MAPPING SPATIAL ACCURACY OF FOREST TYPE CLASSIFICATION IN JAXA’s HIGH-RESOLUTION LAND USE AND LAND COVER MAP

Accuracy assessment of forest type maps is essential to evaluate the classification of forest ecosystems quantitatively. However, map users do not understand in which regions those forest types are well classified from conventional static accuracy measures. Hence, the objective of this study is to unveil spatial heterogeneities of accuracies of forest type classification in a map. Four forest types (deciduous broadleaf forest (DBF), deciduous needleleaf forest (DNF), evergreen broadleaf forest (EBF), and evergreen needleleaf forest (ENF)) found in the JAXA’s land use / cover map of Japan were assessed by a volunteered Site-based dataset for Assessment of Changing LAnd cover by JAXA (SACLAJ). A geographically weighted (GW) correspondence matrix was applied to them to calculate the degree of overall agreements of forest type classes (forest overall accuracy), and the degree of accuracy for each forest class (forest user’s and producer’s accuracies) in a spatially varying way. This study compared spatial surfaces of these measures with static ones of them. The results show that the forest overall accuracy of the forest map tends to be relatively more accurate in the central Japan, while less in the Kansai and Chubu regions and the northern edge of Hokkaido. Static forest user’s accuracy measures for DBF, DNF, and ENF are better than forest producer’s accuracy ones, while the GW approach tells us such characteristics vary spatially and some areas have opposite trends. This kind of spatial accuracy assessment provides a more informative description of the accuracy than the simple use of conventional accuracy measures

Current status of islet xenotransplantation

Cell therapy for Type 1 diabetes (T1D) utilizing islet cell transplantation can successfully restore endogenous insulin production in affected patients. Islet cell engraftment and survival are conditional on the use of efficacious anti-rejection therapies and on the availability of healthy donor cells. The scarcity of healthy human donor pancreata is a limiting factor in providing sufficient tissue to meet the demand for islet transplantation worldwide. A potential alternative to the use of cadaveric human donor pancreases is the use of animal sourced islets.Pancreatic islets obtained from pigs have emerged as an alternative to human tissues due to their great availability, physiological similarities to human islets, including the time-tested use of porcine insulin in diabetic patients and the ability to genetically modify the donor source.The evolution of refined, efficacious immunosuppressive therapies with reduced toxicity, improvements in donor management and genetic manipulation of the donor have all contributed to facilitate long-term function in pre-clinical models of pig islet grafts in non-human primates.As clinical consideration for this option is growing, and trials involving the use of porcine islets have begun, more compelling experimental data suggest that the use of pig islets may soon become a viable, safe, effective and readily available treatment for insulin deficiency in T1D patients

Spatio-temporal distribution of pyrethroids in soil in Mediterranean paddy fields

