A Comparison of the Loading Direction for Bending Strength with Different Wood Measurement Surfaces Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Wood is widely used throughout society for building resources and paper. To further expand wood’s use in the wood industry, we tested the bending strength properties of wood and certified its internal quality by using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). In this study, the relationship between bending strength and loading direction was compared by changing the light acquisition point of wood surfaces to elucidate the anisotropy of the wood using NIRS. The two loading directions were defined by using a bending test as the radial section and the tangential section. Two light acquisition points with NIRS were also defined by a bending test as the loading position (the compression surface) and the opposite surface (the tensile surface), and a comparison was made between the prediction accuracy of the wood’s mechanical strength properties obtained via a bending test using two pieces of light acquisition data. The strength properties of the wood bending tests were the elastic modulus in bending (Eb), the bending strength (Fb) and density (DEN). Cryptomeria japonica was prepared and cut into a final size of 20 mm × 20 mm × 320 mm. Near-infrared (NIR) spectra were obtained from the compression force side and the tensile force side (calculating these averages), and a partial-least-squares regression (PLSR) was performed for the regression analysis. In the NIR measurement position, the best calibration results of the PLSR were the averaged data between the side undergoing the compression force and that undergoing the tensile force. Comparing the two loading directions, the result for the radial section was slightly superior to that of the tangential section. The radial section showed a good relationship between the spectra acquisition position and the arrangement of the wood’s structure. The estimation accuracy of bending strength properties differed depending on the location where the NIR spectra acquisition was performed.

Morphological and physiological response strategies of Vallisneria natans at different water depths and light conditions

Phenotypic plasticity is an important adaptation to spatial and temporal environmental variations. For submerged macrophytes, adaptation to water depth and light variation is particularly important. To determine the morphological and physiological adaptive strategies of Vallisneria natans at different water depths and light conditions, we combined field investigation, light control experiment and in situ physiological response experiment. In the field investigation and the light control experiment, both water depth and light intensity had prominent effects on the morphological of V. natans, especially in fresh weight and leaf length. The leaf length elongated more rapidly at intermediate water depth sites with lower light intensity. In the in situ experiment, the survival boundary of V. natans is 5.5 m in Lake Erhai. Below this depth, the chlorophyll-a content increased gradually with increasing water depth. Our results demonstrated that V. natans can adapt to water depth and light availability by changing morphological, physiological and resource allocation. At low light condition, V. natans invested more resource for light acquisition, simultaneously, changing the photosynthetic pigment content to compensate for light attenuation; conversely, more resource was directed towards reproduction. These results will provide new insight for species selection when conducting aquatic plants restoration in freshwater ecosystem.HIGHLIGHTSWater depth and light availability affect the morphology, physiology, and resource allocation of V. natans.An alternative resource allocation pattern of V. natans could shift between light acquisition and reproduction.

Single Remote Sensing Multispectral Image Dehazing Based on a Learning Framework

Given that a single remote sensing image dehazing is an ill-posed problem, this is still a challenging task. In order to improve the visibility of a single hazy remote sensing multispectral image, we developed a novel and effective algorithm based on a learning framework. A linear regression model with the relevant features of haze was established. And the gradient descent method is applied to the learning model. Then a hazy image accurate transmission map is obtained by learning the coefficients of the linear model. In addition, we proposed a more effective method to estimate the atmospheric light, which can restrain the influence of highlight areas on the atmospheric light acquisition. Compared with the traditional haze removal methods, the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can achieve better visual effect and color fidelity. Both subjective evaluation and objective assessments indicate that the proposed method achieves a better performance than the state-of-the-art methods.

Leaf Phenology Variation within the Canopy and Its Relationship with the Transpiration of Populus tomentosa under Plantation Conditions

To provide a theoretical basis for developing intensive cultivation practices for Populus tomentosa plantations, the leaf phenology variation within the canopy and its relationship with transpiration of well-watered P. tomentosa tree in a dense plantation were investigated. The variation in canopy light interception, indicated by the ratio between net radiation under (Rn-u) and above (Rn-a) canopy, with leaf development was also studied. During the growing season, the achievement of maximum leaf number tended to be later in higher parts of the canopy. In the lower and middle canopy, the leaf number maximized earlier in the east-facing side than in the west-facing side, but this difference disappeared in the upper canopy. The Rn-u/Rn-a was stable in May, but declined and then varied steadily until late August. Generally, in May, the crop coefficient (Kcb) of the tree reached its highest level and was not correlated with leaf area (LA) in all layers (p > 0.05). However, it increased linearly (p < 0.001) with LA in the layers above a canopy height of 3 m from June to late August, and most of its variation was explained by LA in the 5–7 m layer. After late August, Kcb decreased linearly with decreasing LA in all layers (p < 0.001). Consequently, a temporal ecological strategy seems to be adopted by P. tomentosa leaves in different layers and azimuthal sides for efficient light acquisition. The contribution of the different canopy layers to tree transpiration can vary, with the leaves in the upper and all layers mainly controlling transpiration in summer and in spring and autumn, respectively.