Vulnerability Analysis of Regional Flood Hazard Based on MODIS Imagery and Demographic Data in the Huaihe River Basin, China

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchiv

Estimating and examining the sensitivity of different vegetation indices to fractions of vegetation cover at different scaling Grids for Early Stage Acacia Plantation Forests Using a Fixed-Wing UAS

Understanding the information on land conditions and especially green vegetation cover is important for monitoring ecosystem dynamics. The fraction of vegetation cover (FVC) is a key variable that can be used to observe vegetation cover trends. Conventionally, satellite data are utilized to compute these variables, although computations in regions such as the tropics can limit the amount of available observation information due to frequent cloud coverage. Unmanned aerial systems (UASs) have become increasingly prominent in recent research and can remotely sense using the same methods as satellites but at a lower altitude. UASs are not limited by clouds and have a much higher resolution. This study utilizes a UAS to determine the emerging trends for FVC estimates at an industrial plantation site in Indonesia, which utilizes fast-growing Acacia trees that can rapidly change the land conditions. First, the UAS was utilized to collect high-resolution RGB imagery and multispectral images for the study area. The data were used to develop general land use/land cover (LULC) information for the site. Multispectral data were converted to various vegetation indices, and within the determined resolution grid (5, 10, 30 and 60 m), the fraction of each LULC type was analyzed for its correlation between the different vegetation indices (Vis). Finally, a simple empirical model was developed to estimate the FVC from the UAS data. The results show the correlation between the FVC (acacias) and different Vis ranging from R2 = 0.66–0.74, 0.76–0.8, 0.84–0.89 and 0.93–0.94 for 5, 10, 30 and 60 m grid resolutions, respectively. This study indicates that UAS-based FVC estimations can be used for observing fast-growing acacia trees at a fine scale resolution, which may assist current restoration programs in Indonesia

Jute Retting Process: Present Practice and Problems in Bangladesh

Jute retting process is one of the important responsible factors for quality of jute fiber. Scarcity of jute retting water in some areas of Bangladesh is one of the major issues. The main purpose of this study was provided information about the status of present jute retting process as well as mentioned the advantages and disadvantages of different jute retting processes. Data about traditional jute retting process and ribbon retting process were collected through personal interview from the jute growers. The farmers are involved in jute cultivation and majority of them use the traditional method and time consuming approach of retting in ponds/canals. The traditional method hampers the quality of the jute fiber, fish cultivation and pollutes the environment as it decomposes bio-mass. For minimizing the problems of jute retting process, the farmers are now more interested on ribbon retting process. Therefore, for getting quality jute fiber, a low cost ribbon retting technique is essential and farmers could able to produce high quality jute fiber

