Effects of Plant Crown Shape on Microwave Backscattering Coefficients of Vegetation Canopy

A microwave scattering model is a powerful tool for determining relationships between vegetation parameters and backscattering characteristics. The crown shape of the vegetation canopy is an important parameter in forestry and affects the microwave scattering modeling results. However, there are few numerical models or methods to describe the relationships between crown shapes and backscattering features. Using the Modified Tor Vergata Model (MTVM), a microwave scattering model based on the Matrix Doubling Algorithm (MDA), we quantitatively characterized the effects of crown shape on the microwave backscattering coefficients of the vegetation canopy. FEKO was also used as a computational electromagnetic method to make a complement and comparison with MTVM. In a preliminary experiment, the backscattering coefficients of two ideal vegetation canopies with four representative crown shapes (cylinder, cone, inverted cone and ellipsoid) were simulated: MTVM simulations were performed for the L (1.2 GHz), C (5.3 GHz) and X (9.6 GHz) bands in fully polarimetric mode, and FEKO simulations were carried out for the C (5.3 GHz) band at VV and VH polarization. The simulation results show that, for specific input parameters, the mean relative differences in backscattering coefficients due to variations in crown shape are as high as 127%, which demonstrates that the crown shape has a non-negligible influence on microwave backscattering coefficients of the vegetation canopy. In turn, this also suggests that investigation on effects of plant crown shape on microwave backscattering coefficients may have the potential to improve the accuracy of vegetation microwave scattering models, especially in canopies where volume scattering is the predominant mechanism.

Vegetation diversity and structure of urban parks in Cilegon City, Indonesia, and local residents’ perception of its function

Muhlisin, Iskandar J, Gunawan B, Cahyandito MF. 2021. Vegetation diversity and structure of urban parks in Cilegon City, Indonesia, and local residents’ perception of its function. Biodiversitas 22: 2589-2603. The existence of urban parks is very essential for cities because they provide ecosystem services and benefits to humans. Diversity and structure of vegetation in urban parks play significant role in delivering several functions of ecosystem services. This paper aims to explore and analyze the vegetation diversity and structure, as well as ecosystem services of eight urban parks in Cilegon City, Banten Province, Indonesia. Vegetation analysis and residents’ perception are also conducted in this research. The analysis of vegetation is focused on horizontal structure of vegetation,including plant diversity, plant habitus, the original distribution of the plants, and vertical structure of vegetation (canopy stratification and vegetation profile). The residents’ perceptions are collected using interviews of selected respondents. The identification of vegetation recorded 114 plant species from 46 families are found in the concerned urban parks, however, the diversity and species richness in these parks tended to be low. The vegetation communities are uncertain and dominated primarily by non-native and invasive species. The canopy stratification is relatively homogeneous with the dominant plants having less than one meter in height, such as Ruellia simplex and Syzygium paniculatum. The vegetation planted in the urban parks are mostly ornamental plants that provide much more aesthetic function rather than ecological purpose, daily human needs, or other ecosystem services. This fact shows that urban parks in the study area have only few ecosystem services, hence they need some improvements in order to have more environmental services and to be able to enjoy more by the community.

Vegetation diversity and structure of urban parks in Cilegon City, Indonesia, and local residents’ perception of its function

Muhlisin, Iskandar J, Gunawan B, Cahyandito MF. 2021. Vegetation diversity and structure of urban parks in Cilegon City, Indonesia, and local residents’ perception of its function. Biodiversitas 22: 2589-2603. The existence of urban parks is very essential for cities because they provide ecosystem services and benefits to humans. Diversity and structure of vegetation in urban parks play significant role in delivering several functions of ecosystem services. This paper aims to explore and analyze the vegetation diversity and structure, as well as ecosystem services of eight urban parks in Cilegon City, Banten Province, Indonesia. Vegetation analysis and residents’ perception are also conducted in this research. The analysis of vegetation is focused on horizontal structure of vegetation, including plant diversity, plant habitus, the original distribution of the plants, and vertical structure of vegetation (canopy stratification and vegetation profile). The residents’ perceptions are collected using interviews of selected respondents. The identification of vegetation recorded 114 plant species from 46 families are found in the concerned urban parks, however, the diversity and species richness in these parks tended to be low. The vegetation communities are uncertain and dominated primarily by non-native and invasive species. The canopy stratification is relatively homogeneous with the dominant plants having less than one meter in height, such as Ruellia simplex and Syzygium paniculatum. The vegetation planted in the urban parks are mostly ornamental plants that provide much more aesthetic function rather than ecological purpose, daily human needs, or other ecosystem services. This fact shows that urban parks in the study area have only few ecosystem services, hence they need some improvements in order to have more environmental services and to be able to enjoy more by the community.

