A Range of Earth Observation Techniques for Assessing Plant Diversity

AbstractVegetation diversity and health is multidimensional and only partially understood due to its complexity. So far there is no single monitoring approach that can sufficiently assess and predict vegetation health and resilience. To gain a better understanding of the different remote sensing (RS) approaches that are available, this chapter reviews the range of Earth observation (EO) platforms, sensors, and techniques for assessing vegetation diversity. Platforms include close-range EO platforms, spectral laboratories, plant phenomics facilities, ecotrons, wireless sensor networks (WSNs), towers, air- and spaceborne EO platforms, and unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Sensors include spectrometers, optical imaging systems, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), and radar. Applications and approaches to vegetation diversity modeling and mapping with air- and spaceborne EO data are also presented. The chapter concludes with recommendations for the future direction of monitoring vegetation diversity using RS

Avaliação de políticas públicas de segurança alimentar e combate à fome no período de 1995-2002: 1 - Abordagem metodológica Evaluation of public policies for food security and hunger control in Brazil, 1995-2002: 1 - Methodological framework

Descrevem-se a adaptação e aplicação de uma metodologia multidimensional baseada na tríade estrutura-processo-resultado ao contexto da avaliação de programas de segurança alimentar e combate à fome. Segundo a proposta, o estudo da estrutura analisa os instrumentos físicos e discursivos dos programas; a dimensão processo, as atividades e intervenções desenvolvidas e a dimensão resultado, além da cobertura, focalização e controle social, poderia contemplar os efeitos das intervenções sobre a segurança alimentar e nutrição dos beneficiários. A metodologia foi empregada para avaliar programas implementados no Brasil no período de 1995-2002. Além disso, foi realizado um estudo de caso em 45 municípios da Bahia, envolvendo pesquisa documental, entrevistas com informantes-chave e pesquisa domiciliar em 1.750 famílias de baixa renda no interior e 760 famílias na capital. Espera-se que os resultados contribuam para a discussão sobre os fatores facilitadores e os obstáculos que são enfrentados no nível local para a implementação de programas dessa natureza, tanto quanto para o desenvolvimento metodológico no campo da avaliação de políticas de alimentação, nutrição e combate à fome.<br>The authors describe the adaptation and application of a multidimensional methodology based on structure-process-outcome for evaluating food security and hunger control programs. According to the proposal, study of the structure dimension analyzes the programs' material and discursive instruments; the process dimension focuses on the activities and interventions; and the outcome dimension includes coverage, targeting, and social control, and also potentially the effects of the interventions on the beneficiaries' food security and nutrition. The methodology was used to evaluate programs implemented in Brazil from 1995 to 2002. A case study was also done including 45 municipalities in the State of Bahia, involving documental research, interviews with key informants, and a household survey including 1,750 low-income families in the rural area and 760 in the capital city. The results are expected to contribute to the discussion on facilitating factors and obstacles at the local level for the implementation of such programs, and to methodological development in the field of food security, nutrition, and hunger control policies

Microwave spectro-polarimetry of matter and radiation across space and time

This paper discusses the science case for a sensitive spectro-polarimetric survey of the microwave sky. Such a survey would provide a tomographic and dynamic census of the three-dimensional distribution of hot gas, velocity flows, early metals, dust, and mass distribution in the entire Hubble volume, exploit CMB temperature and polarisation anisotropies down to fundamental limits, and track energy injection and absorption into the radiation background across cosmic times by measuring spectral distortions of the CMB blackbody emission. In addition to its exceptional capability for cosmology and fundamental physics, such a survey would provide an unprecedented view of microwave emissions at sub-arcminute to few-arcminute angular resolution in hundreds of frequency channels, a data set that would be of immense legacy value for many branches of astrophysics. We propose that this survey be carried out with a large space mission featuring a broad-band polarised imager and a moderate resolution spectro-imager at the focus of a 3.5 m aperture telescope actively cooled to about 8K, complemented with absolutely-calibrated Fourier Transform Spectrometer modules observing at degree-scale angular resolution in the 10–2000 GHz frequency range. We propose two observing modes: a survey mode to map the entire sky as well as a few selected wide fields, and an observatory mode for deeper observations of regions of specific interest