves to research on its structure and content .By study and analysis of a story, the reader could comprehend the textual messages and change his attitude toward life and different issues .After defining of the social novel, the author tries to analyze plot and personification in novel of “Tehran-e- Makhuf” and respond to the questions on the method employed for plot and personification and analyze it from plot...

  18. PET kinetic analysis --pitfalls and a solution for the Logan plot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimura, Yuichi; Naganawa, Mika; Shidahara, Miho; Ikoma, Yoko; Watabe, Hiroshi

    2007-01-01

    The Logan plot is a widely used algorithm for the quantitative analysis of neuroreceptors using PET because it is easy to use and simple to implement. The Logan plot is also suitable for receptor imaging because its algorithm is fast. However, use of the Logan plot, and interpretation of the formed receptor images should be regarded with caution, because noise in PET data causes bias in the Logan plot estimates. In this paper, we describe the basic concept of the Logan plot in detail and introduce three algorithms for the Logan plot. By comparing these algorithms, we demonstrate the pitfalls of the Logan plot and discuss the solution.

  19. A snapshot of soil water composition as an indicator of contrasted redox environments in a hedged farmland plot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albéric, Patrick; Vennink, Aurélie; Cornu, Sophie; Bourennane, Hocine; Bruand, Ary

    2009-10-15

    While soil water composition has long been recognised as being related to soil type (characteristics of the horizons), the influence of structures resulting from agricultural activities (hedges, ditches, wheel ruts, etc) is still under discussion. This work was undertaken to show that a snapshot of spatial variability of the geochemical characteristics of soil water at the scale of a plot can improve our understanding of soil geochemistry in a farmland setting. We selected a 3 hectare hedged plot located on a hillside, limited by a stream and used as pasture where soils have developed in weathered gneiss. The water depth, electrical conductivity, major ions, temperature, pH, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content, dissolved oxygen content, fluorescence, alkalinity, Fe(2+), Mn(2+), NO(2)(-), Fe(III) and F(-) contents were measured in 62 auger holes randomly drilled on the site. Four sectors were identified in order to describe the distribution of the main geochemical parameters. Electrical conductivity and some major ions, especially sulphate, had larger concentrations near hedges where oxic conditions prevailed. These features were attributed to the impact of the linear anthropogenic network on the circulation of subsurface soil waters and evapo-transpiration and represent sector I. Dissolved Mn was an indicator of well channelled runoff subsurfaces facilitating the circulation of more highly reducing water (sector III), while DOC probably marked areas drained less well, with a prolonged contact time between soil solutions and organic topsoil horizons (sector II). The presence of dissolved Mn and Fe(II) indicates bottomland anoxic conditions (sector IV). It is concluded that a survey of the chemical composition of soil water may be a direct approach to show the influence of permanent structures on current soil properties and dynamics.

  20. BEFORE THE SALE RIGHTS TO AGRICULTURAL LAND

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    KUSTOVSKA О.

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available One of the most important problems of the Ukrainian economy is the formation of a civilized land market. We have to admit that the process of formation of private ownership of land in Ukraine entered into a protracted and uncertain nature. Another introduction in Ukraine of the moratorium on sale of agricultural land due to the lack of resolution of many land issues and not sformovat market infrastructure. Because for the majority of producers of agricultural products the sale of lease rights is an innovation. On the sale of lease rights still they are almost not heard, and especially not used in practice, although the possibility of disposal of property rights, which is owned and leasehold, provided by norms of the Civil code of Ukraine. The issue of land bidding (auction is relevant, because the law of Ukraine set the priority of this method of trading in the sale or lease of land. The auction is open and transparent way the exclusion of land resources of the territorial community, that is, eliminates the influence of corruption and receipt of funds in local budgets adds the ability to invest in the economy of human settlements and agriculture. Among the economic benefits to the development industry is not only improving the investment climate, replenishment of budgets of all levels and approaching the level of EU countries in matters of land. Holding of auctions is very attractive from the point of view of filling the local budget, the sale of land has its advantages, namely a quick and significant revenue. The lease right may be alienated in accordance with the current legislation of Ukraine and some legislative solution is not needed. The procedure of land auctions includes the following steps: 1. The organizer of land sales (public authority or local authority determines the list of land plots of state or municipal property and rights thereto, which are exposed at the land auction as separate lots. 2. The decision of a public authority or

  1. The confounding effect of population structure on bayesian skyline plot inferences of demographic history

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Heller, Rasmus; Chikhi, Lounes; Siegismund, Hans

    2013-01-01

    Many coalescent-based methods aiming to infer the demographic history of populations assume a single, isolated and panmictic population (i.e. a Wright-Fisher model). While this assumption may be reasonable under many conditions, several recent studies have shown that the results can be misleading...... when it is violated. Among the most widely applied demographic inference methods are Bayesian skyline plots (BSPs), which are used across a range of biological fields. Violations of the panmixia assumption are to be expected in many biological systems, but the consequences for skyline plot inferences...... the best scheme for inferring demographic change over a typical time scale. Analyses of data from a structured African buffalo population demonstrate how BSP results can be strengthened by simulations. We recommend that sample selection should be carefully considered in relation to population structure...

  2. A drawback and an improvement of the classical Weibull probability plot

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang, R.

    2014-01-01

    The classical Weibull Probability Paper (WPP) plot has been widely used to identify a model for fitting a given dataset. It is based on a match between the WPP plots of the model and data in shape. This paper carries out an analysis for the Weibull transformations that create the WPP plot and shows that the shape of the WPP plot of the data randomly generated from a distribution model can be significantly different from the shape of the WPP plot of the model due to the high non-linearity of the Weibull transformations. As such, choosing model based on the shape of the WPP plot of data can be unreliable. A cdf-based weighted least squares method is proposed to improve the parameter estimation accuracy; and an improved WPP plot is suggested to avoid the drawback of the classical WPP plot. The appropriateness and usefulness of the proposed estimation method and probability plot are illustrated by simulation and real-world examples

  3. Effects of agricultural credit facility on the agricultural production and rural development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    GE Ekwere

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Lack of capital has been identified as one of the constraints that faced by small scale farmers. The aim of this research was to examine the effect of agricultural credit on the agriculture production, and calculate the inputs and outputs among small scale farmers. Structured questionnaires were distributed to 136 farmers, who had been selected using the stratified random sampling technique, and the data obtained were summarized into percentages. Regression analysis was adopted to assess the impacts of socio-economic factors on loan size among farmers, while Cobb-Douglas Production Function Analysis (CDPFA was used to test the relationship between key independent variables such as loan amount, farm size, inputs and farm output as dependent variable. The analysis revealed a significantly high value of coefficient of determination (R2= 0.922 that reflected a high relationship between the dependent variable and the independent variables; gender, age, education, family size, farm size, farming experience. The Adjusted (R2 coefficient (R2 = 0.918 revealed that 91.8 % of variation in loam size explained by the changes in variables. The results showed a significance in F-test in size of loan. The hypothesis two, exhibited that the independent variables; loan size, farm size, and inputs explained the variation in the total value of farmers output. The study therefore showed that to achieve the positive agricultural credit impacts on agricultural production, The Government and the private sector should regularly and timely facilitate the credit to the small scale farmers. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ije.v3i2.10529 International Journal of the Environment Vol.3(2 2014: 192-204

  4. Development of TRatioPlot in ROOT

    CERN Document Server

    Gessinger-Befurt, Paul

    2016-01-01

    The ROOT data analysis and visualization framework is a software package which is widely used in physics, especially in high energy physics. A common visualization which has so far been lacking a direct implementation is the ratio plot, as well as a few similar types of plots. The scope and goal of the summer student project at CERN was to implement a class in ROOT itself, that can take care of the most common types of calculations, and produces high quality visuals.

  5. 137Cs profiles in erosion plots with different soil cultivation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andrello, A.C.; Appoloni, C.R.; Cassol, E.A.; Melquiades, F.L.

    2006-01-01

    Cesium-137 methodology has been successfully used to assess soil erosion. Seven erosion plots were sampled to determine the 137 Cs profile and to assess the erosion rates. Cesium-137 profile for native pasture plot showed an exponential decline below 5 cm depth, with little 137 Cs activity in the superficial layer (0-5 cm). Cesium-137 profile for wheat-soybean rotation plot in conventional tillage showed a uniform distribution with depth. For this plot, the soil loss occurs more in middle than upper and lower level. Cesium-137 profile for wheat-soybean rotation and wheat-maize rotation plots in no-tillage showed a similar result to the native pasture, with a minimum soil loss in the superficial layer. Cesium-137 profile for bare soil and cultivated pasture plots are similar, with a soil erosion rate of 229 t ha -1 year -1 . In the plots with a conventional tillage a greater soil loss occur in middle than upper and lower level. In no-tillage cultivation plots occurs soil loss in lower level, but no sign of soil loss neither gain in the upper level is observed. Cesium-137 methodology is a good tool to assess soil erosion and the 137 Cs profile gives a possibility to understand the soil erosion behavior in erosion plots. (author)

  6. Digital data collection in forest dynamics plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faith Inman-Narahari; Christian Giardina; Rebecca Ostertag; Susan Cordell; Lawren Sack

    2010-01-01

    Summary 1. Computers are widely used in all aspects of research but their application to in-field data collection for forest plots has rarely been evaluated. 2. We developed digital data collection methods using ESRI mapping software and ruggedized field computers to map and measure ~30 000 trees in two 4-ha forest dynamics plots in wet and dry...

  7. Longleaf pine regeneration following Hurricane Ivan utilizing the RLGS plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    John C. Gilbert; John S. Kush

    2013-01-01

    On September 16, 2004, Hurricane Ivan hit the Alabama coast and severely impacted numerous plots in the U.S. Forest Service’s Regional Longleaf Growth Study (RLGS). The Escambia Experimental Forest (EEF) has 201 of the 325 RLGS plots. Nearly one-third of the EEF was impacted. Nine plots with pole-sized trees were entirely lost. Another 54 plots had some type of damage...

  8. A characteristic scale in radiation fields of fractal clouds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wiscombe, W.; Cahalan, R.; Davis, A.; Marshak, A. [Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (United States)

    1996-04-01

    The wavenumber spectrum of Landsat imagery for marine stratocumulus cloud shows a scale break when plotted on a double log plot. We offer an explanation of this scale break in terms of smoothing by horizontal radiative fluxes, which is parameterized and incorporated into an improved pixel approximation. We compute the radiation fields emerging from cloud models with horizontally variable optical depth fractal models. We use comparative spectral and multifractal analysis to qualify the validity of the independent pixel approximation at the largest scales and demonstrate it`s shortcomings on the smallest scales.

  9. Geometagenomics illuminates the impact of agriculture on the distribution and prevalence of plant viruses at the ecosystem scale

    OpenAIRE

    Bernardo, Pauline; Charles-Dominique, Tristan; Barakat, Mohamed; Ortet, Philippe; Fernandez, Emmanuel; Filloux, Denis; Hartnady, Penelope; Rebelo, Tony A; Cousins, Stephen R; Mesleard, François; Cohez, Damien; Yavercovski, Nicole; Varsani, Arvind; Harkins, Gordon W; Peterschmitt, Michel

    2017-01-01

    Disease emergence events regularly result from human activities such as agriculture, which frequently brings large populations of genetically uniform hosts into contact with potential pathogens. Although viruses cause nearly 50% of emerging plant diseases, there is little systematic information about virus distribution across agro-ecological interfaces and large gaps in understanding of virus diversity in nature. Here we applied a novel landscape-scale geometagenomics approach to examine rela...

  10. Geometagenomics illuminates the impact of agriculture on the distribution and prevalence of plant viruses at the ecosystem scale

    OpenAIRE

    Bernardo, Pauline; Charles-Dominique, Tristan; Barakat, Mohamed; Ortet, Philippe; Fernandez, Emmanuel; Filloux, Denis; Hartnady, Penelope; Rebelo, Tony A.; Cousins, Stephen; Mesleard, François; Cohez, Damien; Yaverkovski, Nicole; Varsani, Arvind; Harkins, Gordon William; Peterschmitt, Michel

    2018-01-01

    Disease emergence events regularly result from human activities such as agriculture, which frequently brings large populations of genetically uniform hosts into contact with potential pathogens. Although viruses cause nearly 50% of emerging plant diseases, there is little systematic information about virus distribution across agro-ecological interfaces and large gaps in understanding of virus diversity in nature. Here we applied a novel landscape-scale geometagenomics approach to examine rela...

  11. Towards a ‘systems’ approach for guiding agricultural environmental management: a South African case study of a small-scale maize farming system

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Musvoto, Constansia D

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available environmental management intervention points in an agricultural system, illustrated through a case study of a small-scale maize farming system in South Africa. A review of documented information on the ecological, socio-political and economic components...

  12. SEGY to ASCII: Conversion and Plotting Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldman, Mark R.

    1999-01-01

    This report documents a computer program to convert standard 4 byte, IBM floating point SEGY files to ASCII xyz format. The program then optionally plots the seismic data using the GMT plotting package. The material for this publication is contained in a standard tar file (of99-126.tar) that is uncompressed and 726 K in size. It can be downloaded by any Unix machine. Move the tar file to the directory you wish to use it in, then type 'tar xvf of99-126.tar' The archive files (and diskette) contain a NOTE file, a README file, a version-history file, source code, a makefile for easy compilation, and an ASCII version of the documentation. The archive files (and diskette) also contain example test files, including a typical SEGY file along with the resulting ASCII xyz and postscript files. Requirements for compiling the source code into an executable are a C++ compiler. The program has been successfully compiled using Gnu's g++ version 2.8.1, and use of other compilers may require modifications to the existing source code. The g++ compiler is a free, high quality C++ compiler and may be downloaded from the ftp site: ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu Requirements for plotting the seismic data is the existence of the GMT plotting package. The GMT plotting package may be downloaded from the web site: http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/gmt/

  13. The farming system component of European agricultural landscapes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Erling

    2017-01-01

    Agricultural landscapes are the outcome of combined natural and human factors over time. This paper explores the scope of perceiving the agricultural landscapes of the European Union (EU) as distinct patterns of farming systems and landscape elements in homogeneous biophysical and administrative...... landscapes evolve from the praxis of the farmers and takes into account the scale, intensity and specialisation of the agricultural production. From farming system design point of view, the approach can be used to integrate the landscape in the design process. From a policy point of view, the approach offers...... endowments. The focus is on the farming systems component of the agricultural landscapes by applying a typology to the sample farms of the Farm Accountancy Data Network and scaling up the results to the landscape level for the territory of the EU. The farming system approach emphasises that agricultural...

  14. True versus perturbed forest inventory plot locations for modeling: a simulation study

    Science.gov (United States)

    John W. Coulston; Kurt H. Riitters; Ronald E. McRoberts; William D. Smith

    2006-01-01

    USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis plot information is widely used for timber inventories, forest health assessments, and environmental risk analyses. With few exceptions, true plot locations are not revealed; the plot coordinates are manipulated to obscure the location of field plots and thereby preserve plot integrity. The influence of perturbed plot...

  15. FLOWCHART; a computer program for plotting flowcharts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bender, Bernice

    1982-01-01

    The computer program FLOWCHART can be used to very quickly and easily produce flowcharts of high quality for publication. FLOWCHART centers each element or block of text that it processes on one of a set of (imaginary) vertical lines. It can enclose a text block in a rectangle, circle or other selected figure. It can draw a 'line connecting the midpoint of any side of any figure with the midpoint of any side of any other figure and insert an arrow pointing in the direction of flow. It can write 'yes' or 'no' next to the line joining two figures. FLOWCHART creates flowcharts using some basic plotting subroutine* which permit plots to be generated interactively and inspected on a Tektronix compatible graphics screen or plotted in a deferred mode on a Houston Instruments 42' pen plotter. The size of the plot, character set and character height in inches are inputs to the program. Plots generated using the pen plotter can be up to 42' high--the larger size plots being directly usable as visual aids in a talk. FLOWCHART centers each block of text on an imaginary column line. (The number of columns and column width are specified as input.) The midpoint of the longest line of text within the block is defined to be the center of the block and is placed on the column line. The spacing of individual words within the block is not altered when the block is positioned. The program writes the first block of text in a designated column and continues placing each subsequent block below the previous block in the same column. A block of text may be placed in a different column by specifying the number of the column and an earlier block of text with which the new block is to be aligned. If block zero is given as the earlier block, the new text is placed in the new column continuing down the page below the previous block. Optionally a column and number of inches from the top of the page may be given for positioning the next block of text. The program will normally draw one of five

  16. Adoption of Small-Scale Irrigation Farming as a Climate-Smart Agriculture Practice and Its Influence on Household Income in the Chinyanja Triangle, Southern Africa

    OpenAIRE

    Nelson Mango; Clifton Makate; Lulseged Tamene; Powell Mponela; Gift Ndengu

    2018-01-01

    This article is concerned with the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming as a climate-smart agriculture practice and its influence on household income in the Chinyanja Triangle. Chinyanja Triangle is a region that is increasingly experiencing mid-season dry spells and an increase in occurrence of drought, which is attributed largely to climate variability and change. This poses high agricultural production risks, which aggravate poverty and food insecurity. For this region, adoption of s...

  17. Manual transportation within the plot and physical damages to bananas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magalhães Mário Jorge Maia de

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The manual transportation of banana bunches within plots provokes physical damages to fruits compromising their quality. To assess the influence of the distance banana bunches travel on the shoulders of harvesters within the plot, on the incidence of physical damages present on the peel of fruits of the Nanicão cultivar, two experiments were carried out in the Vale do Ribeira region (SP, in sites with slope < 1%. Each experiment divided the plot in different distance bands, two of which were included in this study: one located far away from the collection roads (30-50 m and 80-100 m distance bands and another in an intermediate position (70-80 m and 130-150 m distance bands. For each distance band, six banana bunches of 36 mm gauged fruits were randomly sampled. Four banana hands were cut from the middle region of each bunch and ten fruits were assessed per hand, totaling 240 fruits per treatment. Bunches were harvested at the same maturity degree and those served as control were not transported. A total of 1440 fruits was assessed in the two experiments. The physical damages on the fruit surface were graded on a scale with 6 divisions: 0-0.25 cm²; 0.25-0.5 cm²; 0.5-1.0 cm²; 1.0-1.5 cm²; 1.5-2.0 cm²; 2.0-2.5 cm². The bunches transported on the shoulders of harvesters on distances over 70 m suffered increased (P < 0.01 damaged area. Most damages presented areas up to 0.5 cm².

  18. MMS control system analysis using automated root-locus plot generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hefler, J.W.

    1987-01-01

    Use of the Modular Modeling System (MMS) for control systems improvement has been impeded by the need to plot eigenvalues manually. This problem has been solved by an automatic eigenvalue plotting routine. A practical procedure for control systems analysis based upon automatically generated root-locus plots has been developed using the Advanced Continuous Simulation Language (ACSL)-based version of the Modular Modeling System. Examples are given of typical ACSL run-time statements. Actual root-locus and time history plots are shown for simple models (4 state variables). More complex models are discussed. The plots show the control systems response before and after the determination of tuning parameters using the methods described

  19. A normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) time-series of idle agriculture lands: A preliminary study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vaiphasa, C.; Piamduaytham, S.; Vaiphasa, T.; Skidmore, A.K.

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, the NDVI time-series collected from the study area between year 2003 and 2005 of all land cover types are plotted and compared. The study area is the agricultural zones in Banphai District, Khonkean, Thailand. The LANDSAT satellite images of different dates were first transformed into

  20. Spatial modeling of agricultural land use change at global scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meiyappan, P.; Dalton, M.; O'Neill, B. C.; Jain, A. K.

    2014-11-01

    Long-term modeling of agricultural land use is central in global scale assessments of climate change, food security, biodiversity, and climate adaptation and mitigation policies. We present a global-scale dynamic land use allocation model and show that it can reproduce the broad spatial features of the past 100 years of evolution of cropland and pastureland patterns. The modeling approach integrates economic theory, observed land use history, and data on both socioeconomic and biophysical determinants of land use change, and estimates relationships using long-term historical data, thereby making it suitable for long-term projections. The underlying economic motivation is maximization of expected profits by hypothesized landowners within each grid cell. The model predicts fractional land use for cropland and pastureland within each grid cell based on socioeconomic and biophysical driving factors that change with time. The model explicitly incorporates the following key features: (1) land use competition, (2) spatial heterogeneity in the nature of driving factors across geographic regions, (3) spatial heterogeneity in the relative importance of driving factors and previous land use patterns in determining land use allocation, and (4) spatial and temporal autocorrelation in land use patterns. We show that land use allocation approaches based solely on previous land use history (but disregarding the impact of driving factors), or those accounting for both land use history and driving factors by mechanistically fitting models for the spatial processes of land use change do not reproduce well long-term historical land use patterns. With an example application to the terrestrial carbon cycle, we show that such inaccuracies in land use allocation can translate into significant implications for global environmental assessments. The modeling approach and its evaluation provide an example that can be useful to the land use, Integrated Assessment, and the Earth system modeling

  1. Development of a Hybrid Uav Sensor Platform Suitable for Farm-Scale Applications in Precision Agriculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pircher, M.; Geipel, J.; Kusnierek, K.; Korsaeth, A.

    2017-08-01

    Today's modern precision agriculture applications have a huge demand for data with high spatial and temporal resolution. This leads to the need of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) as sensor platforms providing both, easy use and a high area coverage. This study shows the successful development of a prototype hybrid UAV for practical applications in precision agriculture. The UAV consists of an off-the-shelf fixed-wing fuselage, which has been enhanced with multi-rotor functionality. It was programmed to perform pre-defined waypoint missions completely autonomously, including vertical take-off, horizontal flight, and vertical landing. The UAV was tested for its return-to-home (RTH) accuracy, power consumption and general flight performance at different wind speeds. The RTH accuracy was 43.7 cm in average, with a root-mean-square error of 39.9 cm. The power consumption raised with an increase in wind speed. An extrapolation of the analysed power consumption to conditions without wind resulted in an estimated 40 km travel range, when we assumed a 25 % safety margin of remaining battery capacity. This translates to a maximal area coverage of 300 ha for a scenario with 18 m/s airspeed, 50 minutes flight time, 120 m AGL altitude, and a desired 70 % of image side-lap and 85 % forward-lap. The ground sample distance with an in-built RGB camera was 3.5 cm, which we consider sufficient for farm-scale mapping missions for most precision agriculture applications.

  2. Cross-scale analysis of the region effect on vascular plant species diversity in southern and northern European mountain ranges.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan Lenoir

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The divergent glacial histories of southern and northern Europe affect present-day species diversity at coarse-grained scales in these two regions, but do these effects also penetrate to the more fine-grained scales of local communities? METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We carried out a cross-scale analysis to address this question for vascular plants in two mountain regions, the Alps in southern Europe and the Scandes in northern Europe, using environmentally paired vegetation plots in the two regions (n = 403 in each region to quantify four diversity components: (i total number of species occurring in a region (total γ-diversity, (ii number of species that could occur in a target plot after environmental filtering (habitat-specific γ-diversity, (iii pair-wise species compositional turnover between plots (plot-to-plot β-diversity and (iv number of species present per plot (plot α-diversity. We found strong region effects on total γ-diversity, habitat-specific γ-diversity and plot-to-plot β-diversity, with a greater diversity in the Alps even towards distances smaller than 50 m between plots. In contrast, there was a slightly greater plot α-diversity in the Scandes, but with a tendency towards contrasting region effects on high and low soil-acidity plots. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We conclude that there are strong regional differences between coarse-grained (landscape- to regional-scale diversity components of the flora in the Alps and the Scandes mountain ranges, but that these differences do not necessarily penetrate to the finest-grained (plot-scale diversity component, at least not on acidic soils. Our findings are consistent with the contrasting regional Quaternary histories, but we also consider alternative explanatory models. Notably, ecological sorting and habitat connectivity may play a role in the unexpected limited or reversed region effect on plot α-diversity, and may also affect the larger-scale diversity

  3. THE IMPACT OF NATURAL RISKS ON AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena NIREAN

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Climate, topography and soil are natural conditions of basic agricultural yields. In general, Moldova has favorable climatic conditions and relief. Soils in the North have a high degree of fertility, while the central and southern regions are of average fertility. At the same time natural calamities such as droughts, late spring frosts, hail and floods have a destructive impact on crops. Climate instability is one of the main causes of unstable yields and is an inherent risk for agriculture of the country. More than that, most of the plots lose their natural fertility and require rehabilitation.

  4. Air Data - Tile Plot

    Science.gov (United States)

    This tool plots daily AQI values for a specific location and time period. Each square or “tile” represents one day of the year and is color-coded based on the AQI level for that day. The legend tallies the number of days in each AQI category.

  5. Split-Plot Designs with Mirror Image Pairs as Subplots

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tyssedal, John; Kulahci, Murat; Bisgaard, Soren

    2011-01-01

    In this article we investigate two-level split-plot designs where the sub-plots consist of only two mirror image trials. Assuming third and higher order interactions negligible, we show that these designs divide the estimated effects into two orthogonal sub-spaces, separating sub-plot main effects...... appealing with effects of major interest free from full aliasing assuming that 3rd and higher order interactions are negligible....

  6. New user-friendly approach to obtain an Eisenberg plot and its use as a practical tool in protein sequence analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keller, Rob C A

    2011-01-01

    The Eisenberg plot or hydrophobic moment plot methodology is one of the most frequently used methods of bioinformatics. Bioinformatics is more and more recognized as a helpful tool in Life Sciences in general, and recent developments in approaches recognizing lipid binding regions in proteins are promising in this respect. In this study a bioinformatics approach specialized in identifying lipid binding helical regions in proteins was used to obtain an Eisenberg plot. The validity of the Heliquest generated hydrophobic moment plot was checked and exemplified. This study indicates that the Eisenberg plot methodology can be transferred to another hydrophobicity scale and renders a user-friendly approach which can be utilized in routine checks in protein-lipid interaction and in protein and peptide lipid binding characterization studies. A combined approach seems to be advantageous and results in a powerful tool in the search of helical lipid-binding regions in proteins and peptides. The strength and limitations of the Eisenberg plot approach itself are discussed as well. The presented approach not only leads to a better understanding of the nature of the protein-lipid interactions but also provides a user-friendly tool for the search of lipid-binding regions in proteins and peptides.

  7. PLOT3D Export Tool for Tecplot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alter, Stephen

    2010-01-01

    The PLOT3D export tool for Tecplot solves the problem of modified data being impossible to output for use by another computational science solver. The PLOT3D Exporter add-on enables the use of the most commonly available visualization tools to engineers for output of a standard format. The exportation of PLOT3D data from Tecplot has far reaching effects because it allows for grid and solution manipulation within a graphical user interface (GUI) that is easily customized with macro language-based and user-developed GUIs. The add-on also enables the use of Tecplot as an interpolation tool for solution conversion between different grids of different types. This one add-on enhances the functionality of Tecplot so significantly, it offers the ability to incorporate Tecplot into a general suite of tools for computational science applications as a 3D graphics engine for visualization of all data. Within the PLOT3D Export Add-on are several functions that enhance the operations and effectiveness of the add-on. Unlike Tecplot output functions, the PLOT3D Export Add-on enables the use of the zone selection dialog in Tecplot to choose which zones are to be written by offering three distinct options - output of active, inactive, or all zones (grid blocks). As the user modifies the zones to output with the zone selection dialog, the zones to be written are similarly updated. This enables the use of Tecplot to create multiple configurations of a geometry being analyzed. For example, if an aircraft is loaded with multiple deflections of flaps, by activating and deactivating different zones for a specific flap setting, new specific configurations of that aircraft can be easily generated by only writing out specific zones. Thus, if ten flap settings are loaded into Tecplot, the PLOT3D Export software can output ten different configurations, one for each flap setting.

  8. PETRO.CALC.PLOT, Microsoft Excel macros to aid petrologic interpretation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sidder, G.B.

    1994-01-01

    PETRO.CALC.PLOT is a package of macros which normalizes whole-rock oxide data to 100%, calculates the cation percentages and molecular proportions used for normative mineral calculations, computes the apices for ternary diagrams, determines sums and ratios of specific elements of petrologic interest, and plots 33 X-Y graphs and five ternary diagrams. PETRO.CALC.PLOT also may be used to create other diagrams as desired by the user. The macros run in Microsoft Excel 3.0 and 4.0 for Macintosh computers and in Microsoft Excel 3.0 and 4.0 for Windows. Macros provided in PETRO.CALC.PLOT minimize repetition and time required to recalculate and plot whole-rock oxide data for petrologic analysis. ?? 1994.

  9. Plotting of bathythermograph transect data on a printer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynolds, James B.; McLain, Douglas R.

    1971-01-01

    A program for plotting bathythermograph transect data on a computer (IBM 1130) printer is available from the Great Lakes Fishery Laboratory. Temperature values are printed in positions proportional to their depths and distances from shore. Contour lines are drawn manually through the plotted points.

  10. Privatization of Land Plot Under Integral Real Estate Complex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maruchek A. A.