Hemispherical Photography Vegetasi Pantai di Perairan Pulau Sintok, Taman Nasional Karimunjawa

Negara kepulauan merupakan negara yang terdiri atas satu atau lebih gugusan pulau, diantara nya adalah pulau - pulau kecil. Pulau kecil terdiri dari komponen lautan dan daratan, komponen daratan terdiri dari pasir, batuan, vegetasi pantai dan lain sebagainya. Keberadaan vegetasi pantai memiliki manfaat dalam merendam gelombang tsunami, mencegah abrasi, erosi serta habitat bagi flora dan fauna untuk berkembangbiak. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui kualitas pesisir vegetasi pantai berdasarkan struktur komposisi vegetasi pantai dan persentase tutupan kanopi vegetasi pantai di Perairan Pulau Sintok, Taman Nasional Karimunjawa dengan metode Hemispherical Photography. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan menggunakan metode deskriptif, data yang dikumpulkan dilakukan dengan mengambil sebagian data dari wilayah penelitian, sehingga diharapkan data mewakili kondisi lingkungan dari objek yang diteliti. Setiap stasiun penelitian dilakukan tiga kali pengulangan. Pengambilan data tutupan kanopi pohon menggunakan kamera HP yang telah diolah menggunakan Software ImageJ. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa ditemukan 6 spesies vegetasi pantai di Perairan Pulau Sintok, Taman Nasional Karimunjawa, yaitu Terminalia catappa, Ficus septica, Premna odorata, Scaevola taccada, Wrightia pubescens, dan Casuarina equisetifolia. Spesies Ficus septica mendominasi di lokasi penelitian. Nilai Kerapatan vegetasi pantai berkisar 532–1165 ind/ha. Nilai Indeks Keanekaragaman (H’) dan Keseragaman (J’) vegetasi pantai di lokasi penelitian termasuk dalam kategori rendah. Hasil persentase tutupan kanopi Vegetasi Pantai berkisar 63,01±1,42% – 80,80±1,41%, sehingga termasuk kategori sedang.An archipelago state is a country consisting of one or more island groups, including them which are small islands. Small islands consist of ocean and land components, land components consist of sand, rocks, coastal vegetation, etc. The existence of coastal vegetation has benefits in reducing tsunami waves, preventing abrasion, erosion and habitat for flora and fauna to reproduce. This study aims to knowing the quality of coastal vegetation based on the structure of coastal vegetation composition and the percentage of coastal vegetation canopy cover in Sintok Island Waters, Karimunjawa National Park using the Hemispherical Photography method. This research was conducted using descriptive methods, the data collected was done by taking some of the data from the research area, so that it is expected that the data will represent the environmental conditions of the object under study. Each research station had three repetitions. Taking the data of tree canopy cover using an HP camera that has been processed using ImageJ Software. The results showed that 6 species of coastal vegetation were found in Sintok Island waters, Karimunjawa National Park, namely Terminalia catappa, Ficus septica, Premna odorata, Scaevola taccada, Wrightia pubescens, and Casuarina equisetifolia. Species of Ficus septica dominate the study site. The value of coastal vegetation density ranges from 532-1165 ind/ha. The value of the Diversity Index (H ') and Uniformity (J') of the coastal vegetation at the research location is in the low category. The results of the percentage of coastal vegetation canopy cover range from 63.01±1.42% - 80.80±1.41%, we can conclude that it is in the medium category.

Inversion of Solar-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence Using Polarization Measurements of Vegetation

In vegetation remote sensing, the apparent radiation of the vegetation canopy is often combined with three components derived from different parts of vegetation that have different production mechanisms and optical properties: volume scattering Lvol, polarized light Lpol, and chlorophyll fluorescence ChlF. The chlorophyll fluorescence plays a very important role in vegetation remote sensing, and the polarization information in vegetation remote sensing has become an effective way to characterize the physical characteristics of vegetation. This study analyzes the difference between these three types of radiation flux and utilizes polarization radiation to separate them from the apparent radiation of the vegetation canopy. Specifically, solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence is extracted from vegetation canopy radiation data using standard Fraunhofer-line discrimination. The results show that polarization measurements can quantitatively separate Lvol, Lpol, and ChlF and extract the solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence. This study improves our understanding of the light-scattering properties of vegetation canopies and provides insights for developing building models and research algorithms.