Effects of soil surface roughness on soil processes and remote sensing data interpretation and its measuring techniques - a review

Surface roughness is a very important physical feature of soil, affecting various soil processes and accuracy of remote sensing data interpretation. Thus, there is a need to describe it quantitatively. The main aim of the paper was to show needs and benefits of collecting quantitative information about soil surface roughness which is the most relevant parameter used as an index to predict water and wind erosion. Surface roughness can reduce soil erosion and soil losses even by up to 31%. Thereby, it increases the development of fauna and flora and improves the structure of soil and its biological quality. In the first section of the paper there are presented definitions of soil roughness proposed by different authors. The next section explains how various factors influence soil surface roughness. Then, the categorization of soil surface roughness discussed in literature is presented. The next part of the paper includes information about a role of soil roughness in agricultural, soil science and a hydrology research. Moreover, soil surface roughness plays an important role in a remote sensing of soils. The knowledge of quantitative soil surface roughness allows more accurate interpretation of the soil properties from remote sensing data, because this soil feature can decrease soil spectra even over 70% and makes their analysis difficult. In addition, deepening knowledge about soil roughness will allow more precise conclusions about the amount of reflected shortwave solar radiation indirectly shaping the Earth’s climate. In the final section, the techniques for measuring and indices for describing soil roughness are shown. However, the authors prefer a photogrammetry technique for collecting these data, because it is quick and easy to use, ensuring high resolution and accuracy of data (about 1 mm) and the image processing is currently simplifid as software to process is absolutely affordable

Winter oilseed-rape yield estimates from hyperspectral radiometer measurements

Spectral reflectance data can be used for estimation of plant biophysical parameters such as seed yield, related to the use of solar energy. A field experiment was conducted to investigate relationships between canopy reflectance and seed yield of winter oilseed rape sown on four different dates. Ground hyperspectral reflectance measurements were made using a hand-held radiometer and multispectral images were taken with a VIS-NIR camera. The different sowing dates generated a wide range of difference in crop spectral response and seed yields. The strongest relationships (R2=0.87) between the yield and spectral data recorded by both sensors occurred at early flowering stages. Later, the presence of flowers caused a decline in the relationship between yield and spectral data especially in the visible (VIS) range. In the full flowering stage the strongest correlation (R2=0.72) with the yield showed vegetation indices of the near-infrared (NIR) bands

A smelly business: microbiology of Adélie penguin guano (Point Thomas rookery, Antarctica)

Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) are the most numerous flightless bird group breeding in coastal areas of Maritime and Continental Antarctica. Their activity leaves a mark on the land in the form of large guano deposits. This guano is an important nutrient source for terrestrial habitats of ice-free Antarctic areas, most notably by being the source of ammonia vapors which feed the surrounding grass, lichen and algae communities. Although investigated by researchers, the fate of the guano-associated microbial community and its role in decomposition processes remain vague. Therefore, by employing several direct community assessment methods combined with a broad culture-based approach we provide data on bacterial numbers, their activity and taxonomic affiliation in recently deposited and decayed Adélie penguin guano sampled at the Point Thomas rookery in Maritime Antarctica (King George Island). Our research indicates that recently deposited guano harbored mostly bacteria of penguin gut origin, presumably inactive in cold rookery settings. This material was rich in mesophilic enzymes active also at low temperatures, likely mediating early stage decomposition. Fresh guano colonization by environmental bacteria was minor, accomplished mostly by ammonia scavenging Jeotgalibaca sp. cells. Decayed guano contained 10-fold higher bacterial numbers with cold-active enzymes dominating the samples. Guano was colonized by uric-acid degrading and lipolytic Psychrobacter spp. and proteolytic Chryseobacterium sp. among others. Several spore-forming bacteria of penguin gut origin persisted in highly decomposed material, most notably uric-acid fermenting members of the Gottschalkiaceae family

Evidence of adaptation, niche separation and microevolution within the genus Polaromonas on Arctic and Antarctic glacial surfaces