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the questions concerning the privatization of a land plot under integral real estate complex. The authors come to conclusion that a number of legislation norms relating to privatization of a land plot do not take into account the construction of an integral real estate complex that could cause some problems in the realization of the right to privatization of the land plot

  11. Plotting and Analyzing Data Trends in Ternary Diagrams Made Easy

    Science.gov (United States)

    John, Cédric M.

    2004-04-01

    Ternary plots are used in many fields of science to characterize a system based on three components. Triangular plotting is thus useful to a broad audience in the Earth sciences and beyond. Unfortunately, it is typically the most expensive commercial software packages that offer the option to plot data in ternary diagrams, and they lack features that are paramount to the geosciences, such as the ability to plot data directly into a standardized diagram and the possibility to analyze temporal and stratigraphic trends within this diagram. To address these issues, δPlot was developed with a strong emphasis on ease of use, community orientation, and availability free of charges. This ``freeware'' supports a fully graphical user interface where data can be imported as text files, or by copying and pasting. A plot is automatically generated, and any standard diagram can be selected for plotting in the background using a simple pull-down menu. Standard diagrams are stored in an external database of PDF files that currently holds some 30 diagrams that deal with different fields of the Earth sciences. Using any drawing software supporting PDF, one can easily produce new standard diagrams to be used with δPlot by simply adding them to the library folder. An independent column of values, commonly stratigraphic depths or ages, can be used to sort the data sets.

  12. Biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes

    OpenAIRE

    Josefsson, Jonas

    2015-01-01

    Agricultural industrialization alters rural landscapes in Europe, causing large-scale and rapid loss of important biodiversity. The principal instruments to protect farmland biodiversity are various agri-environmental measures (AEMs) in the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). However, growing awareness of shortcomings to CAP biodiversity integration prompts examination of causes and potential solutions. This thesis assesses the importance of structural heterogeneity of crop and non-crop habi...

  13. Agricultural diversification into tourism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hjalager, Anne Mette

    1996-01-01

    Based on the empirical evidence provided by an evaluation study of the EU Objective 5b programme measures* for the expansion of rural tourism, this article discusses the impact of rural tourism on agricultural holdings. It is shown that the financial returns most often do not measure up either...... to the expectations of the politicians or to that of the farmers. In some respects rural tourism contributes positively to the innovation of the tourist product since its small scale, 'green' issues and special facilities differentiate the product from others. But the unleashing of real potential is hampered...... by the fact that farmers tend to give priority to traditional agriculture and by the fact that industrialized agriculture is not easily combined with the commodifying of agricultural traditions for tourism. The community level inter-organizational innovations which are designed to ensure the marketing...

  14. Accumulation of aluminum and barium in twelve Punjab wheat varieties and their contents in the agricultural soil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shar, G.Q.; Lashari, A.K.H.; Haider, S.I.

    2003-01-01

    Wheat samples of twelve varieties, grown by breeders at NIAB, Faisalabad Pakistan and its soil, were collected and analyzed for aluminum and barium content by atomic absorption spectroscopy using acetylene-nitroxide flame. For dissolution for heavy metals, aluminum and barium, wet acid digestion method was used. The experimental study was conducted using six samples for each twelve varieties of FSC and RD (Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department) as standard reference materials and representative samples, and the soil which was also collected from agricultural plot of Nuclear Inst. of Agricultural and Biology (NIAB), Faisalabad, Punjab. The characteristics mean of both elements in each variety of representative samples was found to be 28.32, 71.02, 37.41, 36.95, 28.32, 47.40, 30.14, 14.69, 25.41, 32.86, 30.14 and 41.95 for the aluminum and 12.67, 6.92, 5.67, 19.82, 3.28, 17.34, 10.25, 10.49, 8.01, 14.23, 15.16 and 6.92 mg/kg for the barium of Chakwal-86, Bakhatawar-92, Shahkar-95, Parwaz-94, Punjab-96, Bahawal pur-97, Shahkar-91, Inquilab-91, Pasban-90, Punjab-85, Faisalabad-85 and Pak-81 varieties respectively. The soil of that specific plot contains 35964.3 and 111.08 mg/kg of aluminum and barium respectively. The representative samples, which are compared with certified samples at 95% confidence limit. The purpose of this study was to study the variation in uptake of aluminum and barium in twelve different wheat varieties grown in same agricultural plot. (author)

  15. Engineering Education for Agricultural and Rural Development in Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adewumi, B. A.

    2008-01-01

    Agricultural Engineering has transformed agricultural practices from subsistence level to medium and large-scale production via mechanisation in the developed nations. This has reduced the labour force requirements in agriculture; increased production levels and efficiency, product shelf life and product quality; and resulted into…

  16. Demonstration of thermal water utilization in agriculture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berry, J.W.; Miller, H.H. Jr.

    1974-01-01

    A 5-yr demonstration project was conducted to determine benefits and identify harmful effects of using waste heat in condenser cooling water (90 0 F-110 0 F) for agricultural purposes. Initial phases emphasized use and evaluation of warm water for spring frost protection, irrigation, and plant cooling in summer. Row crops, and fruit and nut trees were used in the evaluation. Undersoil heating was demonstrated on a 1.2-acre soil plot. Two and one half inch plastic pipes were buried 26 in deep and 5 ft on center, connecting to 6-in. steel headers. Warm water was circulated through the grid, heating soil on which row crops were grown. Crop production was evaluated in a 22 x 55-ft plastic greenhouse constructed on a portion of the undersoil heat grid. The greatest potential benefit of waste heat use in agriculture is in the area of greenhouse soil heating. Monetary benefits from industrial waste heat appear achievable through proper management

  17. Household Land Management and Biodiversity: Secondary Succession in a Forest-Agriculture Mosaic in Southern Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rinku Roy Chowdhury

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available This study evaluates anthropogenic and ecological dimensions of secondary forest succession in Mexico's southern Yucatán peninsular region, a hotspot of biodiversity and tropical deforestation. Secondary succession in particular constitutes an ecologically and economically important process, driven by and strongly influencing land management and local ecosystem structure and dynamics. As agents of local land management, smallholding farmers in communal, i.e., ejido lands affect rates of forest change, biodiversity, and sustainability within and beyond their land parcels. This research uses household surveys and land parcel mapping in two ejidos located along the buffer of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve to analyze how household socioeconomics and policy institutions drive allocations to successional forests in traditional crop fallows and in enriched fallows. Results indicate that household tenancy, livestock holdings, labor-consumer ratios, and receipts of agricultural subsidies are the strongest determinants of traditional fallow areas. Whereas the latter two factors also influence enriched successions, local agroforestry and reforestation programs were the strongest drivers of fallow enrichment. Additionally, the study conducts field vegetation sampling in a nested design within traditional and enriched fallow sites to comparatively assess biodiversity consequences of fallow management. Although enriched fallows display greater species richness in 10x10 m plots and 2x2 m quadrats, plot-scale data reveal no significant differences in Shannon-Wiener or Simpson's diversity indices. Traditional fallows display greater species heterogeneity at the quadrat scale, however, indicating a complex relationship of diversity to fallow management over time. The article discusses the implications of the social and ecological analyses for land change research and conservation policies.

  18. Detecting agricultural to urban land use change from multi-temporal MSS digital data. [Salt Lake County, Utah

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ridd, M. K.; Merola, J. A.; Jaynes, R. A.

    1983-01-01

    Conversion of agricultural land to a variety of urban uses is a major problem along the Wasatch Front, Utah. Although LANDSAT MSS data is a relatively coarse tool for discriminating categories of change in urban-size plots, its availability prompts a thorough test of its power to detect change. The procedures being applied to a test area in Salt Lake County, Utah, where the land conversion problem is acute are presented. The identity of land uses before and after conversion was determined and digital procedures for doing so were compared. Several algorithms were compared, utilizing both raw data and preprocessed data. Verification of results involved high quality color infrared photography and field observation. Two data sets were digitally registered, specific change categories internally identified in the software, results tabulated by computer, and change maps printed at 1:24,000 scale.

  19. Chain Plot: A Tool for Exploiting Bivariate Temporal Structures

    OpenAIRE

    Taylor, CC; Zempeni, A

    2004-01-01

    In this paper we present a graphical tool useful for visualizing the cyclic behaviour of bivariate time series. We investigate its properties and link it to the asymmetry of the two variables concerned. We also suggest adding approximate confidence bounds to the points on the plot and investigate the effect of lagging to the chain plot. We conclude our paper by some standard Fourier analysis, relating and comparing this to the chain plot.

  20. 9 CFR 108.2 - Plot plans, blueprints, and legends required.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Plot plans, blueprints, and legends... REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSED ESTABLISHMENTS § 108.2 Plot plans, blueprints, and legends required. Each applicant for an establishment license shall prepare a plot plan showing all buildings for each particular land...

  1. Ecosystem Services Provided by Agricultural Land as Modeled by Broad Scale Geospatial Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kokkinidis, Ioannis

    Agricultural ecosystems provide multiple services including food and fiber provision, nutrient cycling, soil retention and water regulation. Objectives of the study were to identify and quantify a selection of ecosystem services provided by agricultural land, using existing geospatial tools and preferably free and open source data, such as the Virginia Land Use Evaluation System (VALUES), the North Carolina Realistic Yield Expectations (RYE) database, and the land cover datasets NLCD and CDL. Furthermore I sought to model tradeoffs between provisioning and other services. First I assessed the accuracy of agricultural land in NLCD and CDL over a four county area in eastern Virginia using cadastral parcels. I uncovered issues concerning the definition of agricultural land. The area and location of agriculture saw little change in the 19 years studied. Furthermore all datasets have significant errors of omission (11.3 to 95.1%) and commission (0 to 71.3%). Location of agriculture was used with spatial crop yield databases I created and combined with models I adapted to calculate baseline values for plant biomass, nutrient composition and requirements, land suitability for and potential production of biofuels and the economic impact of agriculture for the four counties. The study area was then broadened to cover 97 counties in eastern Virginia and North Carolina, investigating the potential for increased regional grain production through intensification and extensification of agriculture. Predicted yield from geospatial crop models was compared with produced yield from the NASS Survey of Agriculture. Area of most crops in CDL was similar to that in the Survey of Agriculture, but a yield gap is present for most years, partially due to weather, thus indicating potential for yield increase through intensification. Using simple criteria I quantified the potential to extend agriculture in high yield land in other uses and modeled the changes in erosion and runoff should

  2. User manual for two simple postscript output FORTRAN plotting routines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, T. X.

    1991-01-01

    Graphics is one of the important tools in engineering analysis and design. However, plotting routines that generate output on high quality laser printers normally come in graphics packages, which tend to be expensive and system dependent. These factors become important for small computer systems or desktop computers, especially when only some form of a simple plotting routine is sufficient. With the Postscript language becoming popular, there are more and more Postscript laser printers now available. Simple, versatile, low cost plotting routines that can generate output on high quality laser printers are needed and standard FORTRAN language plotting routines using output in Postscript language seems logical. The purpose here is to explain two simple FORTRAN plotting routines that generate output in Postscript language.

  3. E-precision agriculture for small scale cash crops in Tobasa regency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Putra Simanjuntak, Panca; Tiurniari Napitupulu, Pangeran; Pratama Silalahi, Soni; Kisno; Pasaribu, Norlina; Valešová, Libuše

    2017-09-01

    Cash crop is a promising sector in Tobasa regency; however, the trend showed a negative change of the cash crop production in. This research aims to develop an application which is based on Arduino for watering and fertilizing corn land. The result of using e-precision agriculture based on embedded system is 100% higher than the conventional one and the risk of harvesting failure using the embedded system decreased to 50%. Embedded system in this study acquired critical environment measurements which at last affected the yield raising and risk reduction. As the result, the use of e-precision agriculture provided a framework to be used by different stakeholders to implement e-agriculture platform that supports marketing of agricultural production since the system is proven to save the material and time which finally reduces the risk of harvesting failure and increases the yield. In other words, the system is able to economize the use of water and fertilizer on a small corn land. The system will be developed for more efficiency in material loss and the mobile-based application development to reach sustainable rural development particularly for cash-crop farmers.

  4. Resilience with Mixed Agricultural and Urban Land Uses in Tokyo, Japan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giles Bruno Sioen

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Urban agriculture can enhance the resilience of neighborhoods by providing fresh food in times of natural disasters; however, there is little empirical evidence to support this. Therefore, this study proposes a methodology to identify patterns of agricultural production in urban areas by quantifying self-sufficiency rates in vegetable weight and key nutrients. A spatial grid cell analysis using a geographic information system (GIS identifies the current and potential self-sufficiency of each land use pattern in Tokyo. In a total of 1479 grid cells, the dominant land use and locations of 49,263 agricultural plots led to the categorization of six distinguishable land use patterns. The results showed that Tokyo has a fruit and vegetable self-sufficiency of 4.27% and a potential of 11.73%. The nutritional self-sufficiency of selected nutrients was the highest in vitamin K (6.54%, followed by vitamin C (3.84% and vitamin A (1.92%. Peri-urban areas showed the highest resilience in relation to aggregated risks and population density because of the mixture in agricultural and urban land uses.

  5. Intelligence Constraints on Terrorist Network Plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woo, Gordon

    Since 9/11, the western intelligence and law enforcement services have managed to interdict the great majority of planned attacks against their home countries. Network analysis shows that there are important intelligence constraints on the number and complexity of terrorist plots. If two many terrorists are involved in plots at a given time, a tipping point is reached whereby it becomes progressively easier for the dots to be joined and for the conspirators to be arrested, and for the aggregate evidence to secure convictions. Implications of this analysis are presented for the campaign to win hearts and minds.

  6. Multilocational evaluation of white yam genotypes using GGE bi-plot ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Five new white yam genotypes were evaluated in different locations of major yam producing areas; Umudike, Nsukka, Ubiaja, Abuja and Katsina-Ala, to test the performance and stability of these genotypes across the environments using GGE bi-plot software. The GGE bi-plot generated several graphic bi-plots which ...

  7. On-plot drinking water supplies and health: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Overbo, Alycia; Williams, Ashley R; Evans, Barbara; Hunter, Paul R; Bartram, Jamie

    2016-07-01

    Many studies have found that household access to water supplies near or within the household plot can reduce the probability of diarrhea, trachoma, and other water-related diseases, and it is generally accepted that on-plot water supplies produce health benefits for households. However, the body of research literature has not been analyzed to weigh the evidence supporting this. A systematic review was conducted to investigate the impacts of on-plot water supplies on diarrhea, trachoma, child growth, and water-related diseases, to further examine the relationship between household health and distance to water source and to assess whether on-plot water supplies generate health gains for households. Studies provide evidence that households with on-plot water supplies experience fewer diarrheal and helminth infections and greater child height. Findings suggest that water-washed (hygiene associated) diseases are more strongly impacted by on-plot water access than waterborne diseases. Few studies analyzed the effects of on-plot water access on quantity of domestic water used, hygiene behavior, and use of multiple water sources, and the lack of evidence for these relationships reveals an important gap in current literature. The review findings indicate that on-plot water access is a useful health indicator and benchmark for the progressive realization of the Sustainable Development Goal target of universal safe water access as well as the human right to safe water. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  8. 6th International Symposium on Recurrence Plots

    CERN Document Server

    Jr, Jr; Ioana, Cornel; Marwan, Norbert

    2016-01-01

    The chapters in this book originate from the research work and contributions presented at the Sixth International Symposium on Recurrence Plots held in Grenoble, France in June 2015. Scientists from numerous disciplines gathered to exchange knowledge on recent applications and developments in recurrence plots and recurrence quantification analysis. This meeting was remarkable because of the obvious expansion of recurrence strategies (theory) and applications (practice) into ever-broadening fields of science. It discusses real-world systems from various fields, including mathematics, strange attractors, applied physics, physiology, medicine, environmental and earth sciences, as well as psychology and linguistics. Even readers not actively researching any of these particular systems will benefit from discovering how other scientists are finding practical non-linear solutions to specific problems. The book is of interest to an interdisciplinary audience of recurrence plot users and researchers interested in time...

  9. Mid-term and scaling effects of forest residue mulching on post-fire runoff and soil erosion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prats, Sergio Alegre; Wagenbrenner, Joseph W; Martins, Martinho António Santos; Malvar, Maruxa Cortizo; Keizer, Jan Jacob

    2016-12-15

    Mulching is an effective post-fire soil erosion mitigation treatment. Experiments with forest residue mulch have demonstrated that it increased ground cover to 70% and reduced runoff and soil loss at small spatial scales and for short post-fire periods. However, no studies have systematically assessed the joint effects of scale, time since burning, and mulching on runoff, soil loss, and organic matter loss. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of scale and forest residue mulch using 0.25m 2 micro-plots and 100m 2 slope-scale plots in a burnt eucalypt plantation in central Portugal. We assessed the underlying processes involved in the post-fire hydrologic and erosive responses, particularly the effects of soil moisture and soil water repellency. Runoff amount in the micro-plots was more than ten-fold the runoff in the larger slope-scale plots in the first year and decreased to eight-fold in the third post-fire year. Soil losses in the micro-plots were initially about twice the values in the slope-scale plots and this ratio increased over time. The mulch greatly reduced the cumulative soil loss measured in the untreated slope-scale plots (616gm -2 ) by 91% during the five post-fire years. The implications are that applying forest residue mulch immediately after a wildfire can reduce soil losses at spatial scales of interest to land managers throughout the expected post-fire window of disturbance, and that mulching resulted in a substantial relative gain in soil organic matter. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Managing adaptively for multifunctionality in agricultural systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hodbod, Jennifer; Barreteau, Olivier; Allen, Craig; Magda, Danièle

    2016-12-01

    The critical importance of agricultural systems for food security and as a dominant global landcover requires management that considers the full dimensions of system functions at appropriate scales, i.e. multifunctionality. We propose that adaptive management is the most suitable management approach for such goals, given its ability to reduce uncertainty over time and support multiple objectives within a system, for multiple actors. As such, adaptive management may be the most appropriate method for sustainably intensifying production whilst increasing the quantity and quality of ecosystem services. However, the current assessment of performance of agricultural systems doesn't reward ecosystem service provision. Therefore, we present an overview of the ecosystem functions agricultural systems should and could provide, coupled with a revised definition for assessing the performance of agricultural systems from a multifunctional perspective that, when all satisfied, would create adaptive agricultural systems that can increase production whilst ensuring food security and the quantity and quality of ecosystem services. The outcome of this high level of performance is the capacity to respond to multiple shocks without collapse, equity and triple bottom line sustainability. Through the assessment of case studies, we find that alternatives to industrialized agricultural systems incorporate more functional goals, but that there are mixed findings as to whether these goals translate into positive measurable outcomes. We suggest that an adaptive management perspective would support the implementation of a systematic analysis of the social, ecological and economic trade-offs occurring within such systems, particularly between ecosystem services and functions, in order to provide suitable and comparable assessments. We also identify indicators to monitor performance at multiple scales in agricultural systems which can be used within an adaptive management framework to increase

  11. Managing adaptively for multifunctionality in agricultural systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hodbod, Jennifer; Barreteau, Olivier; Allen, Craig R.; Magda, Danièle

    2016-01-01

    The critical importance of agricultural systems for food security and as a dominant global landcover requires management that considers the full dimensions of system functions at appropriate scales, i.e. multifunctionality. We propose that adaptive management is the most suitable management approach for such goals, given its ability to reduce uncertainty over time and support multiple objectives within a system, for multiple actors. As such, adaptive management may be the most appropriate method for sustainably intensifying production whilst increasing the quantity and quality of ecosystem services. However, the current assessment of performance of agricultural systems doesn’t reward ecosystem service provision. Therefore, we present an overview of the ecosystem functions agricultural systems should and could provide, coupled with a revised definition for assessing the performance of agricultural systems from a multifunctional perspective that, when all satisfied, would create adaptive agricultural systems that can increase production whilst ensuring food security and the quantity and quality of ecosystem services. The outcome of this high level of performance is the capacity to respond to multiple shocks without collapse, equity and triple bottom line sustainability. Through the assessment of case studies, we find that alternatives to industrialized agricultural systems incorporate more functional goals, but that there are mixed findings as to whether these goals translate into positive measurable outcomes. We suggest that an adaptive management perspective would support the implementation of a systematic analysis of the social, ecological and economic trade-offs occurring within such systems, particularly between ecosystem services and functions, in order to provide suitable and comparable assessments. We also identify indicators to monitor performance at multiple scales in agricultural systems which can be used within an adaptive management framework to

  12. arXiv Laura++ : a Dalitz plot fitter

    CERN Document Server

    Back, John; Harrison, Paul; Latham, Thomas; O'Hanlon, Daniel; Qian, Wenbin; del Amo Sanchez, Pablo; Craik, Daniel; Ilic, Jelena; Otalora Goicochea, Juan; Puccio, Eugenia; Silva Coutinho, Rafael; Whitehead, Mark

    The Dalitz plot analysis technique has become an increasingly important method in heavy flavour physics. The Laura++ fitter has been developed as a flexible tool that can be used for Dalitz plot analyses in different experimental environments. Explicitly designed for three-body decays of heavy-flavoured mesons to spinless final state particles, it is optimised in order to describe all possible resonant or nonresonant contributions, and to accommodate possible CP violation effects.

  13. Adoption of recommended agricultural technologies of Anambra ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study was on the adoption of selected agricultural technologies of Anambra State Agricultural Development programme by small scale farmers in Anambra State. Data were collected from purposively sampled 120 farmers in the state using structured interview schedule. The data were analyzed using percentages and ...

  14. Agriculture and greenhouse effect: economic regulation of cross impacts and combination of agricultural and environmental policies - analysis for the France and extension to the european union. Economic analysis of the interactions agriculture- greenhouse effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jayet, P.A.

    2002-09-01

    The objectives of the research program are: the impacts evaluation of a double relation climate - agriculture on the agricultural production and the greenhouse gases emission; the compatibility of agricultural policies and environmental policies of the sector. Simulations are realized at a regional scale with a coupling of economical and biophysical models (manure spreading, cultivation yield). (A.L.B.)

  15. THERAPIE - THErmix-RAps-Plot-InterfacE. A graphic software for representation of THERMIX-2D results with the interactive plot program RAPS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duensing, P.; Jahn, W.; Rehm, W.

    1986-09-01

    The performance of safety analyses for gas-cooled high temperature reactor power plants requires efficient plot codes for the evaluation and representation of computer results. The report describes the coupling between the thermodynamic simulation code THERMIX and the graphic plot code RAPS via the interface program THERAPIE. Especially the structure and the handling of the interface program are explained as well as the dialogue with the plot code. Further options of the colour graphic system are demonstrated for the representation of temperature distributions in components of HTR concepts (HTR-500). (orig.) [de

  16. Iron status determination in pregnancy using the Thomas plot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weyers, R; Coetzee, M J; Nel, M

    2016-04-01

    Physiological changes during pregnancy affect routine tests for iron deficiency. The reticulocyte haemoglobin equivalent (RET-He) and serum-soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) assay are newer diagnostic parameters for the detection of iron deficiency, combined in the Thomas diagnostic plot. We used this plot to determine the iron status of pregnant women presenting for their first visit to an antenatal clinic in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Routine laboratory tests (serum ferritin, full blood count and C-reactive protein) and RET-He and sTfR were performed. The iron status was determined using the Thomas plot. For this study, 103 pregnant women were recruited. According to the Thomas plot, 72.8% of the participants had normal iron stores and erythropoiesis. Iron-deficient erythropoiesis was detected in 12.6%. A third of participants were anaemic. Serum ferritin showed excellent sensitivity but poor specificity for detecting depleted iron stores. HIV status had no influence on the iron status of the participants. Our findings reiterate that causes other than iron deficiency should be considered in anaemic individuals. When compared with the Thomas plot, a low serum ferritin is a sensitive but nonspecific indicator of iron deficiency. The Thomas plot may provide useful information to identify pregnant individuals in whom haematologic parameters indicate limited iron availability for erythropoiesis. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Myth Structure and Media Fiction Plot: An Exploration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harless, James D.

    Based on the general research of Joseph Campbell in adventure plots from mythology, the author explores the simplified monomyth plots currently in frequent use in mass media programing. The close relationship of media fiction to mythic stories is established through the analysis of more than 25 stories resulting from media broadcasting. The media…

  18. Multiple plots in R

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Edwards, Stefan McKinnon

    2012-01-01

    In this chapter I will investigate how to combine multiple plots into a single. The scenario is a dataset of a series of measurements, on three samples in three situations. There are many ways we can display this, e.g. 3d graphs or faceting. 3d graphs are not good for displaying static data so we...

  19. Reducing Agricultural Water Footprints at the Farm Scale: A Case Study in the Beijing Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Huang

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Beijing is one of the most water-stressed regions in the world. Reducing agricultural water use has long been the basis of local policy for sustainable water use. In this article, the potential to reduce the life cycle (cradle to gate water footprints of wheat and maize that contribute to 94% of the local cereal production was assessed. Following ISO 14046, consumptive and degradative water use for the wheat-maize rotation system was modeled under different irrigation and nitrogen (N application options. Reducing irrigation water volume by 33.3% compared to current practice did not cause a significant yield decline, but the water scarcity footprint and water eutrophication footprint were decreased by 27.5% and 23.9%, respectively. Similarly, reducing the N application rate by 33.3% from current practice did not cause a significant yield decline, but led to a 52.3% reduction in water eutrophication footprint while maintaining a similar water scarcity footprint. These results demonstrate that improving water and fertilizer management has great potential for reducing the crop water footprints at the farm scale. This situation in Beijing is likely to be representative of the challenge facing many of the water-stressed regions in China, where a sustainable means of agricultural production must be found.

  20. Centimeter-scale spatial variability in 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid mineralization increases with depth in agricultural soil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Badawi, Nora; Johnsen, Anders R.; Sørensen, Jan

    2013-01-01

    Mineralization of organic chemicals in soil is typically studied using large homogenized samples, but little is known about the small-scale spatial distribution of mineralization potential. We studied centimeter-scale spatial distribution of 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) mineralization...... was mineralized in all samples in the plow layer, but only about 60% in the transition zone immediately below the plow layer showed mineralization; at greater depth even fewer samples showed mineralization. A patchy spatial distribution of mineralization activity was observed from right below the plow layer...... activity at different depths (8-115 cm) in a Danish agricultural soil profi le using a 96-well microplate C-radiorespirometric method for small-volume samples. The heterotrophic microbial population and specifi c MCPA degraders decreased 10- to 100-fold from the plow layer to a depth of 115 cm. MCPA...

  1. [Comparative quality measurements part 3: funnel plots].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kottner, Jan; Lahmann, Nils

    2014-02-01

    Comparative quality measurements between organisations or institutions are common. Quality measures need to be standardised and risk adjusted. Random error must also be taken adequately into account. Rankings without consideration of the precision lead to flawed interpretations and enhances "gaming". Application of confidence intervals is one possibility to take chance variation into account. Funnel plots are modified control charts based on Statistical Process Control (SPC) theory. The quality measures are plotted against their sample size. Warning and control limits that are 2 or 3 standard deviations from the center line are added. With increasing group size the precision increases and so the control limits are forming a funnel. Data points within the control limits are considered to show common cause variation; data points outside special cause variation without the focus of spurious rankings. Funnel plots offer data based information about how to evaluate institutional performance within quality management contexts.

  2. A Networked Sensor System for the Analysis of Plot-Scale Hydrology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villalba, German; Plaza, Fernando; Zhong, Xiaoyang; Davis, Tyler W; Navarro, Miguel; Li, Yimei; Slater, Thomas A; Liang, Yao; Liang, Xu

    2017-03-20

    This study presents the latest updates to the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania (ASWP) testbed, a $50,000 USD, 104-node outdoor multi-hop wireless sensor network (WSN). The network collects environmental data from over 240 sensors, including the EC-5, MPS-1 and MPS-2 soil moisture and soil water potential sensors and self-made sap flow sensors, across a heterogeneous deployment comprised of MICAz, IRIS and TelosB wireless motes. A low-cost sensor board and software driver was developed for communicating with the analog and digital sensors. Innovative techniques (e.g., balanced energy efficient routing and heterogeneous over-the-air mote reprogramming) maintained high success rates (>96%) and enabled effective software updating, throughout the large-scale heterogeneous WSN. The edaphic properties monitored by the network showed strong agreement with data logger measurements and were fitted to pedotransfer functions for estimating local soil hydraulic properties. Furthermore, sap flow measurements, scaled to tree stand transpiration, were found to be at or below potential evapotranspiration estimates. While outdoor WSNs still present numerous challenges, the ASWP testbed proves to be an effective and (relatively) low-cost environmental monitoring solution and represents a step towards developing a platform for monitoring and quantifying statistically relevant environmental parameters from large-scale network deployments.

  3. Empirical Assessment of Agricultural Development in Manzini ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    African Research Review. Journal ... Journal Home > Vol 5, No 6 (2011) > ... Agricultural development strategy should be directed towards the shaping of the ... of both small-scale and large scale maize farmers in Manzini region, Swaziland.

  4. Surveillance of Site A and Plot M

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golchert, N.W.