Footprint of increased anthropogenic disturbance elevates termite pest status

Tese de doutoramento em Ciências Farmacêuticas, na especialidade de Farmacognosia e Fitoquímica, apresentada à Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de CoimbraCymbopogon citratus (DC). Stapf (Poaceae), commonly known as lemongrass, is a tropical perennial shrub originated from the Southeast Asia. This plant is reported to possess antifungal, insecticidal, anti-diabetic, anti-septic, anti-mutagenic, anti-carcinogenic activities as well as anti-inflammatory. In fact, aqueous extracts of dried leaves are used all over the year in folk medicine for the treatment of peptic ulcers and inflammatory conditions. Recently, some phenolic compounds, such as luteolin and apigenin glycosides and condensed tannins, were identified and related to both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The purposes of this work were to i) validate an analytical method for quantification of phenolic compounds of C. citratus; ii) study the influence of harvest time and plant quality on the phenolic composition and antioxidant activity; iii) characterize the tannins; iv) validate the traditional uses of lemongrass infusion as anti-inflammatory in vivo; v) obtain a topical formulation to evaluate the phenolic compounds permeation and their anti-inflammatory activity; vi) trace the pharmacokinetic profile of the main phenolic compounds in rats. Three different extracts: infusion (CcI), 50% aqueous ethanol (CcM50%) and ethanol (CcM100%) extracts were prepared and a simple and efficient RP-HPLC-PDA method was successfully validated for simultaneous identification and quantification of phenolic acids and flavonoids. Infusions were also obtained from different harvest dates (April, June, July, August and September) and quality grades (High, Medium and Low). It was verified that the content on polyphenols and the antioxidant capacity of CcI is strongly related with the quality of the plant. The total phenols assay showed a substantial loss from August to September. It was possible to find out the best month to harvest the plant to get the most of each phenolic group: April and June for hydroxycinnamic acids; June and September for flavonoids; June, July and August for tannins. Regardless the group of phenolic compound addressed, its content was always inversely proportional to the degree of leaves ageing. For all tested oxidant species, the high-quality samples exhibited the best antioxidant results. CcI was fractionated by column chromatography and polyphenol-rich fractions, namely phenolic acids (CcPA), flavonoids (CcF) and tannins (CcT) were obtained. CcT was characterized by HPLC-PDA-ESI/MSn, revealing the presence of proanthocyanidin hetero-dimers, along with some common procyanidin dimers. These hetero-dimeric flavan structures have been described for the first time in lemongrass and consist of apigeniflavan or luteoliflavan units linked to a flavanone, either naringenin or eriodictyol, and may occur as aglycone or glycosylated forms. For the in vivo assays, CcI, CcF and CcT were tested. CcI administered before and after ethanol stimulus, significantly reduced the incidence and severity of gastric lesions and, consequently, the ulcer index, corroborating the traditional medicinal use of this plant to ameliorate gastritis and/or peptic ulcers symptoms. On the other hand, CcI, CcF and CcT were orally administered to rats, in order to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect at the carrageenan-induced paw edema assay. The observed effect by CcI (68.24 mg/kg), 82.30% of edema inhibition, was very similar to that obtained by the reference NSAID used (diclofenac, 10 mg/kg), 84.00%. On the other hand, flavonoid (7.42 mg/kg) and the tannin-rich (5.96 mg/kg) fractions significantly contributed for the anti-inflammatory activity on the edema volume (59 and 61%, respectively). The topical anti-inflammatory activity of CcI was also addressed. The results suggest that flavonoids, mainly, luteolin 7-O-neohesperidoside, cassiaoccidentalin B, carlinoside and cynaroside, may contribute to the topical anti-inflammatory effect. CcF (0.6%), CcT (0.3%) and CcF+CcT (0.66%+0.34%) topical formulations were also tested, and the results obtained suggest that tannins and flavonoids also possess a significant activity and that a synergistic mechanism of action may occur. In fact, edema inhibitions of 43%, 47% and 59% were respectively verified, being CcF+CcT effect very close to that of 1% diclofenac (65.9%). Pharmacokinetic analysis was performed in plasma, liver and kidney and showed that the compounds present in CcI are not detected in vivo after a single-dose oral administration. In contrary, the metabolites, luteolin 7-O-glucuronide and luteolin 3’-O-sulfate, present at the highest bioavailability, are probably the main responsible for the anti-inflammatory activity previously reported. In conclusion, this work has developed a method to quantify the phenolic compounds contained in C. citratus; pointed the importance of harvesting and storing the plant material, in order to take the maximum advantages from the phenolic compounds use; and demonstrated, in safe doses, its anti-inflammatory activity, using an in vivo approach, which supports the traditional use of lemongrass infusion. Furthermore, C. citratus leaves flavonoids and tannins were highlighted as bioactive compounds, encouraging the development of new anti-inflammatory drugs or nutraceuticals

Data Assimilation of Remote Sensing Data into a Crop Growth Model

Data assimilation (DA) is the overarching term for an ensemble of techniques to combine all possible information (models, observations, a priori data and statistics) to obtain the best possible estimate of the state of a system (Zhang & Moore, 2015). Data assimilation has its origins in meteorology and found its way into operational weather forecasting, oceanography and hydrology, but it is also a valuable technique for estimating variables related to crop growth (soil moisture, LAI (leaf area index), biomass, etc.) by combining models and observations of crop variables

