Prediction Potential of Remote Sensing-Related Variables in the Topsoil Organic Carbon Density of Liaohekou Coastal Wetlands, Northeast China

Wetland ecosystems contain large amounts of soil organic carbon. Their natural environment is often both at the junction of land and water with good conditions for carbon sequestration. Therefore, the study of accurate prediction of soil organic carbon (SOC) density in coastal wetland ecosystems of flat terrain areas is the key to understanding their carbon cycling. This study used remote sensing data to study SOC density potentials of coastal wetland ecosystems in Northeast China. Eleven environmental variables including normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), difference vegetation index (DVI), soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), renormalization difference vegetation index (RDVI), ratio vegetation index (RVI), topographic wetness index (TWI), elevation, slope aspect (SA), slope gradient (SG), mean annual temperature (MAT), and mean annual precipitation (MAP) were selected to predict SOC density. A total of 193 soil samples (0–30 cm) were divided into two parts, 70% of the sampling sites data were used to construct the boosted regression tree (BRT) model containing three different combinations of environmental variables, and the remaining 30% were used to test the predictive performance of the model. The results show that the full variable model is better than the other two models. Adding remote sensing-related variables significantly improved the model prediction. This study revealed that SAVI, NDVI and DVI were the main environmental factors affecting the spatial variation of topsoil SOC density of coastal wetlands in flat terrain areas. The mean (±SD) SOC density of full variable models was 18.78 (±1.95) kg m−2, which gradually decreased from northeast to southwest. We suggest that remote sensing-related environmental variables should be selected as the main environmental variables when predicting topsoil SOC density of coastal wetland ecosystems in flat terrain areas. Accurate prediction of topsoil SOC density distribution will help to formulate soil management policies and enhance soil carbon sequestration.

UAV Block Geometry Design and Camera Calibration: A Simulation Study

Acknowledged guidelines and standards such as those formerly governing project planning in analogue aerial photogrammetry are still missing in UAV photogrammetry. The reasons are many, from a great variety of projects goals to the number of parameters involved: camera features, flight plan design, block control and georeferencing options, Structure from Motion settings, etc. Above all, perhaps, stands camera calibration with the alternative between pre- and on-the-job approaches. In this paper we present a Monte Carlo simulation study where the accuracy estimation of camera parameters and tie points’ ground coordinates is evaluated as a function of various project parameters. A set of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) synthetic photogrammetric blocks, built by varying terrain shape, surveyed area shape, block control (ground and aerial), strip type (longitudinal, cross and oblique), image observation and control data precision has been synthetically generated, overall considering 144 combinations in on-the-job self-calibration. Bias in ground coordinates (dome effect) due to inaccurate pre-calibration has also been investigated. Under the test scenario, the accuracy gap between different block configurations can be close to an order of magnitude. Oblique imaging is confirmed as key requisite in flat terrain, while ground control density is not. Aerial control by accurate camera station positions is overall more accurate and efficient than GCP in flat terrain.

Numerical Simulation of Characteristics of Wind Field at Bridge Sites in Flat and Gorge Terrains under the Thunderstorm Downburst

To investigate the effects of thunderstorm downburst on the characteristics of wind field at bridge sites in flat and gorge terrains, firstly, numerical simulation of wind fields in the flat terrain under the thunderstorm downburst was conducted through the SST k-ω turbulence model, combined with the impinging jet technology. After verification of the reliability of the numerical model, settings, and methods, the characteristics of wind field over a long-span bridge site in a gorge terrain under the thunderstorm downburst were investigated and the distributions of wind speed and wind attack angle in the flat and gorge terrains were compared. The results show that, under the effects of the thunderstorm downburst, the wind speeds are relatively maximum at the midspan point of the girder in the flat terrain. Besides, the farther away from the midspan point, the smaller the wind speeds, which is opposite to the case in the gorge terrain. The wind speeds at each typical monitoring point are basically the same in the two terrains, before the thunderstorm downburst hits the bridge girder. Later the wind speeds at each point in the gorge terrain are much higher than those in the flat terrain. Most wind attack angles are negative at the monitoring points in the flat terrain, but the farther away they are from the midspan point, the greater the wind attack angles will be. However, the wind attack angles at the monitoring points in the gorge terrain are generally larger than those in the flat terrain, and they gradually turn to be positive farther away from the midspan point. In the flat terrain, both wind speeds and wind attack angles (or their absolute values) at the girder are large within about t = 75∼130 s, indicating that the thunderstorm downburst may exert significant effects on the bridge. However, in the gorge terrain, due to the large wind speeds and wind attack angles (or their absolute values) at the girder after t = 75 s, full attention needs to be paid to the effects of the thunderstorm downburst during this period.