    1993-05-01

    The results of the environmental surveillance program conducted at Site A/Plot M in the Palos Forest Preserve area for CY 1992 are presented. The surveillance program is the ongoing remedial action that resulted from the 1976--1978 radiological characterization of the site. That study determined that very low levels of hydrogen-3 (as tritiated water) had migrated from the burial ground and were present in two nearby hand-pumped picnic wells. The current program consists of sample collection and analysis of air, surface and subsurface water, and bottom sediment. The results of the analyses are used to (1) determine the migration pathway of water from the burial ground (Plot M) to the hand-pumped picnic wells, (2) establish if buried radionuclides other than hydrogen-3 have migrated, and (3) generally characterize the radiological environment of the area. Hydrogen-3 in the Red Gate Woods picnic wells was still detected this year, but the average and maximum concentrations were significantly less than found earlier. Tritiated water continues to be detected in a number of wells, boreholes, dolomite holes, and a surface stream. For many years it was the only radionuclide found to have migrated in measurable quantities. Analyses since 1984 have indicated the presence of low levels of strontium-90 in water from a number of boreholes next to Plot M. The available data does not allow a firm conclusion as to whether the presence of this nuclide represents recent migration or movement that may have occurred before Plot M was capped. The results of the surveillance program continue to indicate that the radioactivity remaining at Site A/Plot M does not endanger the health or safety of the public visiting the site, using the picnic area, or living in the vicinity

  5. Applicability of 87Sr/86Sr in examining return flow of irrigation water in highly agricultural watersheds in Japan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshida, T.; Nakano, T.; Shin, K. C.; Tsuchihara, T.; Miyazu, S.; Kubota, T.

    2017-12-01

    Water flows in watersheds containing extensive areas of irrigated paddies are complex because of the substantial volumes involved and the repeated cycles of water diversion from, and return to, streams. For better management of low-flow conditions, numerous studies have attempted to quantify the return flow using the stable isotopes of water; however, the temporal variation in these isotopic compositions due to fractionation during evaporation from water surfaces hinders their application to watersheds with extensive irrigated paddies. In this study, we tested the applicability of the strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr, hereafter Sr ratio) for studying hydrological processes in a typical agricultural watershed located on the alluvial fan of the Kinu River, namely the Gogyo River, in central Japan. The Sr ratio of water changes only because of interactions with the porous media it flows through, or because of mixing with water that has different Sr ratios. We sampled water both at a single rice paddy, and on the watershed scale in the irrigated and non-irrigated periods. The soil water under the paddy decreased as sampling depth increased, and the soil water at a depth of 1.5 m showed a similar Sr ratio to the spring. The water sampled in the drainage channel with a concrete lined bottom showed a similar Sr ratio to the irrigation water, whereas that with a soil bottom was plotted between the plots of the irrigation water and shallow aquifer. These results suggest the Sr ratio decreases as it mixes with the soil water through percolation; whereas the Sr ratio will be less likely to change when water drains from paddies via surface pathways. The streamflow samples were plotted linearly on the Sr ratio and 1/Sr plot, indicating that the streamflow was composed of two end-members; the irrigation water and the shallow aquifer. The continuous decline in the Sr ratio along the stream suggests an exfiltration of water from the shallow aquifers. The stream water during the non

  6. Effects of land use changes on water and nitrogen flows at the scale of West African inland valleys: an explorative model.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ridder, de N.; Stomph, T.J.; Fresco, L.O.

    1997-01-01

    Land use and cover, as influenced by agricultural practices, and the changes in these with increasing pressure on land, are among the factors determining water flows in inland valleys. Changing water flows affect nitrogen flows both at the plot level and at levels higher than plots. We present a

  7. Surveillance of Site A and Plot M

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golchert, N.W.

    1991-05-01

    The results of the environmental surveillance program conducted at Site A/Plot M in the Palos Forest Preserve area for CY 1990 are presented. The surveillance program is the ongoing remedial action that resulted from the 1976-1978 radiological characterization of the site. That study determined that very low levels of hydrogen-3 (as tritiated water) had migrated from the burial ground and were present in two nearby hand-pumped picnic wells. The current program consists of sample collection and analysis of air, surface and subsurface water, and bottom sediment. The results of the analyses are used to determine the migration pathway of water from the burial ground (plot M) to the hand-pumped picnic wells, establish if buries radionuclides other than hydrogen-3 have migrated, and generally characterize the radiological environment of the area. Tritiated water continues to be detected in a number of wells, boreholes, dolomite holes, and a surface stream. Analyses since 1984 have indicated the presence of low levels of strontium-90 in water from a number of boreholes next to Plot M. The results of the surveillance program continues to indicate that the radioactivity remaining at Site A/Plot M does not endanger the health or safety of the public visiting the site or those living in the vicinity. 20 refs., 7 figs., 15 tabs

  8. The 2002 RPA Plot Summary database users manual

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patrick D. Miles; John S. Vissage; W. Brad Smith

    2004-01-01

    Describes the structure of the RPA 2002 Plot Summary database and provides information on generating estimates of forest statistics from these data. The RPA 2002 Plot Summary database provides a consistent framework for storing forest inventory data across all ownerships across the entire United States. The data represents the best available data as of October 2001....

  9. A Scale-Explicit Framework for Conceptualizing the Environmental Impacts of Agricultural Land Use Changes

    OpenAIRE

    Iago Lowe Hale; Wilfred M. Wollheim; Richard G. Smith; Heidi Asbjornsen; André F. Brito; Kirk Broders; A. Stuart Grandy; Rebecca Rowe

    2014-01-01

    Demand for locally-produced food is growing in areas outside traditionally dominant agricultural regions due to concerns over food safety, quality, and sovereignty; rural livelihoods; and environmental integrity. Strategies for meeting this demand rely upon agricultural land use change, in various forms of either intensification or extensification (converting non-agricultural land, including native landforms, to agricultural use). The nature and extent of the impacts of these changes on non-f...

  10. Climate change and agricultural production | Offiong | Global ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    From a policy viewpoint, however, it is also difficult to understand the level to which agriculturally related activities may contribute to global-scale environmental change and the extent to which policies to prevent, mitigate, or adapt to environmental change may affect agriculture and hunger. These issues are likely to become ...

  11. Online plot services for paleomagnetism and rock magnetism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatakeyama, T.

    2017-12-01

    In paleomagnetism and rock magnetism, a lot of types of original plots are used for obtained data from measurements. Many researchers in paleomagnetism often use not only general-purpose plotting programs such as Microsoft Excel but also single-purpose tools. A large benefit of using the latter tools is that we can make a beautiful figure for our own data. However, those programs require specific environment for their operation such as type of hardware and platform, type of operation system and its version, libraries for execution and so on. Therefore, it is difficult to share the result and graphics among the collaborators who use different environments on their PCs. Thus, one of the best solution is likely a program operated on popular environment. The most popular is web environment as we all know. Almost all current operating systems have web browsers as standard and all people use them regularly. Now we provide a web-based service plotting paleomagnetic results easily.We develop original programs with a command-line user interface (non-GUI), and we prepared web pages for input of the simple measured data and options and a wrapper script which transfers the entered values to the program. The results, analyzed values and plotted graphs from the program are shown in the HTML page and downloadable. Our plot services are provided in http://mage-p.org/mageplot/. In this talk, we introduce our program and service and discuss the philosophy and efficiency of these services.

  12. Toward a New Generation of Agricultural System Data, Models, and Knowledge Products: State of Agricultural Systems Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, James W.; Antle, John M.; Basso, Bruno; Boote, Kenneth J.; Conant, Richard T.; Foster, Ian; Godfray, H. Charles J.; Herrero, Mario; Howitt, Richard E.; Janssen, Sander; hide

    2016-01-01

    We review the current state of agricultural systems science, focusing in particular on the capabilities and limitations of agricultural systems models. We discuss the state of models relative to five different Use Cases spanning field, farm, landscape, regional, and global spatial scales and engaging questions in past, current, and future time periods. Contributions from multiple disciplines have made major advances relevant to a wide range of agricultural system model applications at various spatial and temporal scales. Although current agricultural systems models have features that are needed for the Use Cases, we found that all of them have limitations and need to be improved. We identified common limitations across all Use Cases, namely 1) a scarcity of data for developing, evaluating, and applying agricultural system models and 2) inadequate knowledge systems that effectively communicate model results to society. We argue that these limitations are greater obstacles to progress than gaps in conceptual theory or available methods for using system models. New initiatives on open data show promise for addressing the data problem, but there also needs to be a cultural change among agricultural researchers to ensure that data for addressing the range of Use Cases are available for future model improvements and applications. We conclude that multiple platforms and multiple models are needed for model applications for different purposes. The Use Cases provide a useful framework for considering capabilities and limitations of existing models and data.

  13. Analysing spatially extended high-dimensional dynamics by recurrence plots

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marwan, Norbert, E-mail: marwan@pik-potsdam.de [Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, 14412 Potsdam (Germany); Kurths, Jürgen [Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, 14412 Potsdam (Germany); Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Institut für Physik (Germany); Nizhny Novgorod State University, Department of Control Theory, Nizhny Novgorod (Russian Federation); Foerster, Saskia [GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section 1.4 Remote Sensing, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam (Germany)

    2015-05-08

    Recurrence plot based measures of complexity are capable tools for characterizing complex dynamics. In this letter we show the potential of selected recurrence plot measures for the investigation of even high-dimensional dynamics. We apply this method on spatially extended chaos, such as derived from the Lorenz96 model and show that the recurrence plot based measures can qualitatively characterize typical dynamical properties such as chaotic or periodic dynamics. Moreover, we demonstrate its power by analysing satellite image time series of vegetation cover with contrasting dynamics as a spatially extended and potentially high-dimensional example from the real world. - Highlights: • We use recurrence plots for analysing partially extended dynamics. • We investigate the high-dimensional chaos of the Lorenz96 model. • The approach distinguishes different spatio-temporal dynamics. • We use the method for studying vegetation cover time series.

  14. Tracking agricultural soil nitric oxide emission variations with novel isotopic measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, D. J.; Chai, J.; Guo, F.; Overby, S.; Dell, C. J.; Karsten, H.; Hastings, M. G.

    2016-12-01

    Agricultural production systems impact the reactive nitrogen cycle via atmospheric nitrogen emissions including nitric oxide, denoted as total nitrogen oxides (NOx). NOx serve as precursors to ozone and nitrate aerosols, influencing air quality, radiative forcing, and ecosystem health. With recent declines in fuel combustion sources, soil emissions are an increasing contributor to NOx budgets. However, spatially heterogeneous, episodic soil NOx pulses are challenging to constrain and remain highly uncertain. Using a novel hourly resolution soil flux chamber-based NOx collection method, we investigate fertilizer management and climatic controls on cropland soil NOx flux and nitrogen isotopic composition (δ15N-NOx) natural abundance variations with field-based and laboratory measurements. No-till, rain-fed corn plots were sampled daily (triplicate isotope samples per treatment per day) following broadcast and shallow-disk injected dairy manure applications as part of a sustainable dairy cropping study in State College, PA (Penn State University; USDA-ARS). Injected manure plots exhibited median fluxes two times higher with larger spatial variations than that for broadcast manure. Soil emission δ15N-NOx signatures of -45 to -20 ‰ were correlated with flux magnitudes across both treatments. Median δ15N-NOx signatures for injected manure were lower with larger spatial variations (-32 ± 9 ‰) than that for broadcast manure (-24 ± 1.5 ‰). These differences are likely linked with higher NH4+ availability for nitrification with injected manure in contrast with higher NH3 volatilization and higher soil δ15N-NH4+ for broadcast manure. Although NOx fluxes were suppressed 1-2 days after heavy rainfall (>35 % water-filled pore space), δ15N-NOx remained consistent. Controlled laboratory incubation studies will also be presented quantifying links with inorganic substrate and fertilizer δ15N. Our observations suggest that agricultural soil δ15N-NOx signatures are

  15. Condition and prospects of development of agricultural mechanical engineering

    OpenAIRE

    Vsevolod Babushkin; Margarita Ignatyeva

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, an estimation of condition and level of development of agricultural mechanical engineering is given; also an expert estimation of scales of the Russian market of agricultural machinery is given. The factors negatively influencing formation of the named market are designated. Features and prospects of development of agricultural mechanical engineering of Sverdlovsk region are defined. State regulation mechanisms of domestic agricultural mechanical engineering development are des...

  16. Hydraulically active biopores stimulate pesticide mineralization in agricultural subsoil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Badawi, Nora; Johnsen, Anders R.; Brandt, Kristian Koefoed

    2013-01-01

    for microbially-mediated pesticide mineralization, thereby reducing the risk of pesticide leaching. To investigate this we identified hydraulically active biopores in a test plot of an agricultural field by percolating brilliant blue through the soil. Small portions of soil (500 mg) were sampled at approx. 1-cm...... highly stimulated in the transition zone biopores, whereas the density of MCPA degraders was significantly lower in the subsoil, where no MCPA mineralization occurred. We conclude that hydraulically active biopores may constitute hot spots for pesticide mineralization, but that this biopore effect...

  17. Surface stabilization and revegetation test plots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sackschewsky, M.R.; Kemp, C.J.; Hayward, W.M.

    1993-09-01

    Westinghouse Hanford Company Decommissioning and Decontamination Engineering Group and Environmental Technology and Assessment Groups are developing new technologies to improve revegetation techniques for interim stabilization control over underground waste sites within the Radiation Area Remedial Action Program. Successful revegetation is an integral aspect of waste isolation strategy. Unfortunately, revegetation can be very difficult to achieve on the Hanford Site due to several factors: low annual precipitation, unpredictable timing of precipitation, low fertility of available soils, and coarse physical texture of soils covering waste sites. The tests in this report were performed during fiscal years 1992 and 1993 and include the use of two soil sealants in combination with bare soil and a soil/compost mixture and a comparison of a wheatgrass mixture and a native seed mixture. Hydroprobe access ports were placed in one-half of the test plots and moisture data was collected. Soil fertility and plant community characteristics were monitored during the two years of the test. During the first year all sites with compost provided additional fertility and retained greater amounts of soil moisture than noncomposted sites. The use of Enduraseal soil fixative provided greater soil moisture than the use of Aerospray-77 soil fixative. During the second year the use of compost and soil fixative's had a lesser effect on soil moisture. During late summer periods all treatments had very similar soil moisture profiles. The use of compost greatly increased vegetative cover and soil fertility in comparison to sites that had no compost added. Testing of the seed mixtures found that Siberian wheatgrass and Sandberg's bluegrass were the most dominant of the seeded species observed. All plots exhibited a dominant plant cover of volunteer cheatgrass. Biomass production was significantly greater on plots with compost than on the noncomposted plots

  18. The Use of Plackett-Burman Designs to Construct Split Plot Designs.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kulahci, M.; Bisgaard, S.

    2005-01-01

    Abstract When some factors are hard to change and others are relatively easier, split-plot experiments are often an economic alternative to fully randomized designs. Split-plot experiments, with their structure of subplot arrays imbedded within whole-plot arrays, have a tendency to become large,

  19. Visual coherence for large-scale line-plot visualizations

    KAUST Repository

    Muigg, Philipp

    2011-06-01

    Displaying a large number of lines within a limited amount of screen space is a task that is common to many different classes of visualization techniques such as time-series visualizations, parallel coordinates, link-node diagrams, and phase-space diagrams. This paper addresses the challenging problems of cluttering and overdraw inherent to such visualizations. We generate a 2x2 tensor field during line rasterization that encodes the distribution of line orientations through each image pixel. Anisotropic diffusion of a noise texture is then used to generate a dense, coherent visualization of line orientation. In order to represent features of different scales, we employ a multi-resolution representation of the tensor field. The resulting technique can easily be applied to a wide variety of line-based visualizations. We demonstrate this for parallel coordinates, a time-series visualization, and a phase-space diagram. Furthermore, we demonstrate how to integrate a focus+context approach by incorporating a second tensor field. Our approach achieves interactive rendering performance for large data sets containing millions of data items, due to its image-based nature and ease of implementation on GPUs. Simulation results from computational fluid dynamics are used to evaluate the performance and usefulness of the proposed method. © 2011 The Author(s).

  20. Visual coherence for large-scale line-plot visualizations

    KAUST Repository

    Muigg, Philipp; Hadwiger, Markus; Doleisch, Helmut; Grö ller, Eduard M.

    2011-01-01

    Displaying a large number of lines within a limited amount of screen space is a task that is common to many different classes of visualization techniques such as time-series visualizations, parallel coordinates, link-node diagrams, and phase-space diagrams. This paper addresses the challenging problems of cluttering and overdraw inherent to such visualizations. We generate a 2x2 tensor field during line rasterization that encodes the distribution of line orientations through each image pixel. Anisotropic diffusion of a noise texture is then used to generate a dense, coherent visualization of line orientation. In order to represent features of different scales, we employ a multi-resolution representation of the tensor field. The resulting technique can easily be applied to a wide variety of line-based visualizations. We demonstrate this for parallel coordinates, a time-series visualization, and a phase-space diagram. Furthermore, we demonstrate how to integrate a focus+context approach by incorporating a second tensor field. Our approach achieves interactive rendering performance for large data sets containing millions of data items, due to its image-based nature and ease of implementation on GPUs. Simulation results from computational fluid dynamics are used to evaluate the performance and usefulness of the proposed method. © 2011 The Author(s).

  1. Scaling up agricultural innovations in Kenya | CRDI - Centre de ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    They will also identify opportunities for linking farmers to markets and for influencing the formulation and implementation of sound policies for dryland agriculture. They will then test and develop farming practices that are much more appropriate and environmentally sound for dry areas. Doing so will increase production and ...

  2. Analysis of the spatial variability of crop yield and soil properties in small agricultural plots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vieira Sidney Rosa

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to assess spatial variability of soil properties and crop yield under no tillage as a function of time, in two soil/climate conditions in São Paulo State, Brazil. The two sites measured approximately one hectare each and were cultivated with crop sequences which included corn, soybean, cotton, oats, black oats, wheat, rye, rice and green manure. Soil fertility, soil physical properties and crop yield were measured in a 10-m grid. The soils were a Dusky Red Latossol (Oxisol and a Red Yellow Latossol (Ultisol. Soil sampling was performed in each field every two years after harvesting of the summer crop. Crop yield was measured at the end of each crop cycle, in 2 x 2.5 m sub plots. Data were analysed using semivariogram analysis and kriging interpolation for contour map generation. Yield maps were constructed in order to visually compare the variability of yields, the variability of the yield components and related soil properties. The results show that the factors affecting the variability of crop yield varies from one crop to another. The changes in yield from one year to another suggest that the causes of variability may change with time. The changes with time for the cross semivariogram between phosphorus in leaves and soybean yield is another evidence of this result.

  3. Occurrence of chemical contaminants in peri-urban agricultural irrigation waters and assessment of their phytotoxicity and crop productivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margenat, Anna; Matamoros, Víctor; Díez, Sergi; Cañameras, Núria; Comas, Jordi; Bayona, Josep M

    2017-12-01

    Water scarcity and water pollution have increased the pressure on water resources worldwide. This pressure is particularly important in highly populated areas where water demand exceeds the available natural resources. In this regard, water reuse has emerged as an excellent water source alternative for peri-urban agriculture. Nevertheless, it must cope with the occurrence of chemical contaminants, ranging from trace elements (TEs) to organic microcontaminants. In this study, chemical contaminants (i.e., 15 TEs, 34 contaminants of emerging concern (CECs)), bulk parameters, and nutrients from irrigation waters and crop productivity (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. Bodar and Lactuca sativa L. cv. Batavia) were seasonally surveyed in 4 farm plots in the peri-urban area of the city of Barcelona. A pristine site, where rain-groundwater is used for irrigation, was selected for background concentrations. The average concentration levels of TEs and CECs in the irrigation water impacted by treated wastewater (TWW) were 3 (35±75μgL -1 ) and 13 (553±1050ngL -1 ) times higher than at the pristine site respectively. Principal component analysis was used to classify the irrigation waters by chemical composition. To assess the impact of the occurrence of these contaminants on agriculture, a seed germination assay (Lactuca sativa L) and real field-scale study of crop productivity (i.e., lettuce and tomato) were used. Although irrigation waters from the peri-urban area exhibited a higher frequency of detection and concentration of the assessed chemical contaminants than those of the pristine site (P1), no significant differences were found in seed phytotoxicity or crop productivity. In fact, the crops impacted by TWW showed higher productivity than the other farm plots studied, which was associated with the higher nutrient availability for plants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Checking the Adequacy of Fit of Models from Split-Plot Designs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Almini, A. A.; Kulahci, Murat; Montgomery, D. C.

    2009-01-01

    models. In this article, we propose the computation of two R-2, R-2-adjusted, prediction error sums of squares (PRESS), and R-2-prediction statistics to measure the adequacy of fit for the WP and the SP submodels in a split-plot design. This is complemented with the graphical analysis of the two types......One of the main features that distinguish split-plot experiments from other experiments is that they involve two types of experimental errors: the whole-plot (WP) error and the subplot (SP) error. Taking this into consideration is very important when computing measures of adequacy of fit for split-plot...... of errors to check for any violation of the underlying assumptions and the adequacy of fit of split-plot models. Using examples, we show how computing two measures of model adequacy of fit for each split-plot design model is appropriate and useful as they reveal whether the correct WP and SP effects have...

  5. Standardized mean differences cause funnel plot distortion in publication bias assessments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zwetsloot, Peter-Paul; Van Der Naald, Mira; Sena, Emily S; Howells, David W; IntHout, Joanna; De Groot, Joris Ah; Chamuleau, Steven Aj; MacLeod, Malcolm R; Wever, Kimberley E

    2017-09-08

    Meta-analyses are increasingly used for synthesis of evidence from biomedical research, and often include an assessment of publication bias based on visual or analytical detection of asymmetry in funnel plots. We studied the influence of different normalisation approaches, sample size and intervention effects on funnel plot asymmetry, using empirical datasets and illustrative simulations. We found that funnel plots of the Standardized Mean Difference (SMD) plotted against the standard error (SE) are susceptible to distortion, leading to overestimation of the existence and extent of publication bias. Distortion was more severe when the primary studies had a small sample size and when an intervention effect was present. We show that using the Normalised Mean Difference measure as effect size (when possible), or plotting the SMD against a sample size-based precision estimate, are more reliable alternatives. We conclude that funnel plots using the SMD in combination with the SE are unsuitable for publication bias assessments and can lead to false-positive results.

  6. Spatial probability of soil water repellency in an abandoned agricultural field in Lithuania

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pereira, Paulo; Misiūnė, Ieva

    2015-04-01

    Water repellency is a natural soil property with implications on infiltration, erosion and plant growth. It depends on soil texture, type and amount of organic matter, fungi, microorganisms, and vegetation cover (Doerr et al., 2000). Human activities as agriculture can have implications on soil water repellency (SWR) due tillage and addition of organic compounds and fertilizers (Blanco-Canqui and Lal, 2009; Gonzalez-Penaloza et al., 2012). It is also assumed that SWR has a high small-scale variability (Doerr et al., 2000). The aim of this work is to study the spatial probability of SWR in an abandoned field testing several geostatistical methods, Organic Kriging (OK), Simple Kriging (SK), Indicator Kriging (IK), Probability Kriging (PK) and Disjunctive Kriging (DK). The study area it is located near Vilnius urban area at (54 49' N, 25 22', 104 masl) in Lithuania (Pereira and Oliva, 2013). It was designed a experimental plot with 21 m2 (07x03 m). Inside this area it was measured SWR was measured every 50 cm using the water drop penetration time (WDPT) (Wessel, 1998). A total of 105 points were measured. The probability of SWR was classified in 0 (No probability) to 1 (High probability). The methods accuracy was assessed with the cross validation method. The best interpolation method was the one with the lowest Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The results showed that the most accurate probability method was SK (RMSE=0.436), followed by DK (RMSE=0.437), IK (RMSE=0.448), PK (RMSE=0.452) and OK (RMSE=0.537). Significant differences were identified among probability tests (Kruskal-Wallis test =199.7597 ptested technique. Simple Kriging, DK, IK and PK methods identified the high SWR probabilities in the northeast and central part of the plot, while OK observed mainly in the south-western part of the plot. In conclusion, before predict the spatial probability of SWR it is important to test several methods in order to identify the most accurate. Acknowledgments COST action ES

  7. How much information is contained in a recurrence plot?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thiel, Marco; Romano, M. Carmen; Kurths, Juergen

    2004-01-01

    Recurrence plots have recently been recognized as a powerful tool for the analysis of data. Not only the visualization of structures of the time series but also the possibility to estimate invariants from them and the possibility to analyze non-stationary data sets are remarkable. However, the question of how much information is encoded in such a two-dimensional and binary representation has not been discussed so far. In this Letter we show that - under some conditions - it is possible to reconstruct an attractor from the recurrence plot, at least topologically. This means that all relevant dynamical information is contained in the plot

  8. TAURUS, Post-processor of 3-D Finite Elements Plots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, B.E.; Hallquist, J.O.; Kennedy, T.

    2002-01-01

    Description of program or function: TAURUS reads the binary plot files generated by the LLNL three-dimensional finite element analysis codes, NIKE3D (NESC 9725), DYNA3D (NESC 9909), TACO3D (NESC 9838), TOPAZ3D (NESC9599) and GEMINI and plots contours, time histories, and deformed shapes. Contours of a large number of quantities may be plotted on meshes consisting of plate, shell, and solid type elements. TAURUS can compute a variety of strain measures, reaction forces along constrained boundaries, and momentum. TAURUS has three phases: initialization, geometry display with contouring, and time history processing

  9. Urban cultivation in allotments maintains soil qualities adversely affected by conventional agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edmondson, Jill L; Davies, Zoe G; Gaston, Kevin J; Leake, Jonathan R

    2014-08-01

    Modern agriculture, in seeking to maximize yields to meet growing global food demand, has caused loss of soil organic carbon (SOC) and compaction, impairing critical regulating and supporting ecosystem services upon which humans also depend. Own-growing makes an important contribution to food security in urban areas globally, but its effects on soil qualities that underpin ecosystem service provision are currently unknown. We compared the main indicators of soil quality; SOC storage, total nitrogen (TN), C : N ratio and bulk density (BD) in urban allotments to soils from the surrounding agricultural region, and between the allotments and other urban greenspaces in a typical UK city. A questionnaire was used to investigate allotment management practices that influence soil properties. Allotment soils had 32% higher SOC concentrations and 36% higher C : N ratios than pastures and arable fields and 25% higher TN and 10% lower BD than arable soils. There was no significant difference between SOC concentration in allotments and urban non-domestic greenspaces, but it was higher in domestic gardens beneath woody vegetation. Allotment soil C : N ratio exceeded that in non-domestic greenspaces, but was lower than that in garden soil. Three-quarters of surveyed allotment plot holders added manure, 95% composted biomass on-site, and many added organic-based fertilizers and commercial composts. This may explain the maintenance of SOC, C : N ratios, TN and low BD, which are positively associated with soil functioning. Synthesis and applications . Maintenance and protection of the quality of our soil resource is essential for sustainable food production and for regulating and supporting ecosystem services upon which we depend. Our study establishes, for the first time, that small-scale urban food production can occur without the penalty of soil degradation seen in conventional agriculture, and maintains the high soil quality seen in urban greenspaces. Given the

  10. Multi-scale analysis to uncover habitat use of red-crowned cranes: Implications for conservation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chunyue LIU, Hongxing JIANG, Shuqing ZHANG, Chunrong LI,Yunqiu HOU, Fawen QIAN

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available A multi-scale approach is essential to assess the factors that limit avian habitat use. Numerous studies have examined habitat use by the red-crowned crane, but integrated multi-scale habitat use information is lacking. We evaluated the effects of several habitat variables quantified across many spatial scales on crane use and abundance in two periods (2000 and 2009 at Yancheng National Nature Reserve, China. The natural wetlands decreased in area by 30,601 ha (-6.9% from 2000 to 2009, predominantly as a result of conversion to aquaculture ponds and farmland, and the remaining was under degradation due to expansion of the exotic smooth cordgrass. The cranes are focusing in on either larger patches or those that are in close proximity to each other in both years, but occupied patches had smaller size, less proximity and more regular boundaries in 2009. At landscape scales, the area percentage of common seepweed, reed ponds and paddy fields had a greater positive impact on crane presence than the area percentage of aquaculture ponds. The cranes were more abundant in patches that had a greater percent area of common seepweed and reed ponds, while the percent area of paddy fields was inversely related to crane abundance in 2009 due to changing agricultural practices. In 2009, cranes tended to use less fragmented plots in natural wetlands and more fragmented plots in anthropogenic paddy fields, which were largely associated with the huge loss and degradation of natural habitats between the two years. Management should focus on restoration of large patches of natural wetlands, and formation of a relatively stable area of large paddy field and reed pond to mitigate the loss of natural wetlands [Current Zoology 59 (5: 604–617, 2013].

  11. 9 CFR 108.6 - Revision of plot plans, blueprints, and legends.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Revision of plot plans, blueprints... FACILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSED ESTABLISHMENTS § 108.6 Revision of plot plans, blueprints, and legends... changes affecting the workflow are to be made. The licensee shall: (a) Prepare revised plot plans...

