Monitoring vegetation dynamics using MERIS fused images

The MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) can be used to monitor vegetation dynamics at regional to global scales. However, the spatial resolutions provided by this sensor (300 or 1200 m) might not be appropriate to monitor fragmented landscapes. This is why the synergistic use of MERIS full resolution (300 m) and Landsat TM (25 m) data is studied in this paper. An unmixing-based data fusion approach was used to produce images that have the spectral and temporal resolutions provided by MERIS and the spatial resolution of Landsat TM. The central part of The Netherlands was selected to illustrate this approach. Seven MERIS full resolution and one Landsat TM image were available over this area. The radiometric characteristics of the fused images were evaluated at 25 and at 300 m. After this quantitative quality assessment, the best fused images were used to compute NDVI, MTCI and MGVI profiles for the main land cover types present in the study area

Role of bulk and of interface contacts in the behaviour of model dimeric proteins

Some dimeric proteins first fold and then dimerize (three--state dimers) while others first dimerize and then fold (two--state dimers). Within the framework of a minimal lattice model, we can distinguish between sequences obeying to one or to the other mechanism on the basis of the partition of the ground state energy between bulk than for interface contacts. The topology of contacts is very different for the bulk than for the interface: while the bulk displays a rich network of interactions, the dimer interface is built up a set of essentially independent contacts. Consequently, the two sets of interactions play very different roles both in the the folding and in the evolutionary history of the protein. Three--state dimers, where a large fraction of the energy is concentrated in few contacts buried in the bulk, and where the relative contact energy of interface contacts is considerably smaller than that associated with bulk contacts, fold according to a hierarchycal pathway controlled by local elementary structures, as also happens in the folding of single--domain monomeric proteins. On the other hand, two--state dimers display a relative contact energy of interface contacts which is larger than the corresponding quantity associated with the bulk. In this case, the assembly of the interface stabilizes the system and lead the two chains to fold. The specific properties of three--state dimers acquired through evolution are expected to be more robust than those of two--state dimers, a fact which has consequences on proteins connected with viral diseases

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Possibilities of MERIS for sub-pixel regional land cover mapping

The Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer, MERIS, on board of ENVISAT-1 fulfils the information gap between the current high and low spatial resolution sensors. In this respect, the use of MERIS full resolution data (300 m pixel size) has a great potential for regional and global land cover mapping. However, the spectral and temporal resolutions of MERIS (15 narrow bands and a revisit time of 2-3 days, respectively) might be further exploited in order to get land cover information at a more detailed scale. The performance of MERIS for extracting sub-pixel land cover information was evaluated in this study. An iterative linear spectral unmixing method designed to optimize the number of endmembers per pixel was used to classify 2 MERIS full resolution images acquired over The Netherlands. The latest version of the Dutch land use database, the LGN5, was used as a reference dataset both for the validation and for the selection of the endmembers. This dataset was first thematically aggregated to the main 9 land cover types and then spatially aggregated from its original 25m to 300m. Because the fractions of the different land cover types present in each MERIS pixel were computed during the aggregation, a sub-pixel accuracy assessment could be done (in addition to the traditional assessment based on a hard classification). Results pointed out that MERIS has a great potential for providing sub-pixel land cover information because the classification accuracies were up to 60%. The correct number of endmembers to unmix every pixel was adequately identified by the iterative linear spectral unmixing. Future research efforts should be put in making use of the high revisit time of the MERIS sensor (temporal unmixing)

Retrieving sub-pixel land cover composition through an effective integration of the spatial, spectral and temporal dimensions of MERIS imagery

A computer code (acronym 5S) has been developed that allows estimation of the solar radiation backscattered by the Earth-surface-atmosphere system, as it is observed by a satellite sensor. Given the Lambertian ground reflectance, the apparent reflectance of the observed pixel is estimated by taking into account the effects of gaseous absorption, scattering by molecules and aerosols and, to some extent, inhomogeneity in the ground reflectance. The input parameters (observation geometry, atmosphere model, ground reflectance and spectral band) can be either selected from some proposed standard conditions (e.g. spectral bands of a satellite sensor) or user-defined. Besides the pixel apparent reflectance, the code provides the gaseous transmittance, the irradiance at the surface and the different contributions to the satellite signal according to the origin of the measured radiance. Some complementary results are also available; among others, benchmark calculations permit assessment of the code accuracy