[EN] The demand of rice by the increase in population in many countries has intensified the application of pesticides and the use of poor quality water to irrigate fields. The terrestrial environment is one compartment affected by these situations, where soil is working as a reservoir, retaining organic pollutants. Therefore, it is necessary to develop methods to determine insecticides in soil and monitor susceptible areas to be contaminated, applying adequate techniques to remediate them. Materials and methods This study investigates the occurrence of ten pyrethroid insecticides (PYs) and its spatio-temporal variance in soil at two different depths collected in two periods (before plow and during rice production), in a paddy field area located in the Mediterranean coast. Pyrethroids were quantified using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC MS) after ultrasound-assisted extraction with ethyl acetate. The results obtained were assessed statistically using non-parametric methods, and significant statistical differences (p&#8201;<&#8201;0.05) in pyrethroids content with soil depth and proximity to wastewater treatment plants were evaluated. Moreover, a geographic information system (GIS) was used to monitor the occurrence of PYs in paddy fields and detect risk areas. Results and discussion Pyrethroids were detected at concentrations &#8804;57.0 ng g&#8722;1 before plow and &#8804;62.3 ng g&#8722;1 during rice production, being resmethrin and cyfluthrin the compounds found at higher concentrations in soil. Pyrethroids were detected mainly at the top soil, and a GIS program was used to depict the obtained results, showing that effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were the main sources of soil contamination. No toxic effects were expected to soil organisms, but it is of concern that PYs may affect aquatic organisms, which represents the worst case scenario. Conclusions A methodology to determine pyrethroids in soil was developed to monitor a paddy field area. The use of water from WWTPs to irrigate rice fields is one of the main pollution sources of pyrethroids. It is a matter of concern that PYs may present toxic effects on aquatic organisms, as they can be desorbed from soil. Phytoremediation may play an important role in this area, reducing the possible risk associated to PYs levels in soil.Authors wish to thank INIA for the predoctoral fellowship (R. Aznar) and Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness RTA2014-00012-C03-01 for financial support and Jonathan Villanueva Martin for his contribution to this work.Aznar, R.; Moreno-Ramón, H.; Albero, B.; Sánchez Brunete, C.; Tadeo, JL. (2016). Spatio-temporal distribution of pyrethroids in soil in Mediterranean paddy fields. Journal of Soils and Sediments. 17(5):1503-1513. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-016-1417-2S15031513175Albaseer SS, Rao RN, Swamy YV, Mukkanti K (2010) An overview of sample preparation and extraction of synthetic pyrethroids from water, sediment and soil. J Chromatogr A 1217(35):5537–5554Alonso MB, Feo ML, Corcellas C, Vidal LG, Bertozzi CP, Marigo J, Secchi ER, Bassoi M, Azevedo AF, Dorneles PR, Torres JPM, Lailson-Brito J, Malm O, Eljarrat E, Barcelo D (2012) Pyrethroids: a new threat to marine mammals? Environ Int 47:99–106Amweg EL, Weston DP, Ureda NM (2005) Use and toxicity of pyrethroid pesticides in the Central Valley, California, USA. Environ Toxicol Chem 24(4):966–972Arias-Estevez M, Lopez-Periago E, Martinez-Carballo E, Simal-Gandara J, Mejuto JC, Garcia-Rio L (2008) The mobility and degradation of pesticides in soils and the pollution of groundwater resources. Agric Eco Environ 123(4):247–260Aznar R, Albero B, Sanchez-Brunete C, Miguel E, Tadeo JL (2014) Multiresidue analysis of insecticides and other selected environmental contaminants in poultry manure by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. J AOAC Int 97(4):978–986Campo J, Masia A, Blasco C, Pico Y (2013) Occurrence and removal efficiency of pesticides in sewage treatment plants of four Mediterranean River Basins. J Hazard Mater 263:146–157European Commission (2002) Review report for the active substance Cyfluthrin, 6843/VI/97-finalEuropean Commission (2004) Review report for the active substance α-Cypermethrin, SANCO/4335/2000-finalEuropean Commission (2005) Review report for the active substance Esfenvalerate, 6846/VI/97-finalFeo ML, Ginebreda A, Eljarrat E, Barcelo D (2010) Presence of pyrethroid pesticides in water and sediments of Ebro River Delta. J Hydrol 393(3-4):156–162Fojut TL, Palumbo AJ, Tjeerdema RS (2012) Aquatic life water quality criteria derived via the UC Davis method: II. Pyrethroid insecticides. Rev Environ Contam Toxicol 216:51–103Gan J, Lee SJ, Liu WP, Haver DL, KAbashima JN (2005) Distribution and persistence of pyrethroids in runoff sediments. J Environ Qual 34:836–841Hill IR (1985) Aquatic organisms and pyrethroids. Pestic Sci 27:429–465Huang LM, Thompson A, Zhang GL, Chen LM, Han GZ, Gong ZT (2015) The use of chronosequences in studies of paddy soil evolution: a review. Geoderma 237:199–210Katagi T (2004) Photodegradation of pesticides on plant and soil surfaces. Rev Environ Contam Toxicol 182:1–189Laskowski DA (2002) Physical and chemical properties of pyrethroids. Rev Environ Contam Toxicol 174:49–170Mahabali S, Spagnoghe P (2014) Mitigation of two insecticides by wetlands plants: feasibility study for the treatment of agricultural runoff in Suriname (South America). Water Air Soil Pollut 225:1771Maund SJ, Hamer MJ, Lane MCG, Farrelly E, Rapley JH, Goggin UM, Gentle WE (2002) Partitioning, bioavailability, and toxicity of the pyrethroid insecticide cypermethrin in sediments. Environ Toxicol Chem 21(1):9–15Maund SJ, Campbell PJ, Giddings JM, Hamer MJ, Henry K, Pilling ED, Warinton JS, Wheeler JR (2012) Ecotoxicology of synthetic pyrethroids. Top Curr Chem 314:137–165Money E, Carter GP, Serre ML (2009) Using river distances in the space/time estimation of dissolved oxygen along two impaired river networks in New Jersey. Water Res 43(7):1948–1958Moore MT, Cooper CM, Smith S, Jr Cullum RF, Knight SS, Locke MA, Bennett ER (2009) Mitigation of two pyrethroid insecticides in Mississippi Delta constructed wetland. Environ Pollut 157:250–256Moreno-Ramón H, Marqués-Mateu A, Ibáñez-Asensio S, Gisbert JM (2015) Wetland soils under rice management and seawater intrusion: characterization and classification. Spa J Soil Sci 5(2):111–129Nawaz MF, Bourrie G, Trolard F, Mouret JC, Henry P (2013) Effects of agronomic practices on the physico-chemical properties of soil waters in rice culture. Turk J Agric For 37(2):195–202Oros DR, Werner I (2005) Pyrethroid insecticides: an analysis of use patterns, distributions, potential toxicity and fate in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Central Valley. White Paper for the Interagency Ecological Program. SFEI Contribution 415. San Francisco Estuary Institute, Oakland, CAPascual-Aguilar J, Andreu V, Gimeno-Garcia E, Pico Y (2015) Current anthropogenic pressures on agro-ecological protected coastal wetlands. Sci Total Environ 03:190–199Soil Survey Staff (2014a) Soil survey field and laboratory methods manual. Soil survey investigations report no. 51, version 2.0. In: Burt R, Soil Survey Staff (eds). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Washington, p 407Soil Survey Staff (ed) (2014b) Keys to soil taxonomy, 12th edn. USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Washington, p 372Song Y, Kai J, Song X, Zhang W, Li L (2015) Long-term toxic effects of deltamethrin and fenvalerate in soil. J Hazard Mater 289:158–164Weston DP, Holmes RW, You J, Lydy MJ (2005) Aquatic toxicity due to residential use of pyrethroid insecticides. Environ Sci Technol 39(24):9778–9784Weston DP, Ramil HL, Lydy MJ (2013) Pyrethroid insecticides in municipal wastewater. Environ Toxicol Chem 32(11):2460–2468Zhou JL, Rowland S, Mantoura RFC (1995) Partition of synthetic pyrethroid insecticides between dissolved and particulate phases. Water Res 29:1023–110