  12. Generalised recurrence plot analysis for spatial data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marwan, Norbert; Kurths, Juergen; Saparin, Peter

    2007-01-01

    Recurrence plot based methods are highly efficient and widely accepted tools for the investigation of time series or one-dimensional data. We present an extension of the recurrence plots and their quantifications in order to study recurrent structures in higher-dimensional spatial data. The capability of this extension is illustrated on prototypical 2D models. Next, the tested and proved approach is applied to assess the bone structure from CT images of human proximal tibia. We find that the spatial structures in trabecular bone become more recurrent during the bone loss in osteoporosis

  13. Targeting, out-scaling and prioritising climate-smart interventions in agricultural systems: Lessons from applying a generic framework to the livestock sector in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Notenbaert, An; Pfeifer, Catherine; Silvestri, Silvia; Herrero, Mario

    2017-02-01

    As a result of population growth, urbanization and climate change, agricultural systems around the world face enormous pressure on the use of resources. There is a pressing need for wide-scale innovation leading to development that improves the livelihoods and food security of the world's population while at the same time addressing climate change adaptation and mitigation. A variety of promising climate-smart interventions have been identified. However, what remains is the prioritization of interventions for investment and broad dissemination. The suitability and adoption of interventions depends on a variety of bio-physical and socio-economic factors. Also their impacts, when adopted and out-scaled, are likely to be highly heterogeneous. This heterogeneity expresses itself not only spatially and temporally but also in terms of the stakeholders affected, some might win and some might lose. A mechanism that can facilitate a systematic, holistic assessment of the likely spread and consequential impact of potential interventions is one way of improving the selection and targeting of such options. In this paper we provide climate smart agriculture (CSA) planners and implementers at all levels with a generic framework for evaluating and prioritising potential interventions. This entails an iterative process of mapping out recommendation domains, assessing adoption potential and estimating impacts. Through examples, related to livestock production in sub-Saharan Africa, we demonstrate each of the steps and how they are interlinked. The framework is applicable in many different forms, scales and settings. It has a wide applicability beyond the examples presented and we hope to stimulate readers to integrate the concepts in the planning process for climate-smart agriculture, which invariably involves multi-stakeholder, multi-scale and multi-objective decision-making.

  14. D.3.3 PLOT Persuasive Learning Design Framework

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gram-Hansen, Sandra Burri

    2012-01-01

    In this third and final deliverable of WP3: Persuasive Learning Designs, the theoretical cross field between persuasion and learning and the practical analysis of the technological learning tools and products which are currently related to the PLOT project, namely the GLOMaker and the 3ET tool......, are linked together as persuasive learning designs are defined and exemplified through the four e-PLOT cases. Based on the literary study of D.3.1 as well as the subsequent discussions and reflections regarding the theoretical foundation and practical application of persuasive learning technologies......-PLOT work cases. In conclusion, the report presents a number of suggestions regarding the improvement of the two learning tools, which from a theoretical perspective will enhance the persuasive potential, and which can be taken into consideration in WP4 and 5....

  15. Status and trend of tree growth and mortality rate at the CONECOFOR plots, 1997-2004

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gianfranco Fabbio

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available The circumference of trees in the CONECOFOR permanent monitoring plots (PMPs were measured by three surveys carried out in 1997, 2000 and 2005. Plots were arranged into forest types according to tree species, management system and stand structure: beech (Fagus sylvatica L. and spruce (Picea abies K. high forests, aged coppice forests and transitory crops (deciduous, evergreen oaks and beech. Diameter distribution, basal area, basal area increment, tree mortality rate and in-growth were calculated per layer (dominant, intermediate, dominated within each PMP, to point out relative contributions and changes. A range in relative annual growth was detected both within and between types over the monitored period, but an obvious reduction of annual increment was found in two/thirds of plots over 2000-04 as compared to 1997-99. Current mortality, mostly allocated into the dominated and intermediate layers, can be explained as “regular” due to overstocking and high inter-tree competition in almost all of the observed case-studies. Opposite patterns were found to occur as for stand growth vs. mortality rate between coppice forests and the other types owing to the different dynamics of tree competition in progress. Drought 2003 is the likely large-scale factor determining the reduced annual growth course over the second period.

  16. 9 CFR 108.7 - Filing of plot plans, blueprints, and legends.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Filing of plot plans, blueprints, and... REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSED ESTABLISHMENTS § 108.7 Filing of plot plans, blueprints, and legends. Three copies of all plot plans, blueprints, and legends, including revisions, shall be submitted to Animal and Plant...

  17. Land Grabbing and the Commodification of Agricultural Land in Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Odorico, P.; Rulli, M. C.

    2014-12-01

    The increasing global demand for farmland products is placing unprecedented pressure on the global agricultural system. The increasing demand can be met through either the intensification or the expansion of agricultural production at the expenses of other ecosystems. The ongoing escalation of large scale land acquisitions in the developing world may contribute to both of these two processes. Investments in agriculture have become a priority for a number of governments and corporations that are trying to expand their agricultural production while securing good profits. It is unclear however to what extent these investments are driving the intensification or the expansion of agriculture. In the last decade large scale land acquisitions by external investors have increased at unprecedented rates. This global land rush was likely enhanced by recent food crises, when prices skyrocketed in response to crop failure, new bioenergy policies, and the increasing demand for agricultural products by a growing and increasingly affluent human population. Corporations recognized the potential for high return investments in agricultural land, while governments started to enhance their food security by purchasing large tracts of land in foreign countries. It has been estimated that, to date, about 35.6 million ha of cropland - more than twice the agricultural land of Germany - have been acquired by foreign investors worldwide. As an effect of these land deals the local communities lose legal access to the land and its products. Here we investigate the effect of large scale land acquisition on agricultural intensification or expansion in African countries. We discuss the extent to which these investments in agriculture may increase crop production and stress how this phenomenon can greatly affect the local communities, their food security, economic stability and the long term resilience of their livelihoods, regardless of whether the transfer of property rights is the result of an

  18. [Landscape planning approaches for biodiversity conservation in agriculture].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yun-hui; Li, Liang-tao; Yu, Zhen-rong

    2008-11-01

    Biodiversity conservation in agriculture not only relates to the sustainable development of agriculture, but also is an essential part of species conservation. In recent years, the landscape planning approach for biodiversity was highlighted instead of species-focused approach. In this paper, the landscape factors affecting the biodiversity in agriculture were reviewed, and the possible landscape approaches at three different scales for more efficient conservation of biodiversity in agro-landscape were suggested, including: (1) the increase of the proportion of natural or semi-natural habitats in agriculture, diversification of land use or crop pattern, and protection or construction of corridor at landscape level; (2) the establishment of non-cropping elements such as field margin at between-field level; and (3) the application of reasonable crop density, crop distribution pattern and rotation, and intercrop etc. at within-field level. It was suggested that the relevant policies for natural conservation, land use planning, and ecological compensation should be made to apply the landscape approaches for biodiversity conservation at larger scale.

  19. Rainfall influence on plot-scale runoff and soil loss from repeated burning in a Mediterranean-shrub ecosystem, Valencia, Spain

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Pelayo, O.; Andreu, V.; Gimeno-García, E.; Campo, J.; Rubio, J. L.

    2010-06-01

    The effect of a repeated burning on soil hydrology and erosive parameters was studied on a Mediterranean forest soil (Rendzic leptosol) with the aim of identifying the effects of the fire and climatic parameters related to the post-fire runoff and soil loss. The study was carried out in an Experimental Permanent Field Station (La Concordia), close to Valencia (Spain). This field station is located on a calcareous hillside facing SSE, and is composed of nine erosion plots (20 × 4 m). Firstly, experimental fires were performed in June 1995 with two fire treatments (T1 or high severity fire and T2 or moderate severity fire) and a control one (unburnt, T3). The repeated fire (low severity) was carried out in July 2003. The studied period was focused from 18 months before the repeated fire (July 2003) until 18 months after it. Rainfall characteristics of each single event were recorded, which allowed us to statistically distinguish four time periods according to the rainfall intensity and duration: periods I (March 2002 to May 2003) and III (December 2003 to early May 2004) with low intensity and long duration rainfalls, and periods II (June 2003 to November 2003) and IV (late May 2004 to December 2004) with high intensity and short duration rainfalls. Before the 2003 fire, the partial recovery of soil and vegetation from the previous burning in 1995 led to a diminution in the runoff rates (6.5 L m - 2 in burned plots and 1.8 L m - 2 in unburnt ones). Six months later (period II), runoff increased in one order of magnitude (23.9 L m - 2 in burnt plots and 1.1 L m - 2 in the unburnt ones) due, in part, to the short time elapsed from fire until high intensity rainfalls. These differences in runoff production were maintained during the whole post-fire period. Fire effects were reflected in the erosion rates. Soil losses prior to the 2003 fire, in both fire treatments and in the control one, were scant relative to post-fire levels. However, six months after the repeated

  20. County-Scale Spatial Distribution of Soil Enzyme Activities and Enzyme Activity Indices in Agricultural Land: Implications for Soil Quality Assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiangping Tan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Here the spatial distribution of soil enzymatic properties in agricultural land was evaluated on a county-wide (567 km2 scale in Changwu, Shaanxi Province, China. The spatial variations in activities of five hydrolytic enzymes were examined using geostatistical methods. The relationships between soil enzyme activities and other soil properties were evaluated using both an integrated total enzyme activity index (TEI and the geometric mean of enzyme activities (GME. At the county scale, soil invertase, phosphatase, and catalase activities were moderately spatially correlated, whereas urease and dehydrogenase activities were weakly spatially correlated. Correlation analysis showed that both TEI and GME were better correlated with selected soil physicochemical properties than single enzyme activities. Multivariate regression analysis showed that soil OM content had the strongest positive effect while soil pH had a negative effect on the two enzyme activity indices. In addition, total phosphorous content had a positive effect on TEI and GME in orchard soils, whereas alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen and available potassium contents, respectively, had negative and positive effects on these two enzyme indices in cropland soils. The results indicate that land use changes strongly affect soil enzyme activities in agricultural land, where TEI provides a sensitive biological indicator for soil quality.

  1. Assessing exotic plant species invasions and associated soil characteristics: A case study in eastern Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA, using the pixel nested plot design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalkhan, M.A.; Stafford, E.J.; Woodly, P.J.; Stohlgren, T.J.

    2007-01-01

    Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), Colorado, USA, contains a diversity of plant species. However, many exotic plant species have become established, potentially impacting the structure and function of native plant communities. Our goal was to quantify patterns of exotic plant species in relation to native plant species, soil characteristics, and other abiotic factors that may indicate or predict their establishment and success. Our research approach for field data collection was based on a field plot design called the pixel nested plot. The pixel nested plot provides a link to multi-phase and multi-scale spatial modeling-mapping techniques that can be used to estimate total species richness and patterns of plant diversity at finer landscape scales. Within the eastern region of RMNP, in an area of approximately 35,000 ha, we established a total of 60 pixel nested plots in 9 vegetation types. We used canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and multiple linear regressions to quantify relationships between soil characteristics and native and exotic plant species richness and cover. We also used linear correlation, spatial autocorrelation and cross correlation statistics to test for the spatial patterns of variables of interest. CCA showed that exotic species were significantly (P radiation (r = 0.55), soil nitrogen (r = 0.58) and bare ground (r = -0.66). Pearson's correlation statistic showed significant linear relationships between exotic species, organic carbon, soil nitrogen, and bare ground. While spatial autocorrelations indicated that our 60 pixel nested plots were spatially independent, the cross correlation statistics indicated that exotic plant species were spatially associated with bare ground, in general, exotic plant species were most abundant in areas of high native species richness. This indicates that resource managers should focus on the protection of relatively rare native rich sites with little canopy cover, and fertile soils. Using the pixel nested

  2. Model-independent plot of dynamic PET data facilitates data interpretation and model selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munk, Ole Lajord

    2012-02-21

    When testing new PET radiotracers or new applications of existing tracers, the blood-tissue exchange and the metabolism need to be examined. However, conventional plots of measured time-activity curves from dynamic PET do not reveal the inherent kinetic information. A novel model-independent volume-influx plot (vi-plot) was developed and validated. The new vi-plot shows the time course of the instantaneous distribution volume and the instantaneous influx rate. The vi-plot visualises physiological information that facilitates model selection and it reveals when a quasi-steady state is reached, which is a prerequisite for the use of the graphical analyses by Logan and Gjedde-Patlak. Both axes of the vi-plot have direct physiological interpretation, and the plot shows kinetic parameter in close agreement with estimates obtained by non-linear kinetic modelling. The vi-plot is equally useful for analyses of PET data based on a plasma input function or a reference region input function. The vi-plot is a model-independent and informative plot for data exploration that facilitates the selection of an appropriate method for data analysis. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Atrial fibrillation detection by heart rate variability in Poincare plot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jinho; Lee, Sangwook; Jeon, Moongu

    2009-12-11

    Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is one of the prominent causes of stroke, and its risk increases with age. We need to detect AFib correctly as early as possible to avoid medical disaster because it is likely to proceed into a more serious form in short time. If we can make a portable AFib monitoring system, it will be helpful to many old people because we cannot predict when a patient will have a spasm of AFib. We analyzed heart beat variability from inter-beat intervals obtained by a wavelet-based detector. We made a Poincare plot using the inter-beat intervals. By analyzing the plot, we extracted three feature measures characterizing AFib and non-AFib: the number of clusters, mean stepping increment of inter-beat intervals, and dispersion of the points around a diagonal line in the plot. We divided distribution of the number of clusters into two and calculated mean value of the lower part by k-means clustering method. We classified data whose number of clusters is more than one and less than this mean value as non-AFib data. In the other case, we tried to discriminate AFib from non-AFib using support vector machine with the other feature measures: the mean stepping increment and dispersion of the points in the Poincare plot. We found that Poincare plot from non-AFib data showed some pattern, while the plot from AFib data showed irregularly irregular shape. In case of non-AFib data, the definite pattern in the plot manifested itself with some limited number of clusters or closely packed one cluster. In case of AFib data, the number of clusters in the plot was one or too many. We evaluated the accuracy using leave-one-out cross-validation. Mean sensitivity and mean specificity were 91.4% and 92.9% respectively. Because pulse beats of ventricles are less likely to be influenced by baseline wandering and noise, we used the inter-beat intervals to diagnose AFib. We visually displayed regularity of the inter-beat intervals by way of Poincare plot. We tried to design an

  4. Temporal changes in vegetation of a virgin beech woodland remnant: stand-scale stability with intensive fine-scale dynamics governed by stand dynamic events

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tibor Standovár

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this resurvey study is to check if herbaceous vegetation on the forest floor exhibits overall stability at the stand-scale in spite of intensive dynamics at the scale of individual plots and stand dynamic events (driven by natural fine scale canopy gap dynamics. In 1996, we sampled a 1.5 ha patch using 0.25 m² plots placed along a 5 m × 5 m grid in the best remnant of central European montane beech woods in Hungary. All species in the herbaceous layer and their cover estimates were recorded. Five patches representing different stand developmental situations (SDS were selected for resurvey. In 2013, 306 plots were resurveyed by using blocks of four 0.25 m² plots to test the effects of imperfect relocation. We found very intensive fine-scale dynamics in the herbaceous layer with high species turnover and sharp changes in ground layer cover at the local-scale (< 1 m2. A decrease in species richness and herbaceous layer cover, as well as high species turnover, characterized the closing gaps. Colonization events and increasing species richness and herbaceous layer cover prevailed in the two newly created gaps. A pronounced decrease in the total cover, but low species turnover and survival of the majority of the closed forest specialists was detected by the resurvey at the stand-scale. The test aiming at assessing the effect of relocation showed a higher time effect than the effect of imprecise relocation. The very intensive fine-scale dynamics of the studied beech forest are profoundly determined by natural stand dynamics. Extinction and colonisation episodes even out at the stand-scale, implying an overall compositional stability of the herbaceous vegetation at the given spatial and temporal scale. We argue that fine-scale gap dynamics, driven by natural processes or applied as a management method, can warrant the survival of many closed forest specialist species in the long-run. Nomenclature: Flora Europaea (Tutin et al. 2010 for

  5. Generation of low-Btu fuel gas from agricultural residues experiments with a laboratory scale gas producer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Williams, R O

    1977-01-01

    Two successive laboratory-scale, downdraft gas producers were fabricated and tested. Agricultural and food processing residues including walnut shells, corn cobs, tree prunings, and cotton gin waste, were converted to a low Btu producer gas. The performance of 2 spark ignition engines, when running on producer gas, was highly satisfactory. The ability of the producer to maintain a continuous supply of good quality gas was determined largely by firebox configuration. Fuel handling and fuel flow control problems tended to be specific to individual types of residues. During each test run, air input, firebox temperature, fuel consumption rate, and pressure differential across the producer were monitored. An overall conversion efficiency of 65% was achieved.

  6. Biophysical constraints to sustainable agricultural intensification in West African drylands: an example of the WASCAL Research Action Plan (WRAP 2.0) Flagship Strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tondoh, E. J.; Forkuor, G.; Adegoke, J. O.

    2017-12-01

    The West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) is an intergovernmental research organization established in 2012 as result of multilateral collaborations between the Republic of Germany and Governments of 10 West African countries. Its new research program termed WASCAL Research Action Plan (WRAP 2.0) aims to deploy first-class, demand-driven, and impact-oriented research to achieve development outcomes and deliver key science-based climate and environmental services. It's therefore structured around key flagships, including "Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security" with a focus on enhancing the adaptive capacity of socio-ecological landscapes through increased agricultural productivity. However, as land degradation is one of the major obstacles to sustainable agricultural production and food security in sub Saharan African, it's imperative to mitigate this complex multifaceted process which is particularly acute in West African drylands. This case study aims to diagnose the main constraints to sustainable agricultural intensification at landscape scale and derive best bet soil management practices. The methodological approach is built around biophysical survey at sites of 100 km2 organized around 16 clusters each composed of 10 georeferenced sampling plots in three semi-arid agro-ecological landscapes located in upper-west region of Ghana (Lambussie), southwestern Burkina Faso (Bondigui) and southwestern Mali (Finkolo). Soil samples were collected in both the topsoil (0-20cm) and subsoil (20-50) and key soil physical constraints were measured at each sampling point. Remote Sensing (RS) variables representing biomass, climate and topography were correlated with soil organic carbon (SOC) to determine the influence of these variables on soil health. Results revealed within and between site variations in SOC concentration, soil pH, soil fertility index (SFI), erosion prevalence and root depth restriction. Different RS

  7. Landscape diversity and the resilience of agricultural returns: a portfolio analysis of land-use patterns and economic returns from lowland agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abson David J

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Conventional agriculture is increasingly based on highly specialized, highly productive farms. It has been suggested that 1 this specialization leads to farms that lack resilience to changing market and environmental conditions; and 2 that by decreasing agricultural diversity, the resilience of the farming system also decreases. Methods We used agricultural gross margin (GM forecasts from 1966 to 2010 and remote sensing data from agricultural landscapes in the lowland UK, in conjunction with modern portfolio theory, to test the hypothesis that decreasing land-use diversity results in landscapes that provide higher, but more volatile, economic returns. We considered the role of spatial scale on the expected levels of volatility and resilience of agricultural returns. Results We found that: 1 there was a strong linear trade-off between expected GMs and the expected volatility of those GMs in real lowland agricultural landscapes in the UK; 2 land-use diversification was negatively correlated with expected GMs from agriculture, and positively correlated with decreasing expected volatility in GMs; 3 the resilience of agricultural returns was positively correlated with the diversity of agricultural land use, and the resilience of agricultural returns rose quickly with increased land-holding size at small spatial extents, but this effect diminished after landholdings reached 12,000 hectares. Conclusions Land-use diversity may have an important role in ensuring resilient agricultural returns in the face of uncertain market and environmental conditions, and land-holding size plays a pivotal role in determining the relationships between resilience and returns at a landscape scale. Creating finer-grained land-use patterns based on pre-existing local land uses may increase the resilience of individual farms, while maintaining aggregate yield across landscapes.

  8. Polar plot representation of time-resolved fluorescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eichorst, John Paul; Wen Teng, Kai; Clegg, Robert M

    2014-01-01

    Measuring changes in a molecule's fluorescence emission is a common technique to study complex biological systems such as cells and tissues. Although the steady-state fluorescence intensity is frequently used, measuring the average amount of time that a molecule spends in the excited state (the fluorescence lifetime) reveals more detailed information about its local environment. The lifetime is measured in the time domain by detecting directly the decay of fluorescence following excitation by short pulse of light. The lifetime can also be measured in the frequency domain by recording the phase and amplitude of oscillation in the emitted fluorescence of the sample in response to repetitively modulated excitation light. In either the time or frequency domain, the analysis of data to extract lifetimes can be computationally intensive. For example, a variety of iterative fitting algorithms already exist to determine lifetimes from samples that contain multiple fluorescing species. However, recently a method of analysis referred to as the polar plot (or phasor plot) is a graphical tool that projects the time-dependent features of the sample's fluorescence in either the time or frequency domain into the Cartesian plane to characterize the sample's lifetime. The coordinate transformations of the polar plot require only the raw data, and hence, there are no uncertainties from extensive corrections or time-consuming fitting in this analysis. In this chapter, the history and mathematical background of the polar plot will be presented along with examples that highlight how it can be used in both cuvette-based and imaging applications.

  9. An ecoinformatics application for forest dynamics plot data management and sharing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chau-Chin Lin; Abd Rahman Kassim; Kristin Vanderbilt; Donald Henshaw; Eda C. Melendez-Colom; John H. Porter; Kaoru Niiyama; Tsutomu Yagihashi; Sek Aun Tan; Sheng-Shan Lu; Chi-Wen Hsiao; Li-Wan Chang; Meei-Ru. Jeng

    2011-01-01

    Several forest dynamics plot research projects in the East-Asia Pacific region of the International Long-Term Ecological Research network actively collect long-term data, and some of these large plots are members of the Center for Tropical Forest Science network. The wealth of forest plot data presents challenges in information management to researchers. In order to...

  10. Urban Expansion and Agricultural Land Loss in China: A Multiscale Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaifang Shi

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available China’s rapid urbanization has contributed to a massive agricultural land loss that could threaten its food security. Timely and accurate mapping of urban expansion and urbanization-related agricultural land loss can provide viable measures to be taken for urban planning and agricultural land protection. In this study, urban expansion in China from 2001 to 2013 was mapped using the nighttime stable light (NSL, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI, and water body data. Urbanization-related agricultural land loss during this time period was then evaluated at national, regional, and metropolitan scales by integrating multiple sources of geographic data. The results revealed that China’s total urban area increased from 31,076 km2 in 2001 to 80,887 km2 in 2013, with an average annual growth rate of 13.36%. This widespread urban expansion consumed 33,080 km2 of agricultural land during this period. At a regional scale, the eastern region lost 18,542 km2 or 1.2% of its total agricultural land area. At a metropolitan scale, the Shanghai–Nanjing–Hangzhou (SNH and Pearl River Delta (PRD areas underwent high levels of agricultural land loss with a decrease of 6.12% (4728 km2 and 6.05% (2702 km2 of their total agricultural land areas, respectively. Special attention should be paid to the PRD, with a decline of 13.30% (1843 km2 of its cropland. Effective policies and strategies should be implemented to mitigate urbanization-related agricultural land loss in the context of China’s rapid urbanization.

  11. Agriculture and greenhouse effect: economic regulation of cross impacts and combination of agricultural and environmental policies - analysis for the France and extension to the european union. Economic analysis of the interactions agriculture- greenhouse effect; Agriculture et effet de serre: regulation economique des impacts croises et combinaison des politiques agricole et environnementale - Analyse pour la France et extension pour l'Union Europeenne. Analyse economique des interactions agriculture - effet de serre

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jayet, P.A

    2002-09-15

    The objectives of the research program are: the impacts evaluation of a double relation climate - agriculture on the agricultural production and the greenhouse gases emission; the compatibility of agricultural policies and environmental policies of the sector. Simulations are realized at a regional scale with a coupling of economical and biophysical models (manure spreading, cultivation yield). (A.L.B.)

  12. Mapping Agricultural Frozen Soil on the Watershed Scale Using Remote Sensing Data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khaldoune, J; Bernier, M; Van Bochove, E; Nolin, M.C

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents an empirical model for classifying frozen/unfrozen soils in the entire Bras d Henri River watershed (167 km 2 ) near Quebec City (Quebec, Canada). It was developed to produce frozen soil maps under snow cover using RADARSAT-1 fine mode images and in situ data during three winters. Twelve RADARSAT-1 images were analyzed from fall 2003 to spring 2006 to discern the intra- and inter annual variability of frozen soil characteristics. Regression models were developed for each soil group (parent material-drainage-soil type) and land cover to establish a threshold for frozen soil from the backscattering coefficients (HH polarization). Tilled fields showed higher backscattering signal (+3 db) than the untilled fields. The overall classification accuracy was 87% for frozen soils and 94% for unfrozen soils. With respect to land use, that is, tilled versus untilled fields, an overall accuracy of 89% was obtained for the tilled fields and 92% for the untilled fields. Results show that this new mapping approach using RADARSAT-1 images can provide estimates of surface soil status (frozen/unfrozen) at the watershed scale in agricultural areas.

  13. Rural-urban migration and effects on agricultural labour supply in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    International Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development ... This study analyzed the effects of rural-urban migration on agricultural labour supply in ... Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, 3-point likert scale, multiple regression ...

  14. The former Iron Curtain still drives biodiversity-profit trade-offs in German agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batáry, Péter; Gallé, Róbert; Riesch, Friederike; Fischer, Christina; Dormann, Carsten F; Mußhoff, Oliver; Császár, Péter; Fusaro, Silvia; Gayer, Christoph; Happe, Anne-Kathrin; Kurucz, Kornélia; Molnár, Dorottya; Rösch, Verena; Wietzke, Alexander; Tscharntke, Teja

    2017-09-01

    Agricultural intensification drives biodiversity loss and shapes farmers' profit, but the role of legacy effects and detailed quantification of ecological-economic trade-offs are largely unknown. In Europe during the 1950s, the Eastern communist bloc switched to large-scale farming by forced collectivization of small farms, while the West kept small-scale private farming. Here we show that large-scale agriculture in East Germany reduced biodiversity, which has been maintained in West Germany due to >70% longer field edges than those in the East. In contrast, profit per farmland area in the East was 50% higher than that in the West, despite similar yield levels. In both regions, switching from conventional to organic farming increased biodiversity and halved yield levels, but doubled farmers' profits. In conclusion, European Union policy should acknowledge the surprisingly high biodiversity benefits of small-scale agriculture, which are on a par with conversion to organic agriculture.

  15. Assessing and modelling ecohydrologic processes at the agricultural field scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basso, Bruno

    2015-04-01

    One of the primary goals of agricultural management is to increase the amount of crop produced per unit of fertilizer and water used. World record corn yields demonstrated that water use efficiency can increase fourfold with improved agronomic management and cultivars able to tolerate high densities. Planting crops with higher plant density can lead to significant yield increases, and increase plant transpiration vs. soil water evaporation. Precision agriculture technologies have been adopted for the last twenty years but seldom have the data collected been converted to information that led farmers to different agronomic management. These methods are intuitively appealing, but yield maps and other spatial layers of data need to be properly analyzed and interpreted to truly become valuable. Current agro-mechanic and geospatial technologies allow us to implement a spatially variable plan for agronomic inputs including seeding rate, cultivars, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and water. Crop models are valuable tools to evaluate the impact of management strategies (e.g., cover crops, tile drains, and genetically-improved cultivars) on yield, soil carbon sequestration, leaching and greenhouse gas emissions. They can help farmers identify adaptation strategies to current and future climate conditions. In this paper I illustrate the key role that precision agriculture technologies (yield mapping technologies, within season soil and crop sensing), crop modeling and weather can play in dealing with the impact of climate variability on soil ecohydrologic processes. Case studies are presented to illustrate this concept.

  16. Effects of plot size on forest-type algorithm accuracy

    Science.gov (United States)

    James A. Westfall

    2009-01-01

    The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program utilizes an algorithm to consistently determine the forest type for forested conditions on sample plots. Forest type is determined from tree size and species information. Thus, the accuracy of results is often dependent on the number of trees present, which is highly correlated with plot area. This research examines the...

  17. GROWTH KINETIC STUDY OF CHLORELLA VULGARIS USING LAB-SCALE AND PILOT-SCALE PHOTOBIOREACTOR: EFFECT OF CO2 CONCENTRATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MAN KEE LAM

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available In the present study, growth kinetic of Chlorella vulgaris was performed when the microalgae was cultivated with different concentrations of CO2 . The experiments were carried out using lab-scale and pilot-scale photobioreactors, and the growth results were analyzed using POLYMATH 6.0 with different growth kinetic models. The growth of the microalgae was found fitted well to the Richards growth model with attainable high R2 values as demonstrated in all studied cases, in concert with low values of root mean squares deviation (RMSD and variance. In addition, the output from the plots of experimental values versus predicted values and residual plots further confirmed the good fit of Richards model. The predicted specific growth rate from Richards model was similar to the experimental specific growth rate with deviation lesser than 5%. The attained results paved a preliminary prediction of microalgae growth characteristic when the cultivation is scaled-up to commercial scale.