Polaromonas is one of the most abundant genera found on glacier surfaces, yet it’s ecology remains poorly described. Investigations made to date point towards a uniform distribution of Polaromonas phylotypes across the globe. We compared 43 Polaromonas isolates obtained from surfaces of Arctic and Antarctic glaciers to address this issue. 16S rRNA gene sequences, intergenic transcribed spacers (ITS) and metabolic fingerprinting showed great differences between hemispheres but also between neighboring glaciers. Phylogenetic distance between Arctic and Antarctic isolates indicated separate species. The Arctic group clustered similarly, when constructing dendrograms based on 16S rRNA gene and ITS sequences, as well as metabolic traits. The Antarctic strains, although almost identical considering 16S rRNA genes, diverged into 2 groups based on the ITS sequences and metabolic traits, suggesting recent niche separation. Certain phenotypic traits pointed towardscell adaptation to specific conditions on a particular glacier, like varying pH levels. Collected data suggest, that seeding of glacial surfaces with Polaromonas cells transported by various means, is of greater efficiency on local than global scales. Selection mechanisms present of glacial surfaces reduce the deposited Polaromonas diversity, causing subsequent adaptation to prevailing environmental conditions. Furthermore, interactions with other supraglacial microbiota, like algae cells may drive postselectional niche separation and microevolution within the Polaromonas genus

Comparative genomics and functional analysis of a highly adhesive dairy Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei IBB3423 strain

arious Lactobacillus paracasei strains are found in diverse environments, including dairy and plant materials and the intestinal tract of humans and animals, and are also used in the food industry or as probiotics. In this study, we have isolated a new strain L. paracasei subsp. paracasei IBB3423 from samples of raw cow milk collected in a citizen science project. IBB3423 showed some desired probiotic features such as high adhesion capacity and ability to metabolize inulin. Its complete genome sequence comprising the chromosome of 3,183,386 bp and two plasmids of 5986 bp and 51,211 bp was determined. In silico analysis revealed numerous genes encoding proteins involved in carbohydrate metabolism and of extracellular localization likely supporting interaction with host tissues. In vitro tests confirmed the high adhesion capacity of IBB3423 and showed that it even exceeds that of the highly adhesive L. rhamnosus GG. Curing of the larger plasmid indicated that the adhesive properties depend on the plasmid and thus could be determined by its pilus-encoding spaCBA genes

Lymphocyte activation markers in patients with ovarian cancer

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the phenotype and T cell activation markers: CD69, CD25 and HLA - DR in the peripheral blood and tumor tissue of ovarian cancer patients. Material and methods: The study group consisted of 26 patients operated due to ovarian cancer (FIGO IIb - IV). Mononuclear immune cells were isolated from peripheral blood and ovarian cancer tissue. To obtain peripheral blood lymphocytes, blood was collected into heparinized tubes and diluted 1:1 with PBS, then layered on Gradisol L and centrifuged 20 minutes at 2800 rpm. Mononuclear cells were washed twice with PBS and labeled with monoclonal antibodies. A small piece of tumor tissue (about 1cm3) was fragmented with a surgical blade. Minced tissue was suspended in PBS and layered on Gradisol L for mononuclear cells isolation. To assess the phenotype and activation status of peripheral blood and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, we used FACS Canto cytometer and monoclonal antibodies conjugated with fluorochromes: anti-CD3-FITC, anti-CD4-PECy5, anti-CD8-APC, anti-CD25-PE, anti-CD69-PE-Cy7, anti-HLA-DR-PE-Cy7. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistica 5.0 and Wilcoxon test. Results: In all cases we detected T helper CD3+CD4+ and cytotoxic CD3+CD8+ T lymphocytes in both blood samples and tumor tissues. We observed no statistically significant difference in the percentage of CD3+ CD4+ cells among the mononuclear cells present in peripheral blood and tumor tissue. The percentage of CD3+CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes was higher among mononuclear cells isolated from the tumor tissue. The percentage of CD3+ lymphocytes expressing the very early activation marker CD69 was significantly higher among tumor infiltrating lymphocytes compared with peripheral blood lymphocytes. Similarly, the percentages of CD3+CD4+CD69+ T helper lymphocytes and CD3+CD8+CD69+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes were significantly higher on lymphocytes isolated from tumor tissue when compared to blood. The expression of an early activation marker – CD25 was significantly higher on the CD3+ and CD3+CD8+ peripheral blood lymphocytes compared to CD3+ and CD3+CD8+ tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. There were no statistically important differences between the percentages of, isolated from blood and tissue, CD3+CD4+ T helper lymphocytes. The expression of the late activation marker - HLA-DR was significantly higher on CD3+ lymphocytes isolated from tumor tissue compared with peripheral blood. Similarly, the percentages of CD3+CD4+ lymphocytes and CD3+CD8+ cytotoxic T cells expressing HLA-DR were significantly higher among tumor infiltrating lymphocytes when compared to peripheral blood ones. Conclusions: T cells obtained from ovarian cancer tissues are activated cells. The state of T cell activation may be the result of direct contact of these cells with tumor antigens. The low expression of CD25 may suggest abnormal clonal expansion of antigen-specific lymphocytes