The effects of low-input training systems on viticultural costs on flat terrain and steep slope sites

Low-input training systems, such as minimal pruning (MP) and the semi-minimal pruned hedge (SMPH), require less working hours as a result of fewer viticultural process steps and permit a higher degree of mechanisation. However, their effect on viticultural costs and per litre costs on both flat terrain and steep slopes has not yet been analysed. This study quantifies the viticultural costs of vertical shoot positioning (VSP) and low-input training systems for standard processes on different types of flat terrain and steep slope vineyards. The costs were obtained from a dataset of 1,519 working time records of labour and machine hours from 20 vineyards belonging to five German wine estates over three years. The costs for standard viticultural processes were compared across three pairs of VSP and low-input training site types with different mechanisation intensities. The comparison was carried out by univariate analysis of variance with fixed and random effects, and by descriptive analysis of mean values.On flat terrain, SMPH significantly decreased the costs for the viticultural steps of winter pruning, tying, shoot positioning and defoliation, but it increased the cost for pest control. Hence, the total cost on flat terrain decreased marginally, but still significantly, by 46 %. The cost effects on steep slopes were similar, decreasing by 34 % for SMPH in unsupported steep slope harvester sites and by 46 % for MP rope and winch-supported steep slope sites. The per-litre costs were calculated for different yield levels. Since the yield in low input systems is higher than in VSP, the production costs per litre further decreased.The study confirmed the high cost-saving potential for wine growers of the mechanisation of canopy management and the omission of winter pruning in low-input systems. Combined with higher yields, the cost savings from low-input systems are particularly suitable for producers of bulk wine and market entry and mid-level wine profiles. By converting to low-input systems, the costs associated with mechanisable steep slope vineyards can be reduced to amounts approximating VSP on flat terrain. For certain wine profiles, low-input systems should therefore constitute an integral part of strategies to increase the economic sustainability of steep slope viticulture. The estimated cost benchmarks provide critical input for the cost-based pricing policy of steep slope growers. These benchmarks also give agricultural policy reliable indicators of the subsidies required for preserving steep slope landscapes.

Spatial Analysis of Erosion and Quantification of Soil Losses in Western Algeria

The objective of this study is to establish a soil loss map of a region located in western Algeria allowing the spatialization of erosion models, deposition, and quantification of soil loss. The model applied is Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), wich was developed by Wischmeier and Smith. The map of current soil losses derived from it shows five areas: very low, low, medium, strong, and very strong. The significant loss in soil areas is located in most of the south of the area, the upstream mountains part, and a portion to the northwest of the region. They cover an area of 16,805 ha (15.27%) of the study area. The remainder of area constituting unrigged flat terrain accounts for a loss in low soil. The latter receives all the solid contributions which are deposited there constituting an important deposit.

The terrain of thingworlds: Central objects and asymmetry in material culture systems

Material culture forms a relational system of distributed reality – a thingworld. But how do we get beyond simply saying that all material culture is meaningful and entangled to understanding the internal structure of such systems? Is it a flat terrain among co-equal things? Or are some objects more important than others, as we might intuitively suppose? And if so, why? This article presents an initial discussion of the problem. Using vignettes from two thingworlds – one from early modern Iceland, one from Neolithic Europe– the authors discuss what were the central material things in each, and for what reasons. This suggests that objects may be systemically central in different ways, for instance things which connect and mediate relationships of different kinds, things which are non-substitutable, and things which span multiple roles and contexts.

Bosnian Chardaklia House: The Dzider Familyʹs House in The Crnoc Village near Kakanj

The Dzider familyʹs house in the Crnoc village near Kakanj is located on the flat terrain of a steep slope with southwestern insolation (Figure 1). It is one of a large number of relatively preserved bosnian chardaklia houses in the area of Kakanj, in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina where the most developed types of Bosnian chardaklia house were built (Figure 2). The house was built during the reign of the Ottoman Empire (before the 19th century), but to date it has undergone a number of reconstructions and renovations[1]. It belongs to the type of two-tracts bosnian chardaklija house. One of the most valuable features of this house (except for its age) is the fact that it was erected on a living water source, which is still in the basement of the house today.

Underwater Terrain-Aided Navigation Relocation Method in the Arctic

To solve the localization failure problem of terrain-aided navigation (TAN) system of the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) caused by large area of underwater flat terrain in the Arctic, a navigation system with relocation part is constructed to enhance the robustness of localization. The system uses particle filter to estimate the AUV’s position and reduce the nonlinear noise disturbance, and the prior motion information is added to avoid the mismatching caused by the similar altitude of low-resolution map. Based on the estimate data and the measured altitude data, the normalized innovation square (NIS) is used to evaluate the differentiation of terrain sequence, and the differentiation is used as a judgment of whether the AUV is in the switch location. A simulation experiment is carried out on the 500 m resolution underwater map of the Arctic. The results show that adding the prior motion information can restrain the divergence of the estimator; NIS can accurately reflect the sharp change of terrain sequence. After the relocation process, the AUV can still maintain the positioning accuracy within 2 km after running 50 km in the area including flat and rough terrain. This research solves the problem of localization errors in the Arctic flat terrain in the system level and provides a solution for the application of underwater navigation in the Arctic.