  18. Considerations in Forest Growth Estimation Between Two Measurements of Mapped Forest Inventory Plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael T. Thompson

    2006-01-01

    Several aspects of the enhanced Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program?s national plot design complicate change estimation. The design incorporates up to three separate plot sizes (microplot, subplot, and macroplot) to sample trees of different sizes. Because multiple plot sizes are involved, change estimators designed for polyareal plot sampling, such as those...

  19. Fitting diameter distribution models to data from forest inventories with concentric plot design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nanos, N.; Sjöstedt de Luna, S.

    2017-11-01

    Aim: Several national forest inventories use a complex plot design based on multiple concentric subplots where smaller diameter trees are inventoried when lying in the smaller-radius subplots and ignored otherwise. Data from these plots are truncated with threshold (truncation) diameters varying according to the distance from the plot centre. In this paper we designed a maximum likelihood method to fit the Weibull diameter distribution to data from concentric plots. Material and methods: Our method (M1) was based on multiple truncated probability density functions to build the likelihood. In addition, we used an alternative method (M2) presented recently. We used methods M1 and M2 as well as two other reference methods to estimate the Weibull parameters in 40000 simulated plots. The spatial tree pattern of the simulated plots was generated using four models of spatial point patterns. Two error indices were used to assess the relative performance of M1 and M2 in estimating relevant stand-level variables. In addition, we estimated the Quadratic Mean plot Diameter (QMD) using Expansion Factors (EFs). Main results: Methods M1 and M2 produced comparable estimation errors in random and cluster tree spatial patterns. Method M2 produced biased parameter estimates in plots with inhomogeneous Poisson patterns. Estimation of QMD using EFs produced biased results in plots within inhomogeneous intensity Poisson patterns. Research highlights:We designed a new method to fit the Weibull distribution to forest inventory data from concentric plots that achieves high accuracy and precision in parameter estimates regardless of the within-plot spatial tree pattern.

  20. Cross-plotting of rock properties for fluid discrimination using well ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    properties and their attributes (combination of rock properties) cross-plots have been attempted using well data from an offshore field of the Niger Delta as a case study. Numerous cross-plotting techniques of rock- properties/attributes derived from ...

  1. On Development of Agricultural Machinery Operating Service in Chongqing

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Chongjing; TAN; Shi; YANG

    2015-01-01

    Development of agricultural machinery operating service in Chongqing takes on rapid increase in number of service organizations,diversified service methods,improvement in service level,and constant service income. However,there are some problems,including unreasonable composition and small scale of service organization,imbalanced development of four service methods,low service level,and low operating income of agricultural machinery households. To accelerate development of agricultural machinery operating service in Chongqing,it is recommended to take following measures: adjusting subsidy for purchase and operation of agricultural machinery; improving fiscal and taxation and financial system; speeding up infrastructure construction,establishing agricultural machinery information network,and improving organizational form and methods of agricultural machinery operating service.

  2. Decomposition sludge and decomposition gas for agricultural use

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Poepel, F

    1954-01-01

    Agricultural gas containing CH/sub 4/ and CO/sub 2/ is produced by anaerobic fermentation of wastes. The decomposed material is a valuable fertilizer which, by means of aerobic composting with refuse or peat, can be converted into a true humus substance. The operation of small-scale plant for processing agricultural wastes is described.

  3. Experimental Study of Soil Organic Matter Loss From Cultivated Field Plots In The Venezuelan Andes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellanger, B.; Huon, S.; Velasquez, F.; Vallès, V.; Girardin A, C.; Mariotti, A. B.

    The question of discriminating sources of organic matter in suspended particles of stream flows can be addressed by using total organic carbon (TOC) concentration and stable isotope (13C, 15N) measurements when constant fluxes of organic matter supply can be assumed. However, little is known on the dynamics of organic matter release during soil erosion and on the temporal stability of its isotopic signature. In this study, we have monitored soil organic carbon loss and water runoff using natural rainfall events on three experimental field plots with different vegetation cover (bare soil, maize and coffee fields), set up on natural slopes of a tropical mountainous watershed in NW Venezuela (09°13'32'' ­ 09°10'00''N, 70°13'49'' ­ 70°18'34''W). Runoff and soil loss are markedly superior for the bare field plot than for the coffee field plot: by a factor 15 ­ 36, respectively, for the five-month experiment, and by a factor 30 ­ 120, respectively, during a single rainfall event experiment. Since runoff and soil organic matter loss are closely linked during most of the flow (at the time scales of this study), TOC concentration in suspended matter is constant. Furthermore, stable isotope compositions reflect those of top-soil organic matter from which they originate.

  4. A multi-criteria index for ecological evaluation of tropical agriculture in southeastern Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huerta, Esperanza; Kampichler, Christian; Ochoa-Gaona, Susana; De Jong, Ben; Hernandez-Daumas, Salvador; Geissen, Violette

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to generate an easy to use index to evaluate the ecological state of agricultural land from a sustainability perspective. We selected environmental indicators, such as the use of organic soil amendments (green manure) versus chemical fertilizers, plant biodiversity (including crop associations), variables which characterize soil conservation of conventional agricultural systems, pesticide use, method and frequency of tillage. We monitored the ecological state of 52 agricultural plots to test the performance of the index. The variables were hierarchically aggregated with simple mathematical algorithms, if-then rules, and rule-based fuzzy models, yielding the final multi-criteria index with values from 0 (worst) to 1 (best conditions). We validated the model through independent evaluation by experts, and we obtained a linear regression with an r2 = 0.61 (p = 2.4e-06, d.f. = 49) between index output and the experts' evaluation.

  5. The Effect of Plot Size on Some Pratylenchus Penetrans ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Pratylenchus penetrans counts obtained from a rose field, sampled sequentially by decreasing the plot sizes were computed to obtain the respective sample means, variance and k-value of the negative binomial distribution. Plots 21 m x 80 m, 3.6 m x 3.6 m and 0.6 m x 0.6 m were sampled for the nematode. It is reported ...

  6. [Heart rate variability study based on a novel RdR RR Intervals Scatter Plot].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Hongwei; Lu, Xiuyun; Wang, Chunfang; Hua, Youyuan; Tian, Jiajia; Liu, Shihai

    2014-08-01

    On the basis of Poincare scatter plot and first order difference scatter plot, a novel heart rate variability (HRV) analysis method based on scatter plots of RR intervals and first order difference of RR intervals (namely, RdR) was proposed. The abscissa of the RdR scatter plot, the x-axis, is RR intervals and the ordinate, y-axis, is the difference between successive RR intervals. The RdR scatter plot includes the information of RR intervals and the difference between successive RR intervals, which captures more HRV information. By RdR scatter plot analysis of some records of MIT-BIH arrhythmias database, we found that the scatter plot of uncoupled premature ventricular contraction (PVC), coupled ventricular bigeminy and ventricular trigeminy PVC had specific graphic characteristics. The RdR scatter plot method has higher detecting performance than the Poincare scatter plot method, and simpler and more intuitive than the first order difference method.

  7. Usage of medium-scale space images and GIS in analyzing the agriculture production limiting factors at the Northwestern coast, Egypt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gad, A.

    2009-04-01

    The northwestern coast of Egypt is characterized by an international interest due to its history and magnificent environment. The area was known as being the bread basket during the Greek and Roman periods. Recently, drastic changes in land use resulting in destructing many of water harvesting tools, thus diminution of the agriculture importance. Restoration of the area and planning self sufficient communities needs to develop a sustainable land resources database for these regions. The medium scale space data provide a spatial resolution of 30 meters, in addition to multi-temporal imaging. Moreover, Geographic Information System (GIS) permits to store, merge, and manipulate the huge amounts of thematic maps and attribute data. A number of 7 Landsat ETM scenes covering the whole northwestern coast of Egypt were acquired and merged. ERDAS-IMAGINE software was used for image processing and analyzing. A number of 53 topographic maps at scale 1:50000 were used to input GIS thematic layers relevant to land resources, using Arc_GIS 9.2 system. Field investigation was carried out to represent different soil units and collect ground control points. Chemical and physical soil properties were determined, upon which soil classification was based. MicroLEIS system was employed to define soil restrictive elements for the local common agricultural practices. (i.e. cultivation of olives, peach, wheat, beans, and sunflower crops). The results showed that the presence of Calcic, Petrogypsic and Salic horizons are responsible for the problems of water logging, hard workability and secondary salinization. The identified great groups include Torripsamments, Torriorthents, Haplosalids, Petrogypsids and Haplocalcids. Soils of the alluvial fans and watershed basins are deep to moderately deep with a texture ranging between fine sand to clay loam. The salinity is relatively low (EC is +/- 2 dS/m) whereas the CaCO3 content is mostly over 8 %. The limiting factors found in the piedmont and

  8. Flyby Error Analysis Based on Contour Plots for the Cassini Tour

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stumpf, P. W.; Gist, E. M.; Goodson, T. D.; Hahn, Y.; Wagner, S. V.; Williams, P. N.

    2008-01-01

    The maneuver cancellation analysis consists of cost contour plots employed by the Cassini maneuver team. The plots are two-dimensional linear representations of a larger six-dimensional solution to a multi-maneuver, multi-encounter mission at Saturn. By using contours plotted with the dot product of vectors B and R and the dot product of vectors B and T components, it is possible to view the effects delta V on for various encounter positions in the B-plane. The plot is used in operations to help determine if the Approach Maneuver (ensuing encounter minus three days) and/or the Cleanup Maneuver (ensuing encounter plus three days) can be cancelled and also is a linear check of an integrated solution.

  9. Experimental Garden Plots for Botany Lessons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorodnicheva, V. V.; Vasil'eva, E. I.

    1976-01-01

    Discussion of the botany lessons used at two schools points out the need for fifth and sixth grade students to be taught the principles of plant life through observations made at an experimental garden plot at the school. (ND)

  10. Measuring, understanding and implementing (or at least trying) soil and water conservation in agricultural areas in Mediterranean conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez, Jose Alfonso; Burguet, María; Castillo, Carlos; de Luna, Elena; Guzmán, Gema; Lora, Ángel; Lorite, Ignacio; Mora, José; Pérez, Rafael; Soriano, María A.; Taguas, Encarnación V.

    2015-04-01

    Understanding soil erosion processes is the first step for designing and implementing effective soil conservation strategies. In agricultural areas, spatially in arid and semiarid conditions, water conservation is interlinked with soil conservation, and usually need to be addressed simultaneously to achieve success in their use by farmers. This is so for different reasons, but usually because some reduction in runoff is required to prevent soil erosion or to the need to design soil conservation systems that do maintain a favourable water balance for the crop to prevent yield reductions. The team presenting this communication works around both issues in Southern Spain, interconnecting several lines of research with the final objective of contribute to reverse some severe issues relating soil conservation in agricultural areas, mostly on tree crops (olives and vineyards). One of these lines is long-term experiments measuring, runoff and sediment losses at plot and small catchment scale. In these experiments we test the effect of different soil management alternatives on soil and water conservation. We also measured the evolution of soil properties and, in some cases, the evolution of soil moisture as well as nutrient and carbon losses with runoff and sediment. We also tests in these experiments new cover crops, from species better adapted to the rainfall regime of the region to mixes with several species to increase biodiversity. We complement these studies with surveys of soil properties in commercial farms. I some of these farms we follow the introduction by farmers of the cover crop strategies previously developed in our experimental fields. These data are invaluable to elaborate, calibrate and validate different runoff generation, water balance, and water erosion models and hillslope and small catchment scale. This allows us to elaborate regional analysis of the effect of different strategies to soil and water conservation in olive growing areas, and to refine

  11. Agricultural rent-seeking in developing countries: an empirical investigation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hvid, Anna

    2014-01-01

    or rural development? This article finds empirical support for a proposed theory which suggests that the extent of agricultural rent-seeking, in the form of large-scale land acquisitions, is determined by the relative political power of an elite and a farmer group. © 2014 Taylor & Francis.......Recent increases in demand for agricultural land has fuelled academic, as well as public, interest in the potential effects of high value agricultural land, particularly in developing countries. The dominating question seems to be: will increasing demand for agricultural land imply land grabbing...

  12. The role of agricultural engineering in the management of landscape changes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia Fumagalli

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Landscape represents the “sensory aspect” of the land and as such it can be appreciated by all the five senses: sight, smelling, hearing, touch and taste. At the same time, landscape evolves over time and its value – ecological, economical and affective – changes as its constitutive elements change. Engineering can help “to drive” this evolution addressing it towards a condition of balance between individual and community requirements, especially referred to the effect of technological development on landscape. This effect can be referred to three dimensions: perceptive, functional and symbolic dimensions. The possible contribution to the management of landscape changes concerns all the three historic souls of Agricultural Engineering; in particular, Agricultural Hydraulics deals with the topic of landscape referring to both irrigation and the possible recreational use of canal systems; Agricultural Engineering determines plot form and size and woodland view; Rural Building deals with both the recovery of existing buildings and the design and making of new ones and their fitting in the landscape; moreover, the sector has developed new methods for the evaluation and the planning of rural land resources, especially about agriculture and forestry productivity, ecological stability and visual quality of rural land itself.

  13. Contemplation on Plot and Personification in Tehran Makhuf

    OpenAIRE

    Mohammad Pashaei; Mirjalil Akrami; Mirjalil Akrami

    2013-01-01

     Abstract Story is one of the important and influential literary genres that deserves to research on its structure and content .By study and analysis of a story, the reader could comprehend the textual messages and change his attitude toward life and different issues .After defining of the social novel, the author tries to analyze plot and personification in novel of âTehran-e- Makhufâ and respond to the questions on the method employed for plot and personification and analyze it from pl...

  14. Hydrological Modelling Using a Rainfall Simulator over an Experimental Hillslope Plot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arpit Chouksey

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Hydrological processes are complex to compute in hilly areas when compared to plain areas. The governing processes behind runoff generation on hillslopes are subsurface storm flow, saturation excess flow, overland flow, return flow and pipe storage. The simulations of the above processes in the soil matrix require detailed hillslope hydrological modelling. In the present study, a hillslope experimental plot has been designed to study the runoff generation processes on the plot scale. The setup is designed keeping in view the natural hillslope conditions prevailing in the Northwestern Himalayas, India where high intensity rainfall events occur frequently. A rainfall simulator was installed over the experimental hillslope plot to generate rainfall with an intensity of 100 mm/h, which represents the dominating rainfall intensity range in the region. Soil moisture sensors were also installed at variable depths from 100 to 1000 mm at different locations of the plot to observe the soil moisture regime. From the experimental observations it was found that once the soil is saturated, it remains at field capacity for the next 24–36 h. Such antecedent moisture conditions are most favorable for the generation of rapid stormflow from hillslopes. A dye infiltration test was performed on the undisturbed soil column to observe the macropore fraction variability over the vegetated hillslopes. The estimated macropore fractions are used as essential input for the hillslope hydrological model. The main objective of the present study was to develop and test a method for estimating runoff responses from natural rainfall over hillslopes of the Northwestern Himalayas using a portable rainfall simulator. Using the experimental data and the developed conceptual model, the overland flow and the subsurface flow through a macropore-dominated area have been estimated/analyzed. The surface and subsurface runoff estimated using the developed hillslope hydrological model

  15. Complexity Plots

    KAUST Repository

    Thiyagalingam, Jeyarajan

    2013-06-01

    In this paper, we present a novel visualization technique for assisting the observation and analysis of algorithmic complexity. In comparison with conventional line graphs, this new technique is not sensitive to the units of measurement, allowing multivariate data series of different physical qualities (e.g., time, space and energy) to be juxtaposed together conveniently and consistently. It supports multivariate visualization as well as uncertainty visualization. It enables users to focus on algorithm categorization by complexity classes, while reducing visual impact caused by constants and algorithmic components that are insignificant to complexity analysis. It provides an effective means for observing the algorithmic complexity of programs with a mixture of algorithms and black-box software through visualization. Through two case studies, we demonstrate the effectiveness of complexity plots in complexity analysis in research, education and application. © 2013 The Author(s) Computer Graphics Forum © 2013 The Eurographics Association and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  16. [Effect of comprehensive control and prevention for chronic disease in demonstration plot of Chongqing].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Li; Ding, Xian-bin; Mao, De-qiang; Feng, Lian-gui; Wang, Yu-lin; Jiao, Yan; Zhang, Chun-hua; Lü, Xiao-yan; Li, Hong; Xia, Yi-yin

    2013-03-01

    To evaluate the effect of comprehensive control and prevention for chronic diseases in demonstration plot of Chongqing. Residents were enrolled through multi-stage stratified random sampling method from 17 districts or counties which had successfully established demonstration plots and 21 districts or counties which had not established demonstration plots (non-demonstration plot for short) yet on May, 2012. Questionnaire was designed to survey awareness of health knowledge, health behaviors and utilization of health supportive tools. The results were analyzed by SPSS 15.0 software. We investigated 15 108 residents, 6156 of which were in demonstration plot and others (8951) were not. The findings revealed the percentage of the people who were aware the national action of health lifestyle in demonstration plot and in non-demonstration plot were 44.4% (2734/6157) and 40.2% (3598/8951), respectively, and the awareness of the hypertension risk of too much sodium were 72.4% (4458/6156) and 67.5% (6042/8951), respectively, and the awareness of the cardinal vascular disease (CVD) risk of obesity and overweight were 77.2% (4753/6157) and 69.6% (6230/8951), respectively. About the residents' health behaviors in demonstration plot and in non-demonstration plot, the utilization rates of salt restriction scoop or pot were 23.5% (1447/6157) and 17.9% (1602/8951), and the utilization rates of oil restriction pot were 16.7% (1028/6157) and 11.8% (1064/8951), respectively. Totally, 33 of the 37 indexes were shown higher in demonstration plot than that in non-demonstration plot (P plot was more effective, and the remarkable improvement of health knowledge and behaviors level had been achieved in demonstration plot.

  17. Fitting Data to Model: Structural Equation Modeling Diagnosis Using Two Scatter Plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Ke-Hai; Hayashi, Kentaro

    2010-01-01

    This article introduces two simple scatter plots for model diagnosis in structural equation modeling. One plot contrasts a residual-based M-distance of the structural model with the M-distance for the factor score. It contains information on outliers, good leverage observations, bad leverage observations, and normal cases. The other plot contrasts…

  18. Rethinking Study and Management of Agricultural Systems for Policy Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johann Baumgärtner

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available There is a concern that agriculture will no longer be able to meet, on a global scale, the growing demand for food. Facing such a challenge requires new patterns of thinking in the context of complexity and sustainability sciences. This paper, focused on the social dimension of the study and management of agricultural systems, suggests that rethinking the study of agricultural systems entails analyzing them as complex socio-ecological systems, as well as considering the differing thinking patterns of diverse stakeholders. The intersubjective nature of knowledge, as studied by different philosophical schools, needs to be better integrated into the study and management of agricultural systems than it is done so far, forcing us to accept that there are no simplistic solutions, and to seek a better understanding of the social dimension of agriculture. Different agriculture related problems require different policy and institutional approaches. Finally, the intersubjective nature of knowledge asks for the visualization of different framings and the power relations taking place in the decision-making process. Rethinking management of agricultural systems implies that policy making should be shaped by different principles: learning, flexibility, adaptation, scale-matching, participation, diversity enhancement and precaution hold the promise to significantly improve current standard management procedures.

  19. Certified Organic Agriculture as an Alternative Livelihood Strategy for Small-scale Farmers in China: A Case Study in Wanzai County, Jiangxi Province

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Qiao, Yuhui; Martin, Friederike; Cook, Seth

    2018-01-01

    (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable...... in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (... is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers...

  20. Developing robust recurrence plot analysis techniques for investigating infant respiratory patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terrill, Philip I; Wilson, Stephen; Suresh, Sadasivam; Cooper, David M

    2007-01-01

    Recurrence plot analysis is a useful non-linear analysis tool. There are still no well formalised procedures for carrying out this analysis on measured physiological data, and systemising analysis is often difficult. In this paper, the recurrence based embedding is compared to radius based embedding by studying a logistic attractor and measured breathing data collected from sleeping human infants. Recurrence based embedding appears to be a more robust method of carrying out a recurrence analysis when attractor size is likely to be different between datasets. In the infant breathing data, the radius measure calculated at a fixed recurrence, scaled by average respiratory period, allows the accurate discrimination of active sleep from quiet sleep states (AUC=0.975, Sn=098, Sp=0.94).

  1. Zipper plot: visualizing transcriptional activity of genomic regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avila Cobos, Francisco; Anckaert, Jasper; Volders, Pieter-Jan; Everaert, Celine; Rombaut, Dries; Vandesompele, Jo; De Preter, Katleen; Mestdagh, Pieter

    2017-05-02

    Reconstructing transcript models from RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data and establishing these as independent transcriptional units can be a challenging task. Current state-of-the-art tools for long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) annotation are mainly based on evolutionary constraints, which may result in false negatives due to the overall limited conservation of lncRNAs. To tackle this problem we have developed the Zipper plot, a novel visualization and analysis method that enables users to simultaneously interrogate thousands of human putative transcription start sites (TSSs) in relation to various features that are indicative for transcriptional activity. These include publicly available CAGE-sequencing, ChIP-sequencing and DNase-sequencing datasets. Our method only requires three tab-separated fields (chromosome, genomic coordinate of the TSS and strand) as input and generates a report that includes a detailed summary table, a Zipper plot and several statistics derived from this plot. Using the Zipper plot, we found evidence of transcription for a set of well-characterized lncRNAs and observed that fewer mono-exonic lncRNAs have CAGE peaks overlapping with their TSSs compared to multi-exonic lncRNAs. Using publicly available RNA-seq data, we found more than one hundred cases where junction reads connected protein-coding gene exons with a downstream mono-exonic lncRNA, revealing the need for a careful evaluation of lncRNA 5'-boundaries. Our method is implemented using the statistical programming language R and is freely available as a webtool.

  2. SpectraPLOT, Visualization Package with a User-Friendly Graphical Interface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sebald, James; Macfarlane, Joseph; Golovkin, Igor

    2017-10-01

    SPECT3D is a collisional-radiative spectral analysis package designed to compute detailed emission, absorption, or x-ray scattering spectra, filtered images, XRD signals, and other synthetic diagnostics. The spectra and images are computed for virtual detectors by post-processing the results of hydrodynamics simulations in 1D, 2D, and 3D geometries. SPECT3D can account for a variety of instrumental response effects so that direct comparisons between simulations and experimental measurements can be made. SpectraPLOT is a user-friendly graphical interface for viewing a wide variety of results from SPECT3D simulations, and applying various instrumental effects to the simulated images and spectra. We will present SpectraPLOT's ability to display a variety of data, including spectra, images, light curves, streaked spectra, space-resolved spectra, and drilldown plasma property plots, for an argon-doped capsule implosion experiment example. Future SpectraPLOT features and enhancements will also be discussed.

  3. On the Nature of Earth-Mars Porkchop Plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woolley, Ryan C.; Whetsel, Charles W.

    2013-01-01

    Porkchop plots are a quick and convenient tool to help mission designers plan ballistic trajectories between two bodies. Parameter contours give rise to the familiar 'porkchop' shape. Each synodic period the pattern repeats, but not exactly, primarily due to differences in inclination and non-zero eccentricity. In this paper we examine the morphological features of Earth-to-Mars porkchop plots and the orbital characteristics that create them. These results are compared to idealistic and optimized transfers. Conclusions are drawn about 'good' opportunities versus 'bad' opportunities for different mission applications.

  4. Agricultural transportation fuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1993-01-01

    The recommendations on the title subject are focused on the question whether advantages and disadvantages of agricultural fuels compared to fossil fuels justify the Dutch policy promotion of the use of agricultural products as basic materials for agricultural fuels. Attention is paid to energetic, environmental and economical aspects of both fuel types. Four options to apply agricultural transportation fuels are discussed: (1) 10% bio-ethanol in euro-unleaded gasoline for engines of passenger cars, equipped with a three-way catalyst; (2) the substitution of 15% methyl tertiair butyl ether (MTBE) by ethyl tertiair butyl ether (ETBE) as a substituent for lead in unleaded super plus gasoline (Sp 98) for engines of passenger cars, equipped with a three-way catalyst; (3) 50% KME (rapeseed oil ester) in low-sulfur diesel (0.05%S D) for engines of vans without a catalyst; and (4) the substitution of 0.05% S D by bio-ethanol or KME for buses with fuel-adjusted engines, equipped with a catalyst. Also the substitution by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas (CNG) or E 95 was investigated in option four. Each of the options investigated can contribute to a reduction of the use of fossil energy and the environmental effects of the use of fossil fuels, although some environmental effects from agricultural fuels must be taken into consideration. It is recommended to seriously pay attention to the promotion of agricultural fuels, not only in the Netherlands, but also in an international context. Policy instruments to be used in the stimulation of the use of such fuels are the existing European Community subsidies on fallow lands, exemption of the European Community energy levy, and the use of tax differentiation. Large-scale demonstration projects must be started to quantify hazardous emissions and to solve still existing technical problems. 8 figs., 3 tabs., refs., 4 appendices

  5. Methane and Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Agriculture on a Regional Scale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agnieszka Wysocka-Czubaszek

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, agriculture has to meet the growing food demand together with high requirements of environmental protection, especially regarding the climate change. The greenhouse gas emissions differ not only on a global, but also on a regional scale, and mitigation strategies are effective when they are adapted properly. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to present the results of methane (CH4 and nitrous oxide (N2O emissions inventory on a regional level in Poland in years 1999-2015. The CH4 and N2O emissions were calculated according to the methodology used by the National Centre for Emissions Management (NCEM for national inventory for United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol. The data were taken from Central Statistical Office of Poland. The CH4 emissions in all studied years varied strongly between voivodeships and ranged from 5.6-7.5 Gg y-1 in the Lubuskie Voivodeship to 84.8-104.3 Gg y-1 in the Mazowieckie Voivodeship. While in most voivodeships the CH4 emissions dropped down, in Podlaskie, Mazursko-Warmińskie, and Wielkopolskie voivodeships, the emissions of this gas increased significantly as a consequence of the development of dairy and meat production. In 1999, the highest N2O fluxes were calculated for the Wielkopolskie (5.7 Gg y-1, Mazowieckie (4.8 Gg y-1 Kujawsko-Pomorskie (3.5 Gg y-1 and Lubelskie (3.3 Gg y-1 voivodeships, while in 2015, the highest nitrous oxide emissions were calculated for the Wielkopolskie (7.3 Gg y-1, Mazowieckie (5.5 Gg y-1, Kujawsko-Pomorskie (4.1 Gg y-1 and Podlaskie (4.1 Gg y-1 voivodeships. In the studied period, the contribution of N2O emissions from crop production increased in almost all voivodeships except the Podlaskie, Lubuskie and Warmińsko-Mazurskie regions. The growth in emissions from mineral fertilization and crop residue incorporation, together with the increase of emission from the animal sector in some regions of Poland, resulted in the higher national

  6. Multi-scale comparisons of tree composition in Amazonian terra firme forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honorio Coronado, E. N.; Baker, T. R.; Phillips, O. L.; Pitman, N. C. A.; Pennington, R. T.; Vásquez Martínez, R.; Monteagudo, A.; Mogollón, H.; Dávila Cardozo, N.; Ríos, M.; García-Villacorta, R.; Valderrama, E.; Ahuite, M.; Huamantupa, I.; Neill, D. A.; Laurance, W. F.; Nascimento, H. E. M.; Soares de Almeida, S.; Killeen, T. J.; Arroyo, L.; Núñez, P.; Freitas Alvarado, L.

    2009-11-01

    We explored the floristic composition of terra firme forests across Amazonia using 55 plots. Firstly, we examined the floristic patterns using both genus- and species-level data and found that the species-level analysis more clearly distinguishes among forests. Next, we compared the variation in plot floristic composition at regional- and continental-scales, and found that average among-pair floristic similarity and its decay with distance behave similarly at regional- and continental-scales. Nevertheless, geographical distance had different effects on floristic similarity within regions at distances floristic variation than plots of central and eastern Amazonia. Finally, we quantified the role of environmental factors and geographical distance for determining variation in floristic composition. A partial Mantel test indicated that while geographical distance appeared to be more important at continental scales, soil fertility was crucial at regional scales within western Amazonia, where areas with similar soil conditions were more likely to share a high number of species. Overall, these results suggest that regional-scale variation in floristic composition can rival continental-scale differences within Amazonian terra firme forests, and that variation in floristic composition at both scales is influenced by geographical distance and environmental factors, such as climate and soil fertility. To fully account for regional-scale variation in continental studies of floristic composition, future floristic studies should focus on forest types poorly represented at regional scales in current datasets, such as terra firme forests with high soil fertility in north-western Amazonia.