02 Piekarczyk.indd

ABSTRACT: Remote sensing methods, including aerial photography and satellite images, could be successfully used for detecting and acreage assessing of landscape components like fallow fields. The objective of the present study was to characterize the reflectance of fallow fields situated in various soil conditions and of different age and compare them with spectral characteristics of main arable crops: winter rye, spring oat, winter oilseed rape, corn, potatoes and meadow. Field spectral reflectance measurements were made with the CIMEL CE313 luminancemeter and five vegetation indices (NDVI, STVI, MSI, MNDVI and GRVI) were developed by combining the reflectance factors in the five wavebands (450, 550, 650, 850 and 1650 nm). In the second part of May, when seasonal biomass peak of winter crops and meadows occurs and spring crops partly covers the soil, significant differences were observed in the spectral properties of fallow and cultivated fields. Results showed that among the analyzed vegetation indices MSI index (R 1650 / R 850 ) was found to be the best for discriminating among the fallow fields and GRVI (R 550 /R 650 ) and NDVI ((R 850 -R 650 )/(R 850 +R 650 )), were the best discriminators between the fallow fields and arable crops

Winter oilseed-rape yield estimates from hyperspectral radiometer measurements

Spectral reflectance data can be used for estimation of plant biophysical parameters such as seed yield, related to the use of solar energy. A field experiment was conducted to investigate relationships between canopy reflectance and seed yield of winter oilseed rape sown on four different dates. Ground hyperspectral reflectance measurements were made using a hand-held radiometer and multispectral images were taken with a VIS-NIR camera. The different sowing dates generated a wide range of difference in crop spectral response and seed yields. The strongest relationships (R2=0.87) between the yield and spectral data recorded by both sensors occurred at early flowering stages. Later, the presence of flowers caused a decline in the relationship between yield and spectral data especially in the visible (VIS) range. In the full flowering stage the strongest correlation (R2=0.72) with the yield showed vegetation indices of the near-infrared (NIR) bands

Applicability of Airborne Laser Scanning in the Identification of Lake Shorelines

The paper presents the applicability of LiDAR data in limnological research with respect to the identification of the shoreline of lakes, and consequently the scale of overgrowing of lakes. Data obtained from the Head Office of Geodesy and Cartography from the period 2011 2016 provided the basis for the identification of shorelines for 14 lakes of the Pomeranian Lakeland. The paper employs the orthophotomap for the determination of the range of lake vegetation. Using the line determined based on the orthophotomap and that determined based on LiDAR points, the zone of overgrowing of the analysed lakes was delineated. In all the analysed cases combined, the water surface area was found to be reduced in comparison to the shoreline identified through LiDAR scanning by 161.5 ha, suggesting a 21.2% share of vegetation in the surface area of lakes