Shedding light on plant litter decomposition: Advances, implications and new directions in understanding the role of photodegradation

Litter decomposition contributes to one of the largest fluxes of carbon (C) in the terrestrial biosphere and is a primary control on nutrient cycling. The inability of models using climate and litter chemistry to predict decomposition in dry environments has stimulated investigation of non-traditional drivers of decomposition, including photodegradation, the abiotic decomposition of organic matter via exposure to solar radiation. Recent work in this developing field shows that photodegradation may substantially influence terrestrial C fluxes, including abiotic production of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Research has also produced contradictory results regarding controls on photodegradation. Here we summarize the state of knowledge about the role of photodegradation in litter decomposition and C cycling and investigate drivers of photodegradation across experiments using a meta-analysis. Overall, increasing litter exposure to solar radiation increased mass loss by 23% with large variation in photodegradation rates among and within ecosystems. This variation was tied to both litter and environmental characteristics. Photodegradation increased with litter C to nitrogen (N) ratio, but not with lignin content, suggesting that we do not yet fully understand the underlying mechanisms. Photodegradation also increased with factors that increased solar radiation exposure (latitude and litter area to mass ratio) and decreased with mean annual precipitation. The impact of photodegradation on C (and potentially N) cycling fundamentally reshapes our thinking of decomposition as a solely biological process and requires that we define the mechanisms driving photodegradation before we can accurately represent photodegradation in global C and N models. © 2012 US Government

Mapping spatial accuracy of the forest type classification in JAXA’s high-resolution land use and land cover map

ISPRS Technical Commission III WG III/2, 10 Joint Workshop "Multidisciplinary Remote Sensing for Environmental Monitoring", 12-14 March, Kyoto, Japan.Accuracy assessment of forest type maps is essential to evaluate the classification of forest ecosystems quantitatively. However, map users do not understand in which regions those forest types are well classified from conventional static accuracy measures. Hence, the objective of this study is to unveil spatial heterogeneities of accuracies of forest type classification in a map. Four forest types (deciduous broadleaf forest (DBF), deciduous needleleaf forest (DNF), evergreen broadleaf forest (EBF), and evergreen needleleaf forest (ENF)) found in the JAXA’s land usecover map of Japan were assessed by a volunteered Site-based dataset for Assessment of Changing LAnd cover by JAXA (SACLAJ). A geographically weighted (GW) correspondence matrix was applied to them to calculate the degree of overall agreements of forest type classes (forest overall accuracy), and the degree of accuracy for each forest class (forest user’s and producer’s accuracies) in a spatially varying way. This study compared spatial surfaces of these measures with static ones of them. The results show that the forest overall accuracy of the forest map tends to be relatively more accurate in the central Japan, while less in the Kansai and Chubu regions and the northern edge of Hokkaido. Static forest user’s accuracy measures for DBF, DNF, and ENF are better than forest producer’s accuracy ones, while the GW approach tells us such characteristics vary spatially and some areas have opposite trends. This kind of spatial accuracy assessment provides a more informative description of the accuracy than the simple use of conventional accuracy measures