  7. Monitoring and assessment of soil erosion at micro-scale and macro-scale in forests affected by fire damage in northern Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbarzadeh, Ali; Ghorbani-Dashtaki, Shoja; Naderi-Khorasgani, Mehdi; Kerry, Ruth; Taghizadeh-Mehrjardi, Ruhollah

    2016-12-01

    Understanding the occurrence of erosion processes at large scales is very difficult without studying them at small scales. In this study, soil erosion parameters were investigated at micro-scale and macro-scale in forests in northern Iran. Surface erosion and some vegetation attributes were measured at the watershed scale in 30 parcels of land which were separated into 15 fire-affected (burned) forests and 15 original (unburned) forests adjacent to the burned sites. The soil erodibility factor and splash erosion were also determined at the micro-plot scale within each burned and unburned site. Furthermore, soil sampling and infiltration studies were carried out at 80 other sites, as well as the 30 burned and unburned sites, (a total of 110 points) to create a map of the soil erodibility factor at the regional scale. Maps of topography, rainfall, and cover-management were also determined for the study area. The maps of erosion risk and erosion risk potential were finally prepared for the study area using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) procedure. Results indicated that destruction of the protective cover of forested areas by fire had significant effects on splash erosion and the soil erodibility factor at the micro-plot scale and also on surface erosion, erosion risk, and erosion risk potential at the watershed scale. Moreover, the results showed that correlation coefficients between different variables at the micro-plot and watershed scales were positive and significant. Finally, assessment and monitoring of the erosion maps at the regional scale showed that the central and western parts of the study area were more susceptible to erosion compared with the western regions due to more intense crop-management, greater soil erodibility, and more rainfall. The relationships between erosion parameters and the most important vegetation attributes were also used to provide models with equations that were specific to the study region. The results of this

  8. Networks in Argentine agriculture: a multiple-case study approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastián Senesi

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Argentina is among the four largest producers of soybeans, sunflower, corn, and wheat, among other agricultural products. Institutional and policy changes during the 1990s fostered the development of Argentine agriculture and the introduction of innovative process and product technologies (no-till, agrochemicals, GMO, GPS and new investments in modern, large-scale sunflower and soybean processing plants. In addition to technological changes, a "quiet revolution" occurred in the way agricultural production was carried out and organized: from self-production or ownership agriculture to a contract-based agriculture. The objective of this paper is to explore and describe the emergence of networks in the Argentine crop production sector. The paper presents and describes four cases that currently represent about 50% of total grain and oilseed production in Argentina: "informal hybrid form", "agricultural trust fund", "investor-oriented corporate structure", and "network of networks". In all cases, hybrid forms involve a group of actors linked by common objectives, mainly to gain scale, share resources, and improve the profitability of the business. Informal contracts seem to be the most common way of organizing the agriculture process, but using short-term contracts and sequential interfirm collaboration. Networks of networks involve long-term relationships and social development, and reciprocal interfirm collaboration. Agricultural trust fund and investor-oriented corporate structures have combined interfirm collaboration and medium-term relationships. These organizational forms are highly flexible and show a great capacity to adapt to challenges; they are competitive because they enjoy aligned incentives, flexibility, and adaptability.

  9. Activities: Plotting and Predicting from Pairs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shulte, Albert P.; Swift, Jim

    1984-01-01

    This teacher's guide provides objectives, procedures, and list of materials needed for activities which center around the use of a scatter plot to examine relationships shown by bivariate data. The activities are suitable for grades 7 to 12. Four student worksheets are included. (JN)

  10. Comparison of production-phase environmental impact metrics derived at the farm- and national-scale for United States agricultural commodities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costello, Christine; Xue, Xiaobo; Howarth, Robert W

    2015-01-01

    Agricultural production is critical for human survival and simultaneously contributes to ecosystem degradation. There is a need for transparent, rapid methods for evaluating the environmental impacts of agricultural production at the system-level in order to develop sustainable food supplies. We have developed a method for estimating the greenhouse gas (GHG), land use and reactive nitrogen inputs associated with the agricultural production phase of major crop and livestock commodities produced in the United States (US). Materials flow analysis (MFA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) techniques were applied to national inventory datasets. The net anthropogenic nitrogen inputs (NANI) toolbox served as the primary accounting tool for LCA and MFA. NANI was updated to create links between nitrogen fertilizer and nitrogen fixation associated with feed crops and animal food commodities. Results for the functional units kilogram (kg) of product and kg of protein for 2002 data fall within ranges of published LCA results from farm-scale studies across most metrics. Exceptions include eutrophication potential for milk and GHGs for chicken and eggs, these exceptions arise due to differing methods and boundary assumptions; suggestions for increasing agreement are identified. Land use for livestock commodities are generally higher than reported by other LCA studies due to the inclusion of all land identified as pasture or grazing land in the US in this study and given that most of the estimates from other LCAs were completed in Europe where land is less abundant. The method provides a view of the entire US agricultural system and could be applied to any year using publically available data. Additionally, utilizing a top-down approach reduces data collection and processing time making it possible to develop environmental inventory metrics rapidly for system-level decision-making. (letter)

  11. Integrating field plots, lidar, and landsat time series to provide temporally consistent annual estimates of biomass from 1990 to present

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren B. Cohen; Hans-Erik Andersen; Sean P. Healey; Gretchen G. Moisen; Todd A. Schroeder; Christopher W. Woodall; Grant M. Domke; Zhiqiang Yang; Robert E. Kennedy; Stephen V. Stehman; Curtis Woodcock; Jim Vogelmann; Zhe Zhu; Chengquan. Huang

    2015-01-01

    We are developing a system that provides temporally consistent biomass estimates for national greenhouse gas inventory reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Our model-assisted estimation framework relies on remote sensing to scale from plot measurements to lidar strip samples, to Landsat time series-based maps. As a demonstration, new...

  12. A spatial econometric analysis of land-use change with land cover trends data: an application to the Pacific Northwest

    Science.gov (United States)

    David J. Lewis; Ralph J. Alig

    2014-01-01

    This paper develops a plot-level spatial econometric land-use model and estimates it with U.S. Geological Survey Land Cover Trends (LCT) geographic information system panel data for the western halves of the states of Oregon and Washington. The discrete-choice framework we use models plot-scale choices of the three dominant land uses in this region: forest, agriculture...

  13. How effective are soil conservation techniques in reducing plot runoff and soil loss in Europe and the Mediterranean?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maetens, W.; Poesen, J.; Vanmaercke, M.

    2012-10-01

    The effects of soil and water conservation techniques (SWCTs) on annual runoff (Ra), runoff coefficients (RCa) and annual soil loss (SLa) at the plot scale have been extensively tested on field runoff plots in Europe and the Mediterranean. Nevertheless, a comprehensive overview of these effects and the factors controlling the effectiveness of SWCTs is lacking. Especially the effectiveness of SWCT in reducing Ra is poorly understood. Therefore, an extensive literature review is presented that compiles the results of 101 earlier studies. In each of these studies, Ra and SLa was measured on field runoff plots where various SWCTs were tested. In total, 353 runoff plots (corresponding to 2093 plot-years of data) for 103 plot-measuring stations throughout Europe and the Mediterranean were considered. SWCTs include (1) crop and vegetation management (i.e. cover crops, mulching, grass buffer strips, strip cropping and exclosure), (2) soil management (i.e. no-tillage, reduced tillage, contour tillage, deep tillage, drainage and soil amendment) and (3) mechanical methods (i.e. terraces, contour bunds and geotextiles). Comparison of the frequency distributions of SLa rates on cropland without and with the application of SWCTs shows that the exceedance probability of tolerable SLa rates is ca. 20% lower when SWCT are applied. However, no notable effect of SWCTs on the frequency distribution of RCa is observed. For 224 runoff plots (corresponding to 1567 plot-year data), SWCT effectiveness in reducing Ra and/or SLa could be directly calculated by comparing measured Ra and/or SLa with values measured on a reference plot with conventional management. Crop and vegetation management techniques (i.e. buffer strips, mulching and cover crops) and mechanical techniques (i.e. geotextiles, contour bunds and terraces) are generally more effective than soil management techniques (i.e. no-tillage, reduced tillage and contour tillage). Despite being generally less effective, no

  14. Phthalate esters contamination in soil and plants on agricultural land near an electronic waste recycling site.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Ting Ting; Christie, Peter; Luo, Yong Ming; Teng, Ying

    2013-08-01

    The accumulation of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in soil and plants in agricultural land near an electronic waste recycling site in east China has become a great threat to the neighboring environmental quality and human health. Soil and plant samples collected from land under different utilization, including fallow plots, vegetable plots, plots with alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) as green manure, fallow plots under long-term flooding and fallow plots under alternating wet and dry periods, together with plant samples from relative plots were analyzed for six PAE compounds nominated as prior pollutants by USEPA. In the determined samples, the concentrations of six target PAE pollutants ranged from 0.31-2.39 mg/kg in soil to 1.81-5.77 mg/kg in various plants (dry weight/DW), and their bioconcentration factors (BCFs) ranged from 5.8 to 17.9. Health risk assessments were conducted on target PAEs, known as typical environmental estrogen analogs, based on their accumulation in the edible parts of vegetables. Preliminary risk assessment to human health from soil and daily vegetable intake indicated that DEHP may present a high-exposure risk on all ages of the population in the area by soil ingestion or vegetable consumption. The potential damage that the target PAE compounds may pose to human health should be taken into account in further comprehensive risk assessments in e-waste recycling sites areas. Moreover, alfalfa removed substantial amounts of PAEs from the soil, and its use can be considered a good strategy for in situ remediation of PAEs.

  15. Effects Of Agricultural Extension On Cassava And Maize Production ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study was carried out to assess the effects of agricultural extension on food production in Abak Agricultural zone of Akwa Ibom state. Specifically, the effect was measured using the productivity of small-scale maize and cassava farmers between the years 2004 and 2005. Data for the study were collected from 108 ...

  16. A Guided Inquiry on Hubble Plots and the Big Bang

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forringer, Ted

    2014-01-01

    In our science for non-science majors course "21st Century Physics," we investigate modern "Hubble plots" (plots of velocity versus distance for deep space objects) in order to discuss the Big Bang, dark matter, and dark energy. There are two potential challenges that our students face when encountering these topics for the…

  17. Wash-off of Sr-90 and Cs-137 from two experimental plots. Model testing using Chernobyl data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Konoplev, A.; Bulgakov, A.; Hoffman, O.; Thiessen, K.

    1996-09-01

    Surface water runoff from contaminated land is one of the major processes responsible for the contamination of water bodies. For example, the large area of land contaminated after the Chernobyl accident has become a continuing source of radionuclide contamination for natural waters and the aquatic ecosystem. Based on data from the Chernobyl accident, the 'Wash-off' scenario was developed to provide an opportunity to test models concerned with the movement of trace contaminants from terrestrial sources to water bodies. In particular, this scenario provides an opportunity for (1) evaluation of the movement of contaminants from soil to water, (2) calculation of the alteration and migration of contaminants in soil over different time scales, (3) increased understanding of contaminant transport at the process level, and (4) development and use of methods for estimation of key parameters. Modelers were provided with descriptions of two experimental plots near the Chernobyl NPP, one using simulated heavy rain (plot HR) and one using snow melt (plot SM). Initial information for plot HR included soil properties; hydrographs of rainfall and runoff dynamics; the time of application of rainfall; rainfall amounts, duration, and intensities; soil moisture content before the application of rainfall; regional data on average monthly precipitation and temperature; recorded information on naturally occurring precipitation between May and October 1986; and chemical forms of radionuclides in the soil of the plots prior to the experiments. Information for plot SM included the soil description and properties, snow storage in the snow melt period of 1988, chemical composition of the snow water, a hydrograph of the runoff dynamics, chemical radionuclide forms in the soil at the end of the experiment, and air and soil temperatures for the plot during the snow melt period. For each experimental plot, modelers were requested to estimate the vertical distribution of radionuclides (137 Cs and

  18. A Bayesian CUSUM plot: Diagnosing quality of treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosthøj, Steen; Jacobsen, Rikke-Line

    2017-12-01

    To present a CUSUM plot based on Bayesian diagnostic reasoning displaying evidence in favour of "healthy" rather than "sick" quality of treatment (QOT), and to demonstrate a technique using Kaplan-Meier survival curves permitting application to case series with ongoing follow-up. For a case series with known final outcomes: Consider each case a diagnostic test of good versus poor QOT (expected vs. increased failure rates), determine the likelihood ratio (LR) of the observed outcome, convert LR to weight taking log to base 2, and add up weights sequentially in a plot showing how many times odds in favour of good QOT have been doubled. For a series with observed survival times and an expected survival curve: Divide the curve into time intervals, determine "healthy" and specify "sick" risks of failure in each interval, construct a "sick" survival curve, determine the LR of survival or failure at the given observation times, convert to weights, and add up. The Bayesian plot was applied retrospectively to 39 children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with completed follow-up, using Nordic collaborative results as reference, showing equal odds between good and poor QOT. In the ongoing treatment trial, with 22 of 37 children still at risk for event, QOT has been monitored with average survival curves as reference, odds so far favoring good QOT 2:1. QOT in small patient series can be assessed with a Bayesian CUSUM plot, retrospectively when all treatment outcomes are known, but also in ongoing series with unfinished follow-up. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  19. Behavioural Resistance in Insects: Its Potential Use as Bio Indicator of Organic Agriculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Guzmán, J. A.; García-Marín, F. J.; Sáinz-Pérez, M.; González-Ruiz, R.

    2017-12-01

    Most of the investigations carried out on the resistance of insects to pesticides have been focused on the physiological and biochemical mechanisms. However, the behavioural answers that pesticide induces in the insects have received very little attention. The symptoms from getting pesticides on the cuticular surface of insects, as neurotoxical pre mortem effects, include spasmodic activity, hyperactivity and leak of the surfaces impregnated by the pesticides. These reactions provides a first barrier of defense, named behavioural resistance. Previous experiments carried out on olive groves usually subjected to pesticide application have allowed to visualize a reaction of leak of the natural enemies from treated areas, which is reflected as an increase of its rate of capture in sticky chromatic traps, in relation to the free of pesticides areas, on olive groves, usually subjected to pesticide application. The aim of this investigation is to evaluate the reaction of these insects’ species under different agricultural pest management: i- A conventional olive grove, where pesticides are usually applied; and ii- An organic olive grove, where pest management depends exclusively on the role of the natural enemies. During the spring of 2016, experimental applications have been carried out in two olive groves of the province of Jaén (south of Spain) by means of a commercial pesticide application, in order to evaluate the reactions induced in the main species of olive predators. Six pairs of plots were randomly selected in both conventional and organic olive groves, three of these were pesticide sprayed, whereas a second series of three plots were free of pesticide application. Sticky yellow traps were installed in both treated and control plots just after application of pesticide. The results allow to determine the existence of two different reactions of the predators in both types of olive groves. In the plots of the conventional management, a significant increase of

  20. Plot - level stem volume estimation and tree species discrimination with CASI remote sensing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Holmgren, Johan; Wallerman, J.; Olsson, Haakan

    1999-10-01

    Spectral data from the Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI), with four bands (460-495 nm, 550-580 nm, 660-682 nm, 740-762 nm) acquired from a forest test area (Lat. 60 deg 00` N, Long. 17 deg 18` E), the Kaettboele estate near Uppsala, was analysed together with forest data from a number of field plots. Data from two flight lines, one towards and the other perpendicular to the sun was used. Information about stem volume and species composition from plots with 10-m radius, 138 in the first and 120 in the second flight line, was available. There was a positive correlation (R{sup 2} 0.51-0.53) between stem volume and the inverted radiance for all four bands on plot level. The strong correlation between stem volume and a shadow density measure indicates that shadows explain much of the correlation. For the flight line perpendicular to the sun, the correlation was stronger for the side towards the sun compared to the side away from the sun. In the first flight line, plots with a stem volume > 120 m{sup 3}ha{sup -1} were classified according to the tree species composition (pine, spruce, deciduous trees). Groups were formed based on the classification, and the hypothesis that there was no difference in spectral radiance between these groups was tested. It was possible to separate pine dominated plots from spruce dominated plots. It was also possible to separate spruce dominated plots from spruce dominated plots with a minor portion of pine, but not pine dominated plots from pine dominated plots with a minor portion of spruce. The near-infrared band was the best band for discrimination of tree species 16 refs, 2 figs, 8 tabs

  1. Nuclear Zpif-type plots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma Yugang

    2000-01-01

    Isospin dependent classical molecular dynamics model is used to investigate the nuclear disassembly of 129 Xe. Zpif-type plot in the field of linguistics is tested for the rank-classified cluster arrangement from this nuclear disassembly. It is found that the average cluster charge (or mass) of rank n in the charge (or mass) list is exactly inverse to its rank, i.e. there exists Zpif's law at the point of the liquid gas phase transition. This novel criterion can be used to diagnose the nuclear liquid gas phase transition experimentally and theoretically

  2. Agricultural non-point source pollution of glyphosate and AMPA at a catchment scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okada, Elena; Perez, Debora; De Geronimo, Eduardo; Aparicio, Virginia; Costa, Jose Luis

    2017-04-01

    Information on the actual input of pesticides into the environment is crucial for proper risk assessment and the design of risk reduction measures. The Crespo basin is found within the Balcarce County, located south-east of the Buenos Aires Province. The whole basin has an area of approximately 490 km2 and the river has a length of 65 km. This study focuses on the upper basin of the Crespo stream, covering an area of 226 km2 in which 94.7% of the land is under agricultural production representing a highly productive area, characteristic of the Austral Pampas region. In this study we evaluated the levels of glyphosate and its metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in soils; and the non-point source pollution of surface waters, stream sediments and groundwater, over a period of one year. Stream water samples were taken monthly using propylene bottles, from the center of the bridge. If present, sediment samples from the first 5 cm were collected using cylinder samplers. Groundwater samples were taken from windmills or electric pumps from different farms every two months. At the same time, composite soil samples (at 5 cm depth) were taken from an agricultural plot of each farm. Samples were analyzed for detection and quantification of glyphosate and AMPA using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS). The limit of detection (LD) in the soil samples was 0.5 μg Kg-1 and the limit of quantification (LQ) was 3 μg Kg-1, both for glyphosate and AMPA. In water samples the LD was 0.1 μg L-1 and the LQ was 0.5 μg L-1. The results showed that the herbicide dispersed into all the studied environmental compartments. Glyphosate and AMPA residues were detected in 34 and 54% of the stream water samples, respectively. Sediment samples had a higher detection frequency (>96%) than water samples, and there was no relationship between the presence in surface water with the detection in sediment samples. The presence in sediment samples

  3. Master plot analysis of microcracking in graphite/epoxy and graphite/PEEK laminates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nairn, John A.; Hu, Shoufeng; Bark, Jong Song

    1993-01-01

    We used a variational stress analysis and an energy release rate failure criterion to construct a master plot analysis of matrix microcracking. In the master plot, the results for all laminates of a single material are predicted to fall on a single line whose slope gives the microcracking toughness of the material. Experimental results from 18 different layups of AS4/3501-6 laminates show that the master plot analysis can explain all observations. In particular, it can explain the differences between microcracking of central 90 deg plies and of free-surface 90 deg plies. Experimental results from two different AS4/PEEK laminates tested at different temperatures can be explained by a modified master plot that accounts for changes in the residual thermal stresses. Finally, we constructed similar master plot analyses for previous literature microcracking models. All microcracking theories that ignore the thickness dependence of the stresses gave poor results.

  4. The Effect of Agricultural Growing Season Change on Market Prices in Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    deBeurs, K.M.; Brown, M. E.

    2013-01-01

    Local agricultural production is a key element of food security in many agricultural countries in Africa. Climate change and variability is likely to adversely affect these countries, particularly as they affect the ability of smallholder farmers to raise enough food to feed themselves. Seasonality influences farmers' decisions about when to sow and harvest, and ultimately the success or failure of their crops. At a 2009 conference in the United Kingdom hosted by the Institute of Development Studies, Jennings and Magrath (2009) described farmer reports from East Asia, South Asia, Southern Africa, East Africa and Latin America. Farmers indicate significant changes in the timing of rainy seasons and the pattern of rains within seasons, including: More erratic rainfall, coming at unexpected times in and out of season; Extreme storms and unusually intense rainfall are punctuated by longer dry spells within the rainy season; Increasing uncertainty as to the start of rainy seasons in many areas; Short or transitional second rainy seasons are becoming stronger than normal or are disappearing altogether. These farmer perceptions of change are striking in that they are geographically widespread and are remarkably consistent across diverse regions (Jennings and Magrath, 2009). The impact of these changes on farmers with small plots and few resources is large. Farming is becoming riskier because of heat stress, lack of water, pests and diseases that interact with ongoing pressures on natural resources. Lack of predictability in the start and length of the growing season affects the ability of farmers to invest in appropriate fertilizer levels or improved, high yielding varieties. These changes occur at the same time as the demand for food is rising and is projected to continue to rise for the next fifty years (IAASTD, 2008). Long-term data records derived from satellite remote sensing can be used to verify these reports, providing necessary analysis and documentation required

  5. Topography Mediates the Influence of Cover Crops on Soil Nitrate Levels in Row Crop Agricultural Systems.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moslem Ladoni

    Full Text Available Supplying adequate amounts of soil N for plant growth during the growing season and across large agricultural fields is a challenge for conservational agricultural systems with cover crops. Knowledge about cover crop effects on N comes mostly from small, flat research plots and performance of cover crops across topographically diverse agricultural land is poorly understood. Our objective was to assess effects of both leguminous (red clover and non-leguminous (winter rye cover crops on potentially mineralizable N (PMN and [Formula: see text] levels across a topographically diverse landscape. We studied conventional, low-input, and organic managements in corn-soybean-wheat rotation. The rotations of low-input and organic managements included rye and red clover cover crops. The managements were implemented in twenty large undulating fields in Southwest Michigan starting from 2006. The data collection and analysis were conducted during three growing seasons of 2011, 2012 and 2013. Observational micro-plots with and without cover crops were laid within each field on three contrasting topographical positions of depression, slope and summit. Soil samples were collected 4-5 times during each growing season and analyzed for [Formula: see text] and PMN. The results showed that all three managements were similar in their temporal and spatial distributions of NO3-N. Red clover cover crop increased [Formula: see text] by 35% on depression, 20% on slope and 32% on summit positions. Rye cover crop had a significant 15% negative effect on [Formula: see text] in topographical depressions but not in slope and summit positions. The magnitude of the cover crop effects on soil mineral nitrogen across topographically diverse fields was associated with the amount of cover crop growth and residue production. The results emphasize the potential environmental and economic benefits that can be generated by implementing site-specific topography-driven cover crop management

  6. Topography Mediates the Influence of Cover Crops on Soil Nitrate Levels in Row Crop Agricultural Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ladoni, Moslem; Kravchenko, Alexandra N; Robertson, G Phillip

    2015-01-01

    Supplying adequate amounts of soil N for plant growth during the growing season and across large agricultural fields is a challenge for conservational agricultural systems with cover crops. Knowledge about cover crop effects on N comes mostly from small, flat research plots and performance of cover crops across topographically diverse agricultural land is poorly understood. Our objective was to assess effects of both leguminous (red clover) and non-leguminous (winter rye) cover crops on potentially mineralizable N (PMN) and [Formula: see text] levels across a topographically diverse landscape. We studied conventional, low-input, and organic managements in corn-soybean-wheat rotation. The rotations of low-input and organic managements included rye and red clover cover crops. The managements were implemented in twenty large undulating fields in Southwest Michigan starting from 2006. The data collection and analysis were conducted during three growing seasons of 2011, 2012 and 2013. Observational micro-plots with and without cover crops were laid within each field on three contrasting topographical positions of depression, slope and summit. Soil samples were collected 4-5 times during each growing season and analyzed for [Formula: see text] and PMN. The results showed that all three managements were similar in their temporal and spatial distributions of NO3-N. Red clover cover crop increased [Formula: see text] by 35% on depression, 20% on slope and 32% on summit positions. Rye cover crop had a significant 15% negative effect on [Formula: see text] in topographical depressions but not in slope and summit positions. The magnitude of the cover crop effects on soil mineral nitrogen across topographically diverse fields was associated with the amount of cover crop growth and residue production. The results emphasize the potential environmental and economic benefits that can be generated by implementing site-specific topography-driven cover crop management in row

  7. In pursuit of a science of agriculture: the role of statistics in field experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parolini, Giuditta

    2015-09-01

    Since the beginning of the twentieth century statistics has reshaped the experimental cultures of agricultural research taking part in the subtle dialectic between the epistemic and the material that is proper to experimental systems. This transformation has become especially relevant in field trials and the paper will examine the British agricultural institution, Rothamsted Experimental Station, where statistical methods nowadays popular in the planning and analysis of field experiments were developed in the 1920s. At Rothamsted statistics promoted randomisation over systematic arrangements, factorisation over one-question trials, and emphasised the importance of the experimental error in assessing field trials. These changes in methodology transformed also the material culture of agricultural science, and a new body, the Field Plots Committee, was created to manage the field research of the agricultural institution. Although successful, the vision of field experimentation proposed by the Rothamsted statisticians was not unproblematic. Experimental scientists closely linked to the farming community questioned it in favour of a field research that could be more easily understood by farmers. The clash between the two agendas reveals how the role attributed to statistics in field experimentation defined different pursuits of agricultural research, alternately conceived of as a scientists' science or as a farmers' science.

  8. Users manual for SPLPACK-1: a program package for plotting and editing of experimental and analytical data of various transient systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muramatsu, Ken; Kosaka, Atsuo; Abe, Kiyoharu; Araya, Fumimasa; Kanazawa, Masayuki; Tanabe, Shuichi; Maniwa, Masaki.

    1983-11-01

    In the field of nuclear safety research, a number of computer codes are being developed for predicting trasient behavior of various nuclear facilities, and they are verified by comparing calculational results with experimental data. In the development and verification of these codes, data plotting is one of indispensable but labor-consuming processes. SPLPACK-1 which is a package of computer programs, written mostly in FORTRAN-IV, has been developed for data editing and plotting. The SPLPACK-1 package consists of two parts, SPLEDIT and SPLPLOT-1, and plotting is performed through two steps : (1) to store data by SPLEDIT in a file in a standardized format (the SPL format) and (2) to plot the data in the file by SPLPLOT-1 or other optional programs. The standardization of data format makes it possible to plot outputs from various sources by a single plotter program. This benefit not only reduces the costs of plotter program developments but also makes it easy to compare many analytical and experimental data in one figure. SPLPLOT-1 draws two-dimensional graphs of time-dependent history of variables or graphs of relationship between two variables. For user's convenience, it is provided with functions of auto-scaling, automatic unit conversion, data processing by user-supplied subroutines and so on. Several additional programs are available for other types of plotting such as bird's-eye view graphs. SPLPACK-1 has been effectively used in JAERI for the developments and uses of safety codes (THYDE-B1, THYDE-P1, RELAP4, RELAP5, MARCH, CORRAL, etc.) and experiments (ROSA-III and LOFT). (author)

  9. Complex Correlation Measure: a novel descriptor for Poincaré plot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gubbi Jayavardhana

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Poincaré plot is one of the important techniques used for visually representing the heart rate variability. It is valuable due to its ability to display nonlinear aspects of the data sequence. However, the problem lies in capturing temporal information of the plot quantitatively. The standard descriptors used in quantifying the Poincaré plot (SD1, SD2 measure the gross variability of the time series data. Determination of advanced methods for capturing temporal properties pose a significant challenge. In this paper, we propose a novel descriptor "Complex Correlation Measure (CCM" to quantify the temporal aspect of the Poincaré plot. In contrast to SD1 and SD2, the CCM incorporates point-to-point variation of the signal. Methods First, we have derived expressions for CCM. Then the sensitivity of descriptors has been shown by measuring all descriptors before and after surrogation of the signal. For each case study, lag-1 Poincaré plots were constructed for three groups of subjects (Arrhythmia, Congestive Heart Failure (CHF and those with Normal Sinus Rhythm (NSR, and the new measure CCM was computed along with SD1 and SD2. ANOVA analysis distribution was used to define the level of significance of mean and variance of SD1, SD2 and CCM for different groups of subjects. Results CCM is defined based on the autocorrelation at different lags of the time series, hence giving an in depth measurement of the correlation structure of the Poincaré plot. A surrogate analysis was performed, and the sensitivity of the proposed descriptor was found to be higher as compared to the standard descriptors. Two case studies were conducted for recognizing arrhythmia and congestive heart failure (CHF subjects from those with NSR, using the Physionet database and demonstrated the usefulness of the proposed descriptors in biomedical applications. CCM was found to be a more significant (p = 6.28E-18 parameter than SD1 and SD2 in discriminating

  10. In-situ polymerization PLOT columns I: divinylbenzene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, T. C.

    1992-01-01

    A novel method for preparation of porous-layer open-tubular (PLOT) columns is described. The method involves a simple and reproducible, straight-forward in-situ polymerization of monomer directly on the metal tube.