Jute Retting Process: Present Practice and Problems in Bangladesh

Jute retting process is one of the important responsible factors for quality of jute fiber. Scarcity of jute retting water in some areas of Bangladesh is one of the major issues. The main purpose of this study was provided information about the status of present jute retting process as well as mentioned the advantages and disadvantages of different jute retting processes. Data about traditional jute retting process and ribbon retting process were collected through personal interview from the jute growers. The farmers are involved in jute cultivation and majority of them use the traditional method and time consuming approach of retting in ponds/canals. The traditional method hampers the quality of the jute fiber, fish cultivation and pollutes the environment as it decomposes bio-mass. For minimizing the problems of jute retting process, the farmers are now more interested on ribbon retting process. Therefore, for getting quality jute fiber, a low cost ribbon retting technique is essential and farmers could able to produce high quality jute fiber

土地利用図と人口分布を基にした中国淮河流域における洪水災害に対する脆弱性に関する解析

潜在的な浸水域や土地利用・土地被覆，ならびに人口等の空間的な分布情報は，洪水被害に対する脆弱性の解析に重要な意味を持つ。本論文では，中国淮河流域で発生した代表的な洪水イベントである2003年の事例を対象として，MODIS画像から作成した空間解像度250mのNDVI時系列を用いて，洪水浸水域の空間的広がりおよび時間的パターンを解析した。一方，MODIS/NDVIの16日間合成画像から作成した土地利用分類が，利用可能である。MODISから作成した浸水域マップを元に，洪水が住民に与えるリスクを特定する手法を提案し，また洪水被害を受けた人口の分布を作成する。さらには空間的な解析手法を適用することで，洪水被害の脆弱性を解析する。今後の研究においても，洪水被害の脆弱性を評価するために本手法は有益である。Information on spatial distribution of potential flood extent, land use and land cover as well as population is significant to analyze vulnerability to flood hazard. Taking the typical flood event of the year 2003 occurred in the Huaihe River basin, China, this paper analyses the spatial extent and temporal pattern of flood inundation with the application of time-series Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) composite data products with the spatial resolution of 250m. Meanwhile land use classification generated by multi-temporal MODIS NDVI 16-day composite data is presented. Based on the resultant MODIS-derived flood inundation mapping, a method to identify the people at risk vulnerable to flooding is proposed, and the distribution of population affected by flooding is derived. Finally the flood hazard vulnerability is analyzed by a spatial analysis method, which is helpful to assess flood hazard vulnerability in the further study.潜在的な浸水域や土地利用・土地被覆，ならびに人口等の空間的な分布情報は，洪水被害に対する脆弱性の解析に重要な意味を持つ。本論文では，中国淮河流域で発生した代表的な洪水イベントである2003年の事例を対象として，MODIS画像から作成した空間解像度250mのNDVI時系列を用いて，洪水浸水域の空間的広がりおよび時間的パターンを解析した。一方，MODIS/NDVIの16日間合成画像から作成した土地利用分類が，利用可能である。MODISから作成した浸水域マップを元に，洪水が住民に与えるリスクを特定する手法を提案し，また洪水被害を受けた人口の分布を作成する。さらには空間的な解析手法を適用することで，洪水被害の脆弱性を解析する。今後の研究においても，洪水被害の脆弱性を評価するために本手法は有益である。Information on spatial distribution of potential flood extent, land use and land cover as well as population is significant to analyze vulnerability to flood hazard. Taking the typical flood event of the year 2003 occurred in the Huaihe River basin, China, this paper analyses the spatial extent and temporal pattern of flood inundation with the application of time-series Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) composite data products with the spatial resolution of 250m. Meanwhile land use classification generated by multi-temporal MODIS NDVI 16-day composite data is presented. Based on the resultant MODIS-derived flood inundation mapping, a method to identify the people at risk vulnerable to flooding is proposed, and the distribution of population affected by flooding is derived. Finally the flood hazard vulnerability is analyzed by a spatial analysis method, which is helpful to assess flood hazard vulnerability in the further study

Fine-root production and litterfall: main contributions to net primary production in an old-growth evergreen broad-leaved forest in southwestern Japan

First online: 23 July 201