Assessment of herbaceous plant habitats in water-constrained environments: predicting indirect effects with fuzzy logic

Herbaceous plant production plays a key role in determining the function of rangeland ecosystems in the semi-arid and Mediterranean regions. Therefore, assessment of herbaceous plant habitats is important for understanding the ecosystem functioning in these regions and for applied purposes, such as range management and land evaluation. This paper presents a model to assess herbaceous plant habitats in a basaltic stony environment in a Mediterranean region. The model is based on geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing and fuzzy logic, while four indirect variables, which represent major characteristics of herbaceous habitats, are modeled: rock cover fraction; wetness index (WI); soil depth; and slope orientation (aspect). A linear unmixing model was used to measure rock cover on a per pixel basis using a Landsat TM summer image. The wetness index and local aspect were determined from digital elevation data with 25 m × 25 m pixel resolution, while soil data were gathered in a field survey. The modeling approach adopted here is process-based and assumes that water availability plays a crucial role in determining herbaceous plant production in Mediterranean and semi-arid environments. The model rules are based on fuzzy logic and are written based on the hypothesized water requirements of the herbaceous vegetation. The results show that on a polygon basis there is positive agreement between the model proposed here and previous mapping of the herbaceous habitats carried out in the field using traditional methods. Intrapolygon tests show that the use of a continuous raster data model and fuzzy logic principles provide an added value to traditional mapping. Moreover, herbaceous biomass measurements at two time intervals—mid- and peak winter season—corresponded with the habitat assessment predictions achieved using a new scenario that is proposed in this research. This scenario suggests that rockiness increases herbaceous production on south-facing slopes, while in other slope aspects the rock cover has lower impact on herbaceous growth. Due to its simplicity, the model suggested here can be used by planners and managers, to adjust range activities over large areas. The process-based approach should allow adaptation of the model to other regions more effectively than models that were formulated on a purely empirical basis. The model could also be used to study the relationship between water availability and ecosystem productivity on a regional scale.     

广州市东部地区土地资源承载力研究

应用土地遥感解译图，对广州市东部地区的土地利用现状进行分析；并根据广州总体发展战略规划，进行了东部地区土地资源承载力研究。结果表明，如果2020年广州市东部地区耕地保有面积达到基本农田保护区面积。则城市发展所需的土地资源可以满足规划要求。城市发展建设应先占用那些质量较差的农用地。     

巢湖水体悬浮物含量与光谱反射率的关系

利用高光谱地物光谱仪在巢湖进行了反射光谱测量和同步水质采样分析，在分析巢湖水体反射光谱特征的基础上，分别研究了悬浮物浓度与水体光谱反射率和光谱反射率的一阶微分之间的关系，结果表明在近红外波段范围，单波段反射率和一阶微分光谱反射率都与悬浮物的浓度有较好的相关性，而且利用微分光谱估算内陆水体悬浮物浓度有较大潜力。     

Simple Spatial Modeling Tool for Prioritizing Prescribed Burning Activities at the Landscape Scale

Abstract:   Resources for prescribed fire are frequently insufficient to manage public lands for all conservation and resource management objectives, necessitating prioritization of the application of fire across the landscape within any given year. Defining tradeoffs when applying prescribed fire to large landscapes is problematic not only because of the complexity of weighing competing management objectives at the landscape scale, but also because of the difficult nature of independently applying need-to-burn criteria to large areas. We present a case study of a simple modeling process implemented at Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle (U.S.A.) to prioritize the application of prescribed fire. In a workshop setting, managers and biologists identified key conservation criteria and landscape management objectives that drive the application of prescribed fire. Remote sensing and other spatial data were developed to directly or indirectly represent all these criteria. Using geographic information system software, managers and biologists weighted each criterion according to its relative contribution to overall burn prioritization, and individual values for the criterion were scored according to how they influence the need to burn. Subsequently, this process has been validated and modified through ecological monitoring. This modeling process has also been applied to the 77,400-ha Blackwater River State Forest, public land adjacent to Eglin Air Force Base, demonstrating its applicability to lands with varying management priorities. The advantages of this model-based approach for prioritizing prescribed fire include the reliance on accessible, inexpensive software, the development of spatially explicit management objectives, the ease of transferability, and clearly stated assumptions about management that may be tested and reviewed through monitoring and public comment.     

Choosing a home: how the scouts in a honey bee swarm perceive the completion of their group decision making

This study considers the mystery of how the scout bees in a honey bee swarm know when they have completed their group decision making regarding the swarm's new nest site. More specifically, we investigated how the scouts sense when it is appropriate for them to begin producing the worker piping signals that stimulate their swarm-mates to prepare for the flight to their new home. We tested two hypotheses: "consensus sensing," the scouts noting when all the bees performing waggle dances are advertising just one site; and "quorum sensing," the scouts noting when one site is being visited by a sufficiently large number of scouts. Our test involved monitoring four swarms as they discovered, recruited to, and chose between two nest boxes and their scouts started producing piping signals. We found that a consensus among the dancers was neither necessary nor sufficient for the start of worker piping, which indicates that the consensus sensing hypothesis is false. We also found that a buildup of 10–15 or more bees at one of the nest boxes was consistently associated with the start of worker piping, which indicates that the quorum sensing hypothesis may be true. In considering why the scout bees rely on reaching a quorum rather than a consensus as their cue of when to start preparing for liftoff, we suggest that quorum sensing may provide a better balance between accuracy and speed in decision making. In short, the bees appear to begin preparations for liftoff as soon as enough of the scout bees, but not all of them, have approved of one of the potential nest sites.