  11. Agricultural problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bickerton, George E.

    1997-01-01

    Although there were not reasons to deplore against major activity release from any of the 110 industrial reactors authorized to operate in US, the nuclear incident that occurred at the Three Mile Island Plant in 1979 urged the public conscience toward the necessity of readiness to cope with events of this type. The personnel of the Emergency Planning Office functioning in the frame of US Department of Agriculture has already participated in around 600 intervention drillings on a federal, local or state scale to plan, test or asses radiological emergency plans or to intervene locally. These exercises allowed acquiring a significant experience in elaborating emergency plans, planning the drillings, working out scenarios and evaluation of the potential impact of accidents from the agricultural point of view. We have also taken part in different international drillings among which the most recent are INEX 1 and RADEX 94. We have found on these occasions that the agricultural problems are essential preoccupations in most of the cases no matter if the context is international, national, local or of state level. The paper poses problems specifically related to milk, fruits and vegetables, soils, meat and meat products. Finally the paper discusses issues like drilling planning, alarm and notification, sampling strategy, access authorizations for farmers, removing of contamination wastes. A number of social, political and economical relating problems are also mentioned

  12. Aquifer test interpretation using derivative analysis and diagnostic plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández-Espriú, Antonio; Real-Rangel, Roberto; Cortés-Salazar, Iván; Castro-Herrera, Israel; Luna-Izazaga, Gabriela; Sánchez-León, Emilio

    2017-04-01

    Pumping tests remain a method of choice to deduce fundamental aquifer properties and to assess well condition. In the oil and gas (O&G) industry, well testing has been the core technique in examining reservoir behavior over the last 50 years. The pressure derivative by Bourdet, it is perhaps, the most significant single development in the history of well test analysis. Recently, the so-called diagnostics plots (e.g. drawdown and drawdown derivative in a log-log plot) have been successfully tested in aquifers. However, this procedure is still underutilized by groundwater professionals. This research illustrates the applicability range, advantages and drawbacks (e.g. smoothing procedures) of diagnostic plots using field examples from a wide spectrum of tests (short/long tests, constant/variable flow rates, drawdown/buildup stages, pumping well/observation well) in dissimilar geological conditions. We analyze new and pre-existent aquifer tests in Mexico, USA, Canada, Germany, France and Saudi Arabia. In constant flow rate tests, our results show that derivative analysis is an easy, robust and powerful tool to assess near-borehole damage effects, formation heterogeneity, boundaries, flow regimes, infinite-acting radial stages, i.e., valid Theisian framework, and fracture-driven flow. In step tests, the effectiveness relies on high-frequency drawdown measurements. Moreover, we adapt O&G analytical solutions to cater for the conditions in groundwater systems. In this context, further parameters can be computed analytically from the plots, such as skin factor, head losses, wellbore storage, distance to the boundary, channel-aquifer and/or fracture zone width, among others. Therefore, diagnostic plots should be considered a mandatory tool for pumping tests analysis among hydrogeologists. This project has been supported by DGAPA (UNAM) under the research project PAPIIT IN-112815.

  13. A narratological analysis of Mark 12:1-12: The plot of the Gospel of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The purpose of this article is an attempt to read Mark 12: 1-12 in terms of the plot of the Gospel. Firstly a brief survey is given of the development of the term plot from Aristotle to the present, thereafter an own methodological point of departure concerning plot is formulated in order to study the plot of Mark. The conclusions ...

  14. Agricultural sustainability in the semi-arid Near East

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Hole

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available Agriculture began in the eastern Mediterranean Levantine Corridor about 11000 years ago toward the end of the Younger Dryas when aridity had diminished wild food resources. During the subsequent Climatic Optimum, agricultural villages spread rapidly but subsequent climatic changes on centennial to millennial scales resulted in striking oscillations in settlement, especially in marginal areas. Natural climate change thus alternately enhanced and diminished the agricultural potential of the land. Growing populations and more intensive land us, both for agriculture and livestock, have led to changes in the structure of vegetation, hydrology, and land quality. Over the millennia, political and economic interventions, warfare and incursions by nomadic herding tribes all impacted sustainability of agriculture and the ability of the land to supports its populations. In much of the region today, agricultural land use is not sustainable given existing technology and national priorities. The Near Eastern case is instructive because of the quality of information, the length of the record, and the pace of modern change.

  15. Lease of agricultural land of the Treasury in the light of new regulations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adam Majchrzak

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available After 1992 lease was in Poland the primary form of land management of Treasury agricul-ture property. It was preferred by both the state because of the possibility of quick disposal of property and by farmers because of the need to involve the smaller one-off funding, which could be used instead for production and investment. In recent years the importance of leasing as a way of public land management has been decreasing in favour of the sale. It follows with the growing demand for agricultural land, as well as government policies and actions undertaken by the Agricultural Property Agency. This results in the new law regula-tions on public agricultural property management, which on 3 December 2011 introduced significant changes in the public land lease. The aim of new regulations is to accelerate the privatization of state land resources, which will be carried out in the first place by disabling part of the leased agricultural land from large-area farms, as well as for sale of the land, for which the lease will be ended. In this article the author tries to assess the impact of introduced regulations on the role of leasing of public agricultural land in Poland. It is expected that due to the new law, the lease will concern mainly small plots, while interest in the lease as a way to increase land resources by individual farmers will be reduced.

  16. Representative Agricultural Pathways: A Trans-Disciplinary Approach to Agricultural Model Inter-comparison, Improvement, Climate Impact Assessment and Stakeholder Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antle, J. M.; Valdivia, R. O.; Claessens, L.; Nelson, G. C.; Rosenzweig, C.; Ruane, A. C.; Vervoort, J.

    2013-12-01

    The global change research community has recognized that new pathway and scenario concepts are needed to implement impact and vulnerability assessment that is logically consistent across local, regional and global scales. For impact and vulnerability assessment, new socio-economic pathway and scenario concepts are being developed. Representative Agricultural Pathways (RAPs) are designed to extend global pathways to provide the detail needed for global and regional assessment of agricultural systems. In addition, research by the Agricultural Model Inter-comparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) shows that RAPs provide a powerful way to engage stakeholders in climate-related research throughout the research process and in communication of research results. RAPs are based on the integrated assessment framework developed by AgMIP. This framework shows that both bio-physical and socio-economic drivers are essential components of agricultural pathways and logically precede the definition of adaptation and mitigation scenarios that embody associated capabilities and challenges. This approach is based on a trans-disciplinary process for designing pathways and then translating them into parameter sets for bio-physical and economic models that are components of agricultural integrated assessments of climate impact, adaptation and mitigation. RAPs must be designed to be part of a logically consistent set of drivers and outcomes from global to regional and local. Global RAPs are designed to be consistent with higher-level global socio-economic pathways, but add key agricultural drivers such as agricultural growth trends that are not specified in more general pathways, as illustrated in a recent inter-comparison of global agricultural models. To create pathways at regional or local scales, further detail is needed. At this level, teams of scientists and other experts with knowledge of the agricultural systems and regions work together through a step-wise process. Experiences

  17. Recurrence plot analysis of DNA sequences

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu Zuobing [State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080 (China)]. E-mail: wuzb@lnm.imech.ac.cn

    2004-11-15

    Recurrence plot technique of DNA sequences is established on metric representation and employed to analyze correlation structure of nucleotide strings. It is found that, in the transference of nucleotide strings, a human DNA fragment has a major correlation distance, but a yeast chromosome's correlation distance has a constant increasing.

  18. Plot and Personification in “Tehran-e- Makhuf“

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Pashaei

    Full Text Available Story is one of the important and influential literary genres that deserves to research on its structure and content .By study and analysis of a story, the reader could comprehend the textual messages and change his attitude toward life and different issues .After defining of the social novel, the author tries to analyze plot and personification in novel of “Tehran-e- Makhuf” and respond to the questions on the method employed for plot and personification and analyze it from plot and its components such as conflict, suspension and resolution and compare the differences and similarities between old tales and modern novels.The plot of “Tehran-e- Makhuf” is not so complex due to its subject and content and natural order of events dominates on artificial discipline and it lacks open plot. Of main elements of plot, conflict is more outstanding here. This novel is full of emotional and moral conflicts and there is no similarity with historical novels that describe good and bad conflicts. Cause and effect relationship is main element of plot that shadows on the story events .In “Tehrna-e- Makhuf”, the author tries to violate the principles and cause to imbalance in natural events sequences with discomposing rational and experiential relationship and take action toward artificiality and unnatural suspension. In creating suspension by emphasis on incidences in some extremist cases, Kazemi tries to found the story based on the considerable sequence of events and this conduct reduces quality of the story significantly and leads to imbalance in rational and acceptable discipline.Kazemi employs direct or reporting personification mostly. This novel lacks diversity in personage considerably .All characters speak in similar style and there is no particular speech style. The personification of Kazemi in “Tehran-e-Makhuf” is continuous and interdependent in style of old tales and novel in European account. In some cases, he approaches to story

  19. Contemplation on Plot and Personification in Tehran Makhuf

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirjalil Akrami

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Story is one of the important and influential literary genres that deserves to research on its structure and content .By study and analysis of a story, the reader could comprehend the textual messages and change his attitude toward life and different issues .After defining of the social novel, the author tries to analyze plot and personification in novel of “Tehran-e- Makhuf” and respond to the questions on the method employed for plot and personification and analyze it from plot and its components such as conflict, suspension and resolution and compare the differences and similarities between old tales and modern novels.  The plot of “Tehran-e- Makhuf” is not so complex due to its subject and content and natural order of events dominates on artificial discipline and it lacks open plot. Of main elements of plot, conflict is more outstanding here. This novel is full of emotional and moral conflicts and there is no similarity with historical novels that describe good and bad conflicts. Cause and effect relationship is main element of plot that shadows on the story events .In “Tehrna-e- Makhuf”, the author tries to violate the principles and cause to imbalance in natural events sequences with discomposing rational and experiential relationship and take action toward artificiality and unnatural suspension. In creating suspension by emphasis on incidences in some extremist cases, Kazemi tries to found the story based on the considerable sequence of events and this conduct reduces quality of the story significantly and leads to imbalance in rational and acceptable discipline.  Kazemi employs direct or reporting personification mostly. This novel lacks diversity in personage considerably .All characters speak in similar style and there is no particular speech style. The personification of Kazemi in “Tehran-e-Makhuf” is continuous and interdependent in style of old tales and novel in European account. In some cases, he

  20. Rainfall-runoff of anthropogenic waste indicators from agricultural fields applied with municipal biosolids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, James L; Borch, Thomas; Furlong, Edward T; Davis, Jessica G; Yager, Tracy J; Yang, Yun-Ya; Kolpin, Dana W

    2017-02-15

    The presence of anthropogenic contaminants such as antimicrobials, flame-retardants, and plasticizers in runoff from agricultural fields applied with municipal biosolids may pose a potential threat to the environment. This study assesses the potential for rainfall-induced runoff of 69 anthropogenic waste indicators (AWIs), widely found in household and industrial products, from biosolids amended field plots. The agricultural field containing the test plots was treated with biosolids for the first time immediately prior to this study. AWIs present in soil and biosolids were isolated by continuous liquid-liquid extraction and analyzed by full-scan gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Results for 18 AWIs were not evaluated due to their presence in field blank QC samples, and another 34 did not have sufficient detection frequency in samples to analyze trends in data. A total of 17 AWIs, including 4-nonylphenol, triclosan, and tris(2-butoxyethyl)phosphate, were present in runoff with acceptable data quality and frequency for subsequent interpretation. Runoff samples were collected 5days prior to and 1, 9, and 35days after biosolids application. Of the 17 AWIs considered, 14 were not detected in pre-application samples, or their concentrations were much smaller than in the sample collected one day after application. A range of trends was observed for individual AWI concentrations (typically from 0.1 to 10μg/L) over the course of the study, depending on the combination of partitioning and degradation mechanisms affecting each compound most strongly. Overall, these results indicate that rainfall can mobilize anthropogenic contaminants from biosolids-amended agricultural fields, directly to surface waters and redistribute them to terrestrial sites away from the point of application via runoff. For 14 of 17 compounds examined, the potential for runoff remobilization during rainstorms persists even after three 100-year rainstorm-equivalent simulations and the passage of a

  1. Rainfall-runoff of anthropogenic waste indicators from agricultural fields applied with municipal biosolids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, James L.; Borch, Thomas; Furlong, Edward T.; Davis, Jessica; Yager, Tracy; Yang, Yun-Ya; Kolpin, Dana W.

    2017-01-01

    The presence of anthropogenic contaminants such as antimicrobials, flame-retardants, and plasticizers in runoff from agricultural fields applied with municipal biosolids may pose a potential threat to the environment. This study assesses the potential for rainfall-induced runoff of 69 anthropogenic waste indicators (AWIs), widely found in household and industrial products, from biosolids amended field plots. The agricultural field containing the test plots was treated with biosolids for the first time immediately prior to this study. AWIs present in soil and biosolids were isolated by continuous liquid-liquid extraction and analyzed by full-scan gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Results for 18 AWIs were not evaluated due to their presence in field blank QC samples, and another 34 did not have sufficient detection frequency in samples to analyze trends in data. A total of 17 AWIs, including 4-nonylphenol, triclosan, and tris(2-butoxyethyl)phosphate, were present in runoff with acceptable data quality and frequency for subsequent interpretation. Runoff samples were collected 5 days prior to and 1, 9, and 35 days after biosolids application. Of the 17 AWIs considered, 14 were not detected in pre-application samples, or their concentrations were much smaller than in the sample collected one day after application. A range of trends was observed for individual AWI concentrations (typically from 0.1 to 10 μg/L) over the course of the study, depending on the combination of partitioning and degradation mechanisms affecting each compound most strongly. Overall, these results indicate that rainfall can mobilize anthropogenic contaminants from biosolids-amended agricultural fields, directly to surface waters and redistribute them to terrestrial sites away from the point of application via runoff. For 14 of 17 compounds examined, the potential for runoff remobilization during rainstorms persists even after three 100-year rainstorm-equivalent simulations and the

  2. Large-scale hydrogen combustion experiments: Volume 2, Data plots: Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thompson, R.T.; Torok, R.C.; Randall, D.S.; Sullivan, J.S.; Thompson, L.B.; Haugh, J.J.

    1988-10-01

    Forty large-scale experiments to investigate the combustion behavior of hydrogen during postulated degraded core accidents were conducted in a 16 m (52 ft) diameter sphere. The performance of safety related equipment and cable also was examined. Combustion was initiated by thermal igniters in both premixed hydrogen air-steam atmospheres and during the continuous injection of hydrogen and steam. The effects of steam, igniter location, water sprays, fans and injection rates were studied. Measurements were made of gas concentrations, combustion pressures, temperatures and heat fluxes. Burn fractions and flame speeds also were determined. Near-infrared seeing cameras permitted direct observation of the hydrogen burns. Combustion pressures and temperatures in premixed atmospheres with hydrogen concentrations up to 13 vol% (steam saturated) were less than the theoretical maximum values. Multiple deflagrations were not encountered during continuous hydrogen injection with pre-activated igniters. Moderate pressure rises resulted from diffusion flames. These flames generally were found above the source. Combustion results have been compared to smaller scale experiments. Several safety related equipment items exhibited degraded performance after a number of tests. Most cable samples passed their electrical checks at the end of the test series. These experiments confirm the effectiveness of the deliberate ignition approach to controlling hydrogen. They also provide data for validating computer codes used to predict hydrogen combustion during degraded core accidents, and for assessing the performance of safety related equipment in such environments

  3. Using 7Be to document soil erosion on the weed plots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Bo; Zhang Fengbao; Yang Mingyi

    2013-01-01

    Be tracing technology was applied to document soil erosion on the bare plot and weed plot, and compae soil erosion rate with the calculated rate. Results indicated that vegetation cover had obvious effect on the estimate of soil erosion rate on the weed plot using 7 Be measurement. Therefore, a factor of vegetation had been introduced into the Walling's model of converting 7 Be activity to soil erosion rate for estimating soil erosion rate on the weed slope surface. It was found that the soil erosion rates calculated by modified model were well close to the measured values on the weed plot, which illustrated that the modified model could be well used to estimate the rates of soil loss on the weed slope surface. These findings provide effective means for further study on the relationship between vegetation cover and soil erosion. (authors)

  4. Multi-scale comparisons of tree composition in Amazonian terra firme forests

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Freitas Alvarado

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available We explored the floristic composition of terra firme forests across Amazonia using 55 plots. Firstly, we examined the floristic patterns using both genus- and species-level data and found that the species-level analysis more clearly distinguishes among forests. Next, we compared the variation in plot floristic composition at regional- and continental-scales, and found that average among-pair floristic similarity and its decay with distance behave similarly at regional- and continental-scales. Nevertheless, geographical distance had different effects on floristic similarity within regions at distances <100 km, where north-western and south-western Amazonian regions showed greater floristic variation than plots of central and eastern Amazonia. Finally, we quantified the role of environmental factors and geographical distance for determining variation in floristic composition. A partial Mantel test indicated that while geographical distance appeared to be more important at continental scales, soil fertility was crucial at regional scales within western Amazonia, where areas with similar soil conditions were more likely to share a high number of species. Overall, these results suggest that regional-scale variation in floristic composition can rival continental-scale differences within Amazonian terra firme forests, and that variation in floristic composition at both scales is influenced by geographical distance and environmental factors, such as climate and soil fertility. To fully account for regional-scale variation in continental studies of floristic composition, future floristic studies should focus on forest types poorly represented at regional scales in current datasets, such as terra firme forests with high soil fertility in north-western Amazonia.

  5. Sacrifice as a plot device

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashikhmanova Natalya Alexandrovna

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available It is considered the plot device “sacrifice” as a meaningful component of the narrative. It sets a minimum of substantive meaning of this formation (the idea of getting something over the loss of something. The main types of sacrifice: sacrifice and self-sacrifice. Sacrifice means bringing something to sacrifice for the sake of an idea or someone else and implies a greater degree of external attributes. Self-sacrifice brings a loss of the intrinsic value of the character. Sacrifice as the action takes place consciously and, as a rule, does not require compensation in return. Victims sacrifice not only material things but spiritual as well. Their actions are certainly driven by the idea, which is of value. In the case of self-sacrifice victim is itself a victim. Present for sacrifice plays a certain role in the development of some of the stories of fabulous narratives. Search of the present can be a starting point in the development of fantastic narrative plot. As a sacrifice the present can be considered in three forms: in the form of material expression, in the form of immaterial substance, as well as a way to transfer the character into magical power through knowledge empowerment of its formulaic spells.

  6. The Agriculture Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenzweig, C.

    2010-12-01

    The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) is a distributed climate-scenario simulation exercise for historical model intercomparison and future climate change conditions with participation of multiple crop and world agricultural trade modeling groups around the world. The goals of AgMIP are to improve substantially the characterization of risk of hunger and world food security due to climate change and to enhance adaptation capacity in both developing and developed countries. Historical period results will spur model improvement and interaction among major modeling groups, while future period results will lead directly to tests of adaptation and mitigation strategies across a range of scales. AgMIP will consist of a multi-scale impact assessment utilizing the latest methods for climate and agricultural scenario generation. Scenarios and modeling protocols will be distributed on the web, and multi-model results will be collated and analyzed to ensure the widest possible coverage of agricultural crops and regions. AgMIP will place regional changes in agricultural production in a global context that reflects new trading opportunities, imbalances, and shortages in world markets resulting from climate change and other driving forces for food supply. Such projections are essential inputs from the Vulnerability, Impacts, and Adaptation (VIA) research community to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment (AR5), now underway, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. They will set the context for local-scale vulnerability and adaptation studies, supply test scenarios for national-scale development of trade policy instruments, provide critical information on changing supply and demand for water resources, and elucidate interactive effects of climate change and land use change. AgMIP will not only provide crucially-needed new global estimates of how climate change will affect food supply and hunger in the

  7. Ranking provinces based on development scale in agriculture sector using taxonomy technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahram Rostampour

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to determine comparative ranking of agricultural development in different provinces of Iran using taxonomy technique. The independent variables are amount of annual rainfall amount, the number of permanent rivers, the width of pastures and forest, cultivated level of agricultural harvests and garden harvests, number of beehives, the number of fish farming ranches, the number of tractors and combines, the number of cooperative production societies, the number of industrial cattle breeding and aviculture. The results indicate that the maximum development coefficient value is associated with Razavi Khorasan province followed by Mazandaran, East Azarbayjan while the minimum ranking value belongs to Bushehr province.

  8. Agriculture: Agriculture and Air Quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Information on air emissions from agricultural practices, types of agricultural burning, air programs that may apply to agriculture, reporting requirements, and links to state and other federal air-quality information.

  9. Research Award: Agriculture and Food Security Program

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Office 2004 Test Drive User

    diversify small‐scale agriculture, improve nutritional quality, and income by ... strategies for youth engagement in agri-food value chains for improved food ... successful examples of youth in agri-food businesses and for connecting youth.

  10. Assessment of occupational injuries in Tendaho Agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Bernt Lindtjorn

    oldest public owned agricultural enterprises mainly producing lint cotton. ... contingency for non-response and correcting for finite ..... workers per year in small and medium scale industrial workers .... An ILO perspective, African news letter on.

  11. Representing Uncertainty on Model Analysis Plots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Trevor I.

    2016-01-01

    Model analysis provides a mechanism for representing student learning as measured by standard multiple-choice surveys. The model plot contains information regarding both how likely students in a particular class are to choose the correct answer and how likely they are to choose an answer consistent with a well-documented conceptual model.…

  12. Nitrogen Cycling throughout Secondary Succession following Agricultural Disturbance in North-Central Virginia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parisien, A.; Epstein, H. E.

    2017-12-01

    While much is known about the carbon cycle during succession that follows agricultural disturbance, less understood are the dynamics of the nitrogen cycle throughout secondary succession, and how plant-available nitrogen may or may not limit vegetation transitions and net primary productivity over time. Two chronosequences at the Blandy Experimental Farm in Boyce, north-central Virginia were examined to elucidate the complexities of the nitrogen cycle over a temporal successional gradient. Each chronosequence consists of one early, one mid, and one late secondary successional field ( 15 years, 30 years, and 100 years post agricultural abandonment, respectively). Five 10x10 m plots were established in each of the 6 fields for a total of 30 plots. Total soil nitrogen (and carbon) data were collected from soils to 30 cm depth at 10-cm intervals, and net nitrogen mineralization and nitrification were estimated using an in situ soil core with anion-cation exchange resin bag technique. Previous studies of carbon cycling at this location have indicated relatively constant soil CO2 efflux of approximately 1100 g C/m2, as well as increasing net primary production and therefore net ecosystem production, with time since abandonment. In addition, soil C and N, and the soil C:N ratio have been shown to increase from the early to late successional plots. Our current study marks the first comprehensive examination of soil nitrogen dynamics including mineralization and nitrification over a successional gradient at Blandy Farm. A thorough understanding of nitrogen dynamics during secondary succession is especially important in the southeastern United States, where a large portion of previously cultivated land has been abandoned over the past century, due to advances in farming efficiency and the move westward to more fertile soils. Much of the southeastern U.S. is now undergoing secondary succession, and quality data on the dynamics of nitrogen cycling during this procession can

  13. Transgressing boundaries of tourism, agriculture and trade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stoye, Monica

    Introduction: Danish small-scale food producers working with origin labelled products (OLP) experience themselves as situated somewhere in between tourism, agriculture and business. The existence of OLP in Denmark is something completely new for both the tourism and agricultural sectors. Therefore......', the national steering committee for the project ‘Gourmet Denmark' and the national organisation ‘The Taste of Denmark'. Findings are structured through grounded theory. The smallest entity of observation is the local network. No individual interviews are planned. Findings: Previous work has shown that the vast...... majority of Danish small-scale food producers wish to participate in co-operative networks, which can strengthen the development of their own company. The group of companies is heterogeneous as regards the interest in growth. However, the majority of the growth-oriented companies share difficulties...

  14. Blockchain: The Evolutionary Next Step for ICT E-Agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-Pin Lin

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Blockchain technology, while still challenged with key limitations, is a transformative Information and Communications Technology (ICT that has changed our notion of trust. Improved efficiencies for agricultural sustainable development has been demonstrated when ICT-enabled farms have access to knowledge banks and other digital resources. UN FAO-recommended ICT e-agricultural infrastructure components are a confluence of ICT and blockchain technology requirements. When ICT e-agricultural systems with blockchain infrastructure are immutable and distributed ledger systems for record management, baseline agricultural environmental data integrity is safeguarded for those who participate in transparent data management. This paper reviewed blockchain-based concepts associated with ICT-based technology. Moreover, a model ICT e-agriculture system with a blockchain infrastructure is proposed for use at the local and regional scale. To determine context specific technical and social requirements of blockchain technology for ICT e-agriculture systems, an evaluation tool is presented. The proposed system and tool can be evaluated and applied to further developments of e-agriculture systems.

  15. Comparison of Three Plot Selection Methods for Estimating Change in Temporally Variable, Spatially Clustered Populations.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thompson, William L. [Bonneville Power Administration, Portland, OR (US). Environment, Fish and Wildlife

    2001-07-01

    Monitoring population numbers is important for assessing trends and meeting various legislative mandates. However, sampling across time introduces a temporal aspect to survey design in addition to the spatial one. For instance, a sample that is initially representative may lose this attribute if there is a shift in numbers and/or spatial distribution in the underlying population that is not reflected in later sampled plots. Plot selection methods that account for this temporal variability will produce the best trend estimates. Consequently, I used simulation to compare bias and relative precision of estimates of population change among stratified and unstratified sampling designs based on permanent, temporary, and partial replacement plots under varying levels of spatial clustering, density, and temporal shifting of populations. Permanent plots produced more precise estimates of change than temporary plots across all factors. Further, permanent plots performed better than partial replacement plots except for high density (5 and 10 individuals per plot) and 25% - 50% shifts in the population. Stratified designs always produced less precise estimates of population change for all three plot selection methods, and often produced biased change estimates and greatly inflated variance estimates under sampling with partial replacement. Hence, stratification that remains fixed across time should be avoided when monitoring populations that are likely to exhibit large changes in numbers and/or spatial distribution during the study period. Key words: bias; change estimation; monitoring; permanent plots; relative precision; sampling with partial replacement; temporary plots.

  16. Linking agricultural crop management and air quality models for regional to national-scale nitrogen assessments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooter, E. J.; Bash, J. O.; Benson, V.; Ran, L.

    2012-10-01

    While nitrogen (N) is an essential element for life, human population growth and demands for energy, transportation and food can lead to excess nitrogen in the environment. A modeling framework is described and implemented to promote a more integrated, process-based and system-level approach to the estimation of ammonia (NH3) emissions which result from the application of inorganic nitrogen fertilizers to agricultural soils in the United States. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) model is used to simulate plant demand-driven fertilizer applications to commercial cropland throughout the continental US. This information is coupled with a process-based air quality model to produce continental-scale NH3 emission estimates. Regional cropland NH3 emissions are driven by the timing and amount of inorganic NH3 fertilizer applied, soil processes, local meteorology, and ambient air concentrations. Initial fertilizer application often occurs when crops are planted. A state-level evaluation of EPIC-simulated, cumulative planted area compares well with similar USDA reported estimates. EPIC-annual, inorganic fertilizer application amounts also agree well with reported spatial patterns produced by others, but domain-wide the EPIC values are biased about 6% low. Preliminary application of the integrated fertilizer application and air quality modeling system produces a modified geospatial pattern of seasonal NH3 emissions that improves current simulations of observed atmospheric particle nitrate concentrations. This modeling framework provides a more dynamic, flexible, and spatially and temporally resolved estimate of NH3 emissions than previous factor-based NH3 inventories, and will facilitate evaluation of alternative nitrogen and air quality policy and adaptation strategies associated with future climate and land use changes.

  17. Agriculture expansion, wood energy and woody encroachment in the Miombo woodlands: striving towards sustainability in Zambia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelletier, J.

    2017-12-01

    Agricultural expansion is mostly done at the expense of forests and woodlands in the tropics. In Sub-Saharan Africa, forests are also critical as providers of wood energy for domestic consumption with a clear majority of households depending on firewood and charcoal as primary source of energy. Using Zambia as a case study, we look at the link between agricultural expansion, wood energy and the sustainability of forest resources. Zambia has been identified as having one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, but there is large uncertainty in these estimates. The government of Zambia has identified charcoal production as one of the main of drivers of forest cover loss and is targeting this practice in their national strategy for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). Other assessment however indicate that agricultural expansion is by far the main driver of deforestation and charcoal production is sustainable in Zambia. These competing evaluations call for a better understanding of the drivers of change. Using two national-scale vegetation surveys and remote sensing data, we compare and validate historical forest cover loss estimates to improve their accuracy. We attribute the change and their associated emissions to specific drivers of deforestation. The ecological properties of areas under change are compared to stable areas over time. Our results from national permanent plots indicate a woody encroachment process in Zambia, a potential ecological response to rising CO2 levels. We found that despite large emissions from deforestation, forests and woodlands have been acting as a carbon sink. This research addresses directly the potential feedbacks and responses to competing demands on forests coming from different sectors, including for agriculture and energy, to set the baseline on which to evaluate forest sustainability now and in the future given potentially new ecological conditions. It provides policy relevant

  18. Economic evaluation of GPS technology in Serbian agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marković Dragan

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper examined the level of savings in the application of the most modern technical systems for satellite guidance and control over performing agricultural operations throughout the season. The exemplary property was Agricultural Corporation Belgrade (PKB, which covers about 21.000 hectares of arable land. The effects of plot shape and direction of movement of tractor-attachment units in calculating the savings from reduced overlapping of adjacent passes were studied. The analysis was carried out of savings per crop (maize, wheat, soybean, sugar beet and alfalfa and the operations for each crop separately, based on the manufacturing technology applied to an exemplary property. Detailed data are shown only for wheat and barley. Comparing the achieved level of savings, the application of guidance for the type of the most economically viable operations was found as well as the needed equipment level of guidance devices and management. In particular, the analysis involved the functional dependence of the economic savings in fuel and inputs for the operations such as mineral fertilizers distribution and chemical plant protection. Tabulated are the data estimates for the degree of anticipated savings for operations related to the five analyzed crops.

