Scaling Up Sagebrush Chemistry with Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and UAS-Acquired Hyperspectral Imagery

Sagebrush ecosystems (Artemisia spp.) face many threats including large wildfires and conversion to invasive annuals, and thus are the focus of intense restoration efforts across the western United States. Specific attention has been given to restoration of sagebrush systems for threatened herbivores, such as Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and pygmy rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis), reliant on sagebrush as forage. Despite this, plant chemistry (e.g., crude protein, monoterpenes and phenolics) is rarely considered during reseeding efforts or when deciding which areas to conserve. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has proven effective in predicting plant chemistry under laboratory conditions in a variety of ecosystems, including the sagebrush steppe. Our objectives were to demonstrate the scalability of these models from the laboratory to the field, and in the air with a hyperspectral sensor on an unoccupied aerial system (UAS). Sagebrush leaf samples were collected at a study site in eastern Idaho, USA. Plants were scanned with an ASD FieldSpec 4 spectroradiometer in the field and laboratory, and a subset of the same plants were imaged with a SteadiDrone Hexacopter UAS equipped with a Rikola hyperspectral sensor (HSI). All three sensors generated spectral patterns that were distinct among species and morphotypes of sagebrush at specific wavelengths. Lab-based NIRS was accurate for predicting crude protein and total monoterpenes (R2 = 0.7–0.8), but the same NIRS sensor in the field was unable to predict either crude protein or total monoterpenes (R2 \u3c 0.1). The hyperspectral sensor on the UAS was unable to predict most chemicals (R2 \u3c 0.2), likely due to a combination of too few bands in the Rikola HSI camera (16 bands), the range of wavelengths (500–900 nm), and small sample size of overlapping plants (n = 28–60). These results show both the potential for scaling NIRS from the lab to the field and the challenges in predicting complex plant chemistry with hyperspectral UAS. We conclude with recommendations for next steps in applying UAS to sagebrush ecosystems with a variety of new sensors

Journal Impact Factor

In a recent issue of Human Communication Research, Thomas Hugh Feeley notes, “journal impact rankings provide objective data for tenure, promotion, and, possibly, grant review committees on the quality of scholars’ work.” Though the metric is widely regarded as the conventional measure to assess the influence of a journal in both the social and physical sciences, many doubts regarding its effectiveness have been raised. This essay assesses the effectiveness of the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) as a scholarly metric. After first considering the metric\u27s history and developing a working definition of JIF (part one), next I delineate its strengths and weaknesses as a measurement tool of assessing journal prominence (part two). Then in part three, I argue that the amount of credence placed upon the metric by tenure and promotion committees needs to be critically examined, because these decisions are often based on the flawed and biased data provided by the JIF. The closing section addresses the appropriateness of the JIF for evaluating scholarship in the field of Communication

Journal Impact Factor

In a recent issue of Human Communication Research, Thomas Hugh Feeley notes, “journal impact rankings provide objective data for tenure, promotion, and, possibly, grant review committees on the quality of scholars’ work.” Though the metric is widely regarded as the conventional measure to assess the influence of a journal in both the social and physical sciences, many doubts regarding its effectiveness have been raised. This essay assesses the effectiveness of the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) as a scholarly metric. After first considering the metric\u27s history and developing a working definition of JIF (part one), next I delineate its strengths and weaknesses as a measurement tool of assessing journal prominence (part two). Then in part three, I argue that the amount of credence placed upon the metric by tenure and promotion committees needs to be critically examined, because these decisions are often based on the flawed and biased data provided by the JIF. The closing section addresses the appropriateness of the JIF for evaluating scholarship in the field of Communication

118 Deer Went By...: Reminscing about the Old Sporting Camps Deep in the Maine Backcountry

Part 2 of William Geller’s story of a vanished way of life in Maine, between Rainbow Lake and Yoke Pond just west of Millinocket and south of Baxter State Park. The story is told through the eyes of a caretaker looking back on the 1890s-1950s

Transition to marriage

One of the most sign ificant psychosocial adjustments in adulthood is the transition to marriage. Although most men and women in the United States will marry at some point in their lives and most look forward to this event with anticipation and excitement, the transition to marriage also involves adaptation to a variety of tasks that may fundamentally alter spouses\u27 view of themselves and their alliances

Vista: May 11, 2023

https://digital.sandiego.edu/vista/2158/thumbnail.jp