北京市机动车排放遥感监测分析

机动车排放遥感监测反映实际道路行驶中的排放状况,对全面分析排放水平有很强的统计意义。北京市机动车排放遥感监测的CO、HC和NOx的平均浓度分别为1.94%、388×10-6和700×10-6。北京市机动车排放的CO、HC和NOx中50%分别来自于15.90%、13.98%、11.13%的高排放车,但某车辆对于一种污染物出现高排放并不意味着它对其他污染物也是高排放。根据遥感监测得到北京市轻型汽油车基于油耗的CO、HC和NOx平均尾气管排放因子分别为200.1g/L、11.05 g/L和6.68 g/L。     

PAH deposition to snow surface

The urban snowpack effectively acts as a collection device for atmospheric-deposited PAHs. When these PAHs are flushed out in a short time interval along with springtime snowmelt, these cause shockloading to receiving waters. In order to assess the PAH deposition and accumulation in urban snowpacks, a deposition survey of PAH for the winter months of 1991-92 from the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada was undertaken. The results of the survey are interpreted in view of prevailing meteorology and various emission sources in the study area. The relative PAH deposition levels (to BaP) are compared with relative source emission fingerprints to examine consistency in sampling and analysis. While analyzing the PAH samples using the ASTM (1987) method, the problem of concentration levels being below the detection level was encountered. The ASTM method for PAH analysis was modified to enhance the detection limit of the PAHs by concentrating the PAH extract to very low volumes, on the order of 200-300 microL.     

2005~2016年中国大气边界层SO2的时空变化趋势

利用臭氧观测仪（OMI）卫星遥感反演的大气边界层（PBL）SO₂柱含量（PBL SO₂）数据分析了自2005年以来中国PBL SO₂柱含量数据的空间分布特征、变化趋势及其影响的原因.从长时间尺度上,PBL SO₂柱含量呈现明显的下降趋势.2005年中国区域年平均PBL SO₂柱含量为0.317DU,2016年为0.276DU,减少了0.041DU,大约为13.2%.SO₂柱含量呈现明显的周期变化特征.冬季浓度较高,夏季较低,最小值和最大值分别出现在7和12月,分别为0.246和0.404DU.小波分析显示SO₂的变化在10个月的尺度水平上存在明显的主振荡周期,在40个月的尺度水平上存在明显的次周期变化.中国区域SO₂污染严重的高值区主要出现在京津冀鲁环渤海地区、关中平原（山西省和陕西省）、河南省大部分地区、四川盆地、长江三角洲地区和珠江三角洲.最大的SO₂柱含量值可达1.1DU以上.京津冀鲁环渤海地区的高值区已经延伸到长江三角洲地区,有向南延伸和珠江三角洲连在一起的趋势.由于地形和天气特征的影响,四川盆地地区SO₂出现次高值区.在青藏高原和西北地区,SO₂浓度较低,呈现背景值特征,多年平均的SO₂约在0.05DU的水平.中国区域SO₂变化趋势在空间分布上存在明显的区域差异,变化的范围在-0.70~0.15DU之间.SO₂出现逐渐减少的地区主要是在高值区,如京津冀鲁环勃海地区、关中平原、四川盆地,长江中下游和珠江三角洲.减幅最大的是四川盆地和珠江三角洲,大约减少了61%.四川盆地2005~2016年约减少了0.55DU;珠江三角洲约减少了0.45DU.出现增长的地区主要是西部和北部地区,以及东南沿海除珠三角外的大部分区域,最大增长大约为0.15DU.     

20世纪初以来沂蒙山区森林植被动态及其对气候变化的响应——基于遥感和树轮的研究

遥感能够直接反映植被生长信息,但目前观测时间较短;树轮资料可以弥补遥感手段的不足,但往往缺乏与植被生长状况（如植被生产力）的直接关联。已有研究往往计算不同植被指数指标和树轮指数的相关性,并基于此来重建长时间尺度的植被动态信息。但基于相关性所选取的指标在不同地区存在较大差异,不利于空间对比研究。以沂蒙山区为研究区,选取能够有效表征植被年初级生产力的生长季NDVI累积值指标,利用Bootstrap法建立了其与树轮宽度的关系,重建了20世纪初期以来植被动态时间序列,并分析了变化特征及其与气候变化的关系。结果表明：沂山地区生长季NDVI累积值的多年平均值为7.36,低于蒙山和塔山地区;蒙山地区植被状况呈现好转趋势,特别是20世纪90年代之后植被好转趋势更加明显,而塔山和沂山地区植被无显著变化。小波分析结果表明研究区植被动态存在较显著的2 a、4 a或8 a尺度的周期变化,与生长季帕尔默干旱指数及平均温度的周期变化相一致,但干旱指数与植被动态具有更高的相关性。本研究综合运用树轮与遥感技术发展了长时间尺度植被动态时间序列重建方法,有助于更好地理解植被动态及其对气候变化的响应。     

城市黑臭水体的吸收特性分析

黑臭水体是城市水环境的一个严重问题,对城市黑臭水体光学特性进行分析,是利用遥感技术手段进行黑臭识别的前提与基础.2016~2017年采集了长沙、南京和无锡的城市黑臭水体共计85个样点,非黑臭水体共计80个样点,并对水样的悬浮物等水质参数浓度以及水体组分的吸收系数进行了测量.结果表明:(1)黑臭水体的总颗粒物吸收系数、非色素颗粒物吸收系数总体上高于非黑臭水体.(2)黑臭水体与非黑臭水体的CDOM吸收系数有明显的差异.由此可用CDOM吸收特征波段440 nm和不同波段范围内拟合的吸收系数曲线斜率对黑臭水体进行区分.城市黑臭水体吸收特性的分析,将为黑臭水体的遥感识别和监测提供有效的技术支撑.黑臭水体中的高CDOM浓度,可以作为遥感识别黑臭水的一个重要参考.