  19. Removal of iodomethane from air using a plot-scale corona discharge scrubber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dickson, L.W.; Toft-Hall, A.; Torgerson, D.F.

    1985-12-01

    This report presents the results of a study of the removal of iodomethane from air using a pilot-scale corona discharge scrubber. The removal was measured in the following parameter ranges: bulk air flow, 30 to 350 m 3 /h; initial CH 3 I concentration, 6 to 230 μmol/m 3 ; and discharge current, 0 to 75 mA DC (negative polarity). Approximately five to ten moles of iodomethane are removed per mole of electrons added to the air stream at a discharge voltage of ∼ 10 kV. This removal efficiency suggests that both ion-molecule and radical-molecule reactions may be important in the removal of iodomethane from air in a corona discharge. The results of this pilot-scale demonstration indicate that a corona discharge scrubber would be suitable for removing iodine species from air as part of the emergency filtered-air discharge system of a nuclear reactor. The application of this technology to the control of nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide emissions is being investigated. 15 refs

  20. Research on Agricultural Product Options Pricing Based on Lévy Copula

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, Hong

    2017-11-01

    China is a large agricultural country, and the healthy development of agriculture is related to the stability of the whole society. With the advancement of modern agriculture and the expansion of agricultural scale, the demand for farmers to avoid market risks is increasingly urgent. Option trading has the effect of attracting farmers’ intervention, promoting order agriculture development, perfecting agricultural support policy and promoting the development of agricultural futures market. Relative to the futures, the option transaction because the margin is low, reducing the trader’s entry threshold, you can make more small and medium investors to participate. This is not only active in the futures market, but also for many small and medium investors to provide effective financial management tools.

  1. Exploring Agricultural Drainage's Influence on Wetland and ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Artificial agricultural drainage (i.e. surface ditches or subsurface tile) is an important agricultural management tool. Artificial drainage allows for timely fieldwork and adequate root aeration, resulting in greater crop yields for farmers. This practice is widespread throughout many regions of the United States and the network of artificial drainage is especially extensive in flat, poorly-drained regions like the glaciated Midwest. While beneficial for crop yields, agricultural drains often empty into streams within the natural drainage system. The increased network connectivity may lead to greater contributing area for watersheds, altered hydrology and increased conveyance of pollutants into natural water bodies. While studies and models at broader scales have implicated artificial drainage as an important driver of hydrological shifts and eutrophication, the actual spatial extent of artificial drainage is poorly known. Consequently, metrics of wetland and watershed connectivity within agricultural regions often fail to explicitly include artificial drainage. We use recent agricultural census data, soil drainage data, and land cover data to create estimates of potential agricultural drainage across the United States. We estimate that agricultural drainage in the US is greater than 31 million hectares and is concentrated in the upper Midwest Corn Belt, covering greater than 50% of available land for 114 counties. Estimated drainage values for numerous countie

  2. BIODYNAMIC AGRICULTURE - ECO-FRIENDLY AGRICULTURAL PRACTICE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Veselka Vlahova

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Biodynamic agriculture is undoubtedly the oldest organized agricultural movement in the world. It is considered as an organic agricultural farming approach and determined as the oldest organized alternative agricultural movement in the world. In 1924 Rudolf Steiner – an Austrian natural scientist and philosopher, carried out a series of eight lectures in Koberwitz, currently Kobierzyce- Poland, where he formulated his visions on changes in agriculture and revealed his spiritual and scientific concepts about the connection between nature and agriculture by determining the important role of agriculture for the future of humanity and thus he became known as “the father of anthroposophy”. The great ecological effect of the application of the biodynamic agriculture is expressed in soil preservation and preservation of the living organisms in the soil, as well as maintenance of the natural balance in the vegetable and animal kingdom.

  3. Climate Change and Agricultural Vulnerability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fischer, G.; Shah, M.; Van Velthuizen, H.

    2002-08-01

    After the introduction Chapter 2 presents details of the ecological-economic analysis based on the FAO/IIASA agro-ecological zones (AEZ) approach for evaluation of biophysical limitations and agricultural production potentials, and IIASA's Basic Linked System (BLS) for analyzing the world's food economy and trade system. The BLS is a global general equilibrium model system for analyzing agricultural policies and food system prospects in an international setting. BLS views national agricultural systems as embedded in national economies, which interact with each other through trade at the international level. The combination of AEZ and BLS provides an integrated ecological-economic framework for the assessment of the impact of climate change. We consider climate scenarios based on experiments with four General Circulation Models (GCM), and we assess the four basic socioeconomic development pathways and emission scenarios as formulated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its Third Assessment Report. Chapter 3 presents the main AEZ results of the impact of climate change on agriculture. Results comprise environmental constraints to crop agriculture; climate variability and the variability of rain-fed cereal production; changes in potential agricultural land; changes in crop-production patterns; and the impact of climate change on cereal-production potential. Chapter 4 discusses the AEZ-BLS integrated ecological-economic analysis of climate change on the world food system. This includes quantification of scale and location of hunger, international agricultural trade, prices, production, land use, etc. It assesses trends in food production, trade, and consumption, and the impact on poverty and hunger of alternative development pathways and varying levels of climate change. Chapter 5 presents the main conclusions and policy implications of this study

  4. Visual search for tropical web spiders: the influence of plot length, sampling effort, and phase of the day on species richness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinto-Leite, C M; Rocha, P L B

    2012-12-01

    Empirical studies using visual search methods to investigate spider communities were conducted with different sampling protocols, including a variety of plot sizes, sampling efforts, and diurnal periods for sampling. We sampled 11 plots ranging in size from 5 by 10 m to 5 by 60 m. In each plot, we computed the total number of species detected every 10 min during 1 hr during the daytime and during the nighttime (0630 hours to 1100 hours, both a.m. and p.m.). We measured the influence of time effort on the measurement of species richness by comparing the curves produced by sample-based rarefaction and species richness estimation (first-order jackknife). We used a general linear model with repeated measures to assess whether the phase of the day during which sampling occurred and the differences in the plot lengths influenced the number of species observed and the number of species estimated. To measure the differences in species composition between the phases of the day, we used a multiresponse permutation procedure and a graphical representation based on nonmetric multidimensional scaling. After 50 min of sampling, we noted a decreased rate of species accumulation and a tendency of the estimated richness curves to reach an asymptote. We did not detect an effect of plot size on the number of species sampled. However, differences in observed species richness and species composition were found between phases of the day. Based on these results, we propose guidelines for visual search for tropical web spiders.

  5. Contemplation on Plot and Personification in Tehran Makhuf

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Pashaei

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available  Abstract Story is one of the important and influential literary genres that deserves to research on its structure and content .By study and analysis of a story, the reader could comprehend the textual messages and change his attitude toward life and different issues .After defining of the social novel, the author tries to analyze plot and personification in novel of “Tehran-e- Makhuf” and respond to the questions on the method employed for plot and personification and analyze it from plot and its components such as conflict, suspension and resolution and compare the differences and similarities between old tales and modern novels.  The plot of “Tehran-e- Makhuf” is not so complex due to its subject and content and natural order of events dominates on artificial discipline and it lacks open plot. Of main elements of plot, conflict is more outstanding here. This novel is full of emotional and moral conflicts and there is no similarity with historical novels that describe good and bad conflicts. Cause and effect relationship is main element of plot that shadows on the story events .In “Tehrna-e- Makhuf”, the author tries to violate the principles and cause to imbalance in natural events sequences with discomposing rational and experiential relationship and take action toward artificiality and unnatural suspension. In creating suspension by emphasis on incidences in some extremist cases, Kazemi tries to found the story based on the considerable sequence of events and this conduct reduces quality of the story significantly and leads to imbalance in rational and acceptable discipline.  Kazemi employs direct or reporting personification mostly. This novel lacks diversity in personage considerably .All characters speak in similar style and there is no particular speech style. The personification of Kazemi in “Tehran-e-Makhuf” is continuous and interdependent in style of old tales and novel in European

  6. Cellulosic ethanol production from agricultural residues in Nigeria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iye, Edward; Bilsborrow, Paul

    2013-01-01

    Nigeria′s Biofuels Policy introduced in 2007 mandates a 10% blend (E10) of bioethanol with gasoline. This study investigates the potential for the development of a cellulosic ethanol industry based on the availability of agricultural residues and models the number of commercial processing facilities that could be sited in the six Geo-political zones. The potential for cellulosic ethanol production from agricultural residues in Nigeria is 7556 km 3 per annum exceeding the mandate of 10% renewable fuel required and providing the potential for 12 large- and 11 medium-scale processing facilities based on the use of a single feedstock. Cassava and yam peelings provided in excess of 80% of the process residues available with enough feedstock to supply 10 large-scale facilities with a fairly even distribution across the zones. Sorghum straw, millet straw and maize stalks represented 75% of the potential resource available from field residues with the potential to supply 2 large- and 7 medium-scale processing facilities, all of which would be located in the north of the country. When a multi-feedstock approach is used, this provides the potential for either 29 large- or 58 medium-scale facilities based on outputs of 250 and 125 km 3 per annum respectively. - Highlights: • Nigeria′s Biofuels Policy mandates a 10% blend of bioethanol with gasoline. • Total bioethanol production from agricultural residues was 7556 km 3 per annum. • Process residues offer the greatest potential accounting for 62% of production. • Nigeria has the potential for 12 large- and 11 medium scale commercial. • The use of mixed feedstocks significantly increases the potential for production

  7. Implementing automatic LiDAR and supervised mapping methodologies to quantify agricultural terraced landforms at landscape scale: the case of Veneto Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eugenio Pappalardo, Salvatore; Ferrarese, Francesco; Tarolli, Paolo; Varotto, Mauro

    2016-04-01

    Traditional agricultural terraced landscapes presently embody an important cultural value to be deeply investigated, both for their role in local heritage and cultural economy and for their potential geo-hydrological hazard due to abandonment and degradation. Moreover, traditional terraced landscapes are usually based on non-intensive agro-systems and may enhance some important ecosystems services such as agro-biodiversity conservation and cultural services. Due to their unplanned genesis, mapping, quantifying and classifying agricultural terraces at regional scale is often critical as far as they are usually set up on geomorphologically and historically complex landscapes. Hence, traditional mapping methods are generally based on scientific literature and local documentation, historical and cadastral sources, technical cartography and aerial images visual interpretation or, finally, field surveys. By this, limitations and uncertainty in mapping at regional scale are basically related to forest cover and lack in thematic cartography. The Veneto Region (NE of Italy) presents a wide heterogeneity of agricultural terraced landscapes, mainly distributed within the hilly and Prealps areas. Previous studies performed by traditional mapping method quantified 2,688 ha of terraced areas, showing the higher values within the Prealps of Lessinia (1,013 ha, within the Province of Verona) and in the Brenta Valley (421 ha, within the Province of Vicenza); however, terraced features of these case studies show relevant differences in terms of fragmentation and intensity of terraces, highlighting dissimilar degrees of clusterization: 1.7 ha on one hand (Province of Verona) and 1.2 ha per terraced area (Province of Vicenza) on the other one. The aim of this paper is to implement and to compare automatic methodologies with traditional survey methodologies to map and assess agricultural terraces in two representative areas of the Veneto Region. Testing different Remote Sensing

  8. Construction of an experimental plot seeder of wheat planting and compare it by imported one

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I Eskandari

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Researchers frequently include multiple cultivars and fertility levels in field experiments. Therefore, the experiments sowing operation must represent a considerable saving in time and labor, compared to hand sowing. Greater flexibility in experimental design and setup could be achieved by equipment that enables quick changes in the cultivar and fertilizer rates from one plot to the next. A satisfactory seed drill must distribute a given quantity of seed evenly over a predetermined length of coulter row, the coulters must be spaced at exact intervals and depth of sowing must be uniform. In a self-propelled type of plot seeder, no coulter should run in a wheel track as the compaction of the soil can cause observable differences in vigor between plants in such a row and those in un-compacted rows. The machine should sow in succession from a try in which a series of seed pocket separated clearly and must be put into distributer funnel by an assistant operator. The length of gap being varied according to the nature and purpose of the plot. The objectives of this experiment were 1- to design and construct a local self-propelled plot seeder and 2- To compare it with the imported (Wintersteiger plot seeder in cereal breeding programs. Materials and Methods A small-plot seeder was designed and constructed to meet this objective. The unit consists of the following basic components: a toolbar for pulling a set of six blade coulter, an air compressor for lifting and putting down the openers and metering transmission drive wheel, an operators chair and work rack, one belt seed distribution. A cone-celled and rotor seed distributor is used for seed distribution to the openers. The cone system is connected to the gearbox and allows for great flexibility in changing cultivars, crop species, and plot length. This is driven by the separate drive wheel. The cone-celled distributor sows all the seed of the sample in making one complete turn. The

  9. Impact of greenhouse gas metrics on the quantification of agricultural emissions and farm-scale mitigation strategies: a New Zealand case study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reisinger, Andy; Ledgard, Stewart

    2013-06-01

    Agriculture emits a range of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gas metrics allow emissions of different gases to be reported in a common unit called CO2-equivalent. This enables comparisons of the efficiency of different farms and production systems and of alternative mitigation strategies across all gases. The standard metric is the 100 year global warming potential (GWP), but alternative metrics have been proposed and could result in very different CO2-equivalent emissions, particularly for CH4. While significant effort has been made to reduce uncertainties in emissions estimates of individual gases, little effort has been spent on evaluating the implications of alternative metrics on overall agricultural emissions profiles and mitigation strategies. Here we assess, for a selection of New Zealand dairy farms, the effect of two alternative metrics (100 yr GWP and global temperature change potentials, GTP) on farm-scale emissions and apparent efficiency and cost effectiveness of alternative mitigation strategies. We find that alternative metrics significantly change the balance between CH4 and N2O; in some cases, alternative metrics even determine whether a specific management option would reduce or increase net farm-level emissions or emissions intensity. However, the relative ranking of different farms by profitability or emissions intensity, and the ranking of the most cost-effective mitigation options for each farm, are relatively unaffected by the metric. We conclude that alternative metrics would change the perceived significance of individual gases from agriculture and the overall cost to farmers if a price were applied to agricultural emissions, but the economically most effective response strategies are unaffected by the choice of metric.

  10. Impact of greenhouse gas metrics on the quantification of agricultural emissions and farm-scale mitigation strategies: a New Zealand case study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reisinger, Andy; Ledgard, Stewart

    2013-01-01

    Agriculture emits a range of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gas metrics allow emissions of different gases to be reported in a common unit called CO 2 -equivalent. This enables comparisons of the efficiency of different farms and production systems and of alternative mitigation strategies across all gases. The standard metric is the 100 year global warming potential (GWP), but alternative metrics have been proposed and could result in very different CO 2 -equivalent emissions, particularly for CH 4 . While significant effort has been made to reduce uncertainties in emissions estimates of individual gases, little effort has been spent on evaluating the implications of alternative metrics on overall agricultural emissions profiles and mitigation strategies. Here we assess, for a selection of New Zealand dairy farms, the effect of two alternative metrics (100 yr GWP and global temperature change potentials, GTP) on farm-scale emissions and apparent efficiency and cost effectiveness of alternative mitigation strategies. We find that alternative metrics significantly change the balance between CH 4 and N 2 O; in some cases, alternative metrics even determine whether a specific management option would reduce or increase net farm-level emissions or emissions intensity. However, the relative ranking of different farms by profitability or emissions intensity, and the ranking of the most cost-effective mitigation options for each farm, are relatively unaffected by the metric. We conclude that alternative metrics would change the perceived significance of individual gases from agriculture and the overall cost to farmers if a price were applied to agricultural emissions, but the economically most effective response strategies are unaffected by the choice of metric. (letter)

  11. Reach-scale stream restoration in agricultural streams of southern Minnesota alters structural and functional responses of macroinvertebrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolph, Christine L.; Eggert, Susan L.; Magner, Joe; Ferrington, Leonard C.; Vondracek, Bruce C.

    2015-01-01

    Recent studies suggest that stream restoration at the reach scale may not increase stream biodiversity, raising concerns about the utility of this conservation practice. We examined whether reach-scale restoration in disturbed agricultural streams was associated with changes in macroinvertebrate community structure (total macroinvertebrate taxon richness, total macroinvertebrate density, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera [EPT] taxon richness, % abundance of EPT taxa) or secondary production (macroinvertebrate biomass over time). We collected macroinvertebrate samples over the course of 1 y from restored and unrestored reaches of 3 streams in southern Minnesota and used generalized least-square (GLS) models to assess whether measures of community structure were related to reach type, stream site, or sampling month. After accounting for effects of stream site and time, we found no significant difference in total taxon richness or % abundance of EPT taxa between restored and unrestored reaches. However, the number of EPT taxa and macroinvertebrate density were significantly higher in restored than in unrestored reaches. We compared secondary production estimates among study reaches based on 95th-percentile confidence intervals generated via bootstrapping. In each study stream, secondary production was significantly (2–3×) higher in the restored than in the unrestored reach. Higher productivity in the restored reaches was largely a result of the disproportionate success of a few dominant, tolerant taxa. Our findings suggest that reach-scale restoration may have ecological effects that are not detected by measures of total taxon richness alone.

  12. On-Line 1D and 2D PLOT/LC-ESI-MS Using 10 μm i.d. Poly(styrene–divinylbenzene) Porous Layer Open Tubular (PLOT) Columns For Ultrasensitive Proteomic Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Quanzhou; Yue, Guihua; Valaskovic, Gary A; Gu, Ye; Wu, Shiaw-Lin; Karger, Barry L.

    2008-01-01

    Following on our recent work, on-line one dimensional (1D) and two dimensional (2D) PLOT/LC-ESI-MS platforms using 3.2 m × 10 μm i.d. poly(styrenedivinylbenzene) (PS-DVB) porous layer open tubular (PLOT) columns have been developed to provide robust, high performance and ultrasensitive proteomic analysis. Using a PicoClear tee, the dead volume connection between a 50 μm i.d. PS-DVB monolithic microSPE column and the PLOT column was minimized. The microSPE/PLOT column assembly provided a separation performance similar to that obtained with direct injection onto the PLOT column at a mobile phase flow rate of 20 nL/min. The trace analysis potential of the platform was evaluated using an in-gel tryptic digest sample of a gel fraction (15 to 40 kDa) of a cervical cancer (SiHa) cell line. As an example of the sensitivity of the system, ∼2.5 ng of protein in 2 μL solution, an amount corresponding to 20 SiHa cells, was subjected to on-line microSPE-PLOT/LC-ESIMS/MS analysis using a linear ion trap MS. 237 peptides associated with 163 unique proteins were identified from a single analysis when using stringent criteria associated with a false positive rate less than 1% . The number of identified peptides and proteins increased to 638 and 343, respectively, as the injection amount was raised to ∼45 ng of protein, an amount corresponding to 350 SiHa cells. In comparison, only 338 peptides and 231 unique proteins were identified (false positive rate again less than 1%) from 750 ng of protein from the identical gel fraction, an amount corresponding to 6000 SiHa cells, using a typical 15 cm × 75 μm i.d. packed capillary column. The greater sensitivity, higher recovery, and higher resolving power of the PLOT column resulted in the increased number of identifications from only ∼5% of the injected sample amount. The resolving power of the microSPE/PLOT assembly was further extended by 2D chromatography via combination of the high-efficiency reversed phase PLOT column

  13. Agricultural Extensnon Techniques in the Sultanate of Oman, Present Prospect and Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.A. Ghobashi

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available A study conducted during September 2003 included 80 participants grouped into 3 categories, who occupied different posts in the Agricultural (and Fisheries Development Centers (ADC. A questionnaire covering various elements of extension methods and techniques was used. Result showed that participant's opinions were identical in 90.6% of the aspects put forward in the questionnaire. There were, however, significant differences in opinions between the three groups involved in the study regarding representation of ministry extension personnel at village levels, availability of media equipment and facilities in the ADC and level of training of extension staff. The study also showed the need for a complementary extension structure at ABC level, development of an appropriate relationship between extension and agricultural research and more technical and practical training for extension staff. The participants also emphasized the relative importance of providing extension means and outputs for demonstration of plots to target groups, the availability of media equipment and the necessity for developing techniques for better execution and evaluation of extension programs. Research priorities should also be linked with problems related to agricultural production at farm level in Oman.

  14. Experimental strategies in carrying out VCU for tobacco crop I: plot design and size.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toledo, F H R B; Ramalho, M A P; Pulcinelli, C E; Bruzi, A T

    2013-09-19

    We aimed to establish standards for tobacco Valor de Cultivo e Uso (VCU) in Brazil. We obtained information regarding the size and design of plots of two varietal groups of tobacco (Virginia and Burley). Ten inbred lines of each varietal group were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with four replications. The plot contained 42 plants with six rows of seven columns each. For each experiment plant, considering the position of the respective plant in the plot (row and column) as a reference, cured leaf weight (g/plant), total sugar content (%), and total alkaloid content (%) were determined. The maximum curvature of the variations in coefficients was estimated. Trials with the number of plants per plot ranging from 2 to 41 were simulated. The use of a border was not justified because the interactions between inbred lines x position in the plots were never significant, showing that the behavior of the inbred lines coincided with the different positions. The plant performance varied according to the column position in the plot. To lessen the effect of this factor, the use of plots with more than one row is recommended. Experimental precision, evaluated by the CV%, increased with an increase in plot size; nevertheless, the maximum curvature of the variation coefficient method showed no expressive increase in precision if the number of plants was greater than seven. The result in identification of the best inbred line, in terms of the size of each plot, coincided with the maximum curvature method.

  15. EDAPHIC PROPERTIES PLOTS CULTIVATED WITH MILPA USING MINIMUM TILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS OF OAXACA, WHERE THERE WAS MOUNTAIN CLOUD FOREST.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irma Reyes-Jaramillo

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Soil fertility in the first 20 cm of six plots and a cloud forest (MCF still preserved in Sta. María Chilchotla, north of Oaxaca, where the predominant MCF and grown landraces were evaluated. The soils are on slopes are shallow, rocky and not suitable for agriculture. Yields are low, the Mazatec perform traditional cultural practices such as minimum tillage as the terrain does not allow entering tractor or oxen, farmers do not burn, and do not use chemicals. Soil sampling randomly obtaining composite samples were made​​ physical, chemical and biological properties were analyzed. The results showed that are medium textured soils, the pH of the MCF is extremely acid (4.5 and in the plots ranged from 5 to 6.9, organic carbon is high from 24 to 100 g kg -1, total nitrogen ranged from 1.4 - 8.3 g kg-1 medium and high values, available phosphorus was low with the exception of the plot three, the CEC ranged from 8.8 to 36 cmoles(+ kg-1. They have high iron content of 20.26 to 94.18 mg kg-1 on BMM standing there also high in copper, zinc and manganese. Analysis of variance (ANOVA showed a significant difference (р 0.5 between the means of soil properties and soil analyzed than sodium. The multiple comparison test of Tukey was applied. Trap pots mycorrhizal fungi were isolated from different species. It is concluded that the soils of most of the plots are fertile, are poor in phosphorus but everything indicates that they make up the AM fungi; no physical degradation was observed, its major limitation is the stoniness and steep slopes. The practice of minimum tillage, barriers of rocks that outcrop at the surface and leaving stumps of tree ferns prevent erosion. It aims to increase maize production experimenting with chemical fertilizers. To preserve the MCF recommends building their biological and ethnobotanical wealth, carbon sequestration mazatec could receive a financial benefit.

  16. Exploration of the forbidden regions of the Ramachandran plot (ϕ-ψ) with QTAIM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Momen, Roya; Azizi, Alireza; Wang, Lingling; Ping, Yang; Xu, Tianlv; Kirk, Steven R; Li, Wenxuan; Manzhos, Sergei; Jenkins, Samantha

    2017-10-04

    A new QTAIM interpretation of the Ramachandran plot is formulated from the most and least facile eigenvectors of the second-derivative matrix of the electron density with a set of 29 magainin-2 peptide conformers. The presence of QTAIM eigenvectors associated with the most and least preferred directions of electronic charge density explained the role of hydrogen bonding, HH contacts and the glycine amino acid monomer in peptide folding. The highest degree of occupation of the QTAIM interpreted Ramachandran plot was found for the glycine amino acid monomer compared with the remaining backbone peptide bonds. The mobility of the QTAIM eigenvectors of the glycine amino acid monomer was higher than for the other amino acids and was comparable to that of the hydrogen bonding, explaining the flexibility of the magainin-2 backbone. We experimented with a variety of hybrid QTAIM-Ramachandran plots to highlight and explain why the glycine amino acid monomer largely occupies the 'forbidden' region on the Ramachandran plot. In addition, the new hybrid QTAIM-Ramachandran plots contained recognizable regions that can be associated with concepts familiar from the conventional Ramachandran plot whilst retaining the character of the QTAIM most and least preferred regions.

  17. Confidence limits for contribution plots in multivariate statistical process control using bootstrap estimates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babamoradi, Hamid; van den Berg, Frans; Rinnan, Åsmund

    2016-02-18

    In Multivariate Statistical Process Control, when a fault is expected or detected in the process, contribution plots are essential for operators and optimization engineers in identifying those process variables that were affected by or might be the cause of the fault. The traditional way of interpreting a contribution plot is to examine the largest contributing process variables as the most probable faulty ones. This might result in false readings purely due to the differences in natural variation, measurement uncertainties, etc. It is more reasonable to compare variable contributions for new process runs with historical results achieved under Normal Operating Conditions, where confidence limits for contribution plots estimated from training data are used to judge new production runs. Asymptotic methods cannot provide confidence limits for contribution plots, leaving re-sampling methods as the only option. We suggest bootstrap re-sampling to build confidence limits for all contribution plots in online PCA-based MSPC. The new strategy to estimate CLs is compared to the previously reported CLs for contribution plots. An industrial batch process dataset was used to illustrate the concepts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. The value of building plots in Italy - pdf

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paolo Rosato

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper suggests some analysis on dynamics of building plots value in Italy. This is an important subject, since the study of changes in plots value in space and time enables the evaluation of urban rent, which is essential for a fair and effective planning. The analysis confirm past hypothesis which are well known to real estate market operators. The first resulting fact is that the changes in building plots value are concurrent to those in real estate value and the increase occurring in the last years is in relative terms higher than the past one. This seems to confirm that, during real estate market expansion, most of the increase of buildings’ value is attributable to the land rent. The second observation is about value dynamics over time: it has been observed that, during an expansion in demand, the value significantly increases in central areas, much more than in peripheral ones; this means that absolute rent arising from shortage in urban areas is higher than the differential rent created through urban expansion in peripheral areas. Finally, it was highlighted that the factors affecting the value in building areas play different roles, depending on their location relative to the urban centre, identifying differently structured market segments.

  19. Results with a bench scale downdraft biomass gasifier for agricultural and forestry residues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olgun, Hayati [TUBITAK Marmara Research Center, Energy Institute, P.O. Box 21, 41470 Gebze, Kocaeli (Turkey); Ozdogan, Sibel; Yinesor, Guzide [Marmara University-Goztepe Campus, Faculty of Engineering - Department of Mechanical Engineering, 34722 Kuyubasi Kadikoy Istanbul (Turkey)

    2011-01-15

    A small scale fixed bed downdraft gasifier system to be fed with agricultural and forestry residues has been designed and constructed. The downdraft gasifier has four consecutive reaction zones from the top to the bottom, namely drying, pyrolysis, oxidation and reduction zones. Both the biomass fuel and the gases move in the same direction. A throat has been incorporated into the design to achieve gasification with lower tar production. The experimental system consists of the downdraft gasifier and the gas cleaning unit made up by a cyclone, a scrubber and a filter box. A pilot burner is utilized for initial ignition of the biomass fuel. The product gases are combusted in the flare built up as part of the gasification system. The gasification medium is air. The air to fuel ratio is adjusted to produce a gas with acceptably high heating value and low pollutants. Within this frame, different types of biomass, namely wood chips, barks, olive pomace and hazelnut shells are to be processed. The developed downdraft gasifier appears to handle the investigated biomass sources in a technically and environmentally feasible manner. This paper summarizes selected design related issues along with the results obtained with wood chips and hazelnut shells. (author)

  20. Remote sensing based evapotranspiration and runoff modeling of agricultural, forest and urban flux sites in Denmark: From field to macro-scale

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bøgh, E.; Poulsen, R.N.; Butts, M.

    2009-01-01

    representing agricultural, forest and urban land surfaces in physically based hydrological modeling makes it possible to reproduce much of the observed variability (48–73%) in stream flow (Q − Qb) when data and modeling is applied at an effective spatial resolution capable of representing land surface...... variability in eddy covariance latent heat fluxes. The “effective” spatial resolution needed to adopt local-scale model parameters for spatial-deterministic hydrological modeling was assessed using a high-spatial resolution (30 m) variogram analysis of the NDVI. The use of the NDVI variogram to evaluate land...