The resilience of indigenous knowledge in small-scale African agriculture: key drivers

The successful use of indigenous knowledge (IK) in development practice in rural Africa over the last couple of decades has proved to be elusive and disappointing. Using empirical field data from northern Malawi, this study suggests that the two key drivers for farmers in this area are household food security and the maintenance of soil fertility. Indigenous ways of knowing underpin the agricultural system which has been developed, rather than the adoption of more modern, ‘scientific’ ways, to deliver against these drivers. Such IKs, however, are deeply embedded in the economic, social and cultural environments in which they operate

Ratios of characteristic polynomials in complex matrix models

We compute correlation functions of inverse powers and ratios of characteristic polynomials for random matrix models with complex eigenvalues. Compact expressions are given in terms of orthogonal polynomials in the complex plane as well as their Cauchy transforms, generalizing previous expressions for real eigenvalues. We restrict ourselves to ratios of characteristic polynomials over their complex conjugate

Application of the Cloude-Pottier decomposition to weather radar signatures

In this paper we apply the Cloude-Pottier decomposition to Weather Radar Signatures. First, we present the results of a simulation carried out at the Chemnitz University of Technology and give the expected H-α values for different rain intensities. A comparison with standard radarmeteorological variables is also given. Then, first ever images of Entropy and Anisotropy are presented for clouds and precipitation. Experimental Data are from the POLDIRAD Weather Facility in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

Unidimensional model of the ad-atom diffusion on a substrate submitted to a standing acoustic wave I. Derivation of the ad-atom motion equation

The effect of a standing acoustic wave on the diffusion of an ad-atom on a crystalline surface is theoretically studied. We used an unidimensional space model to study the ad-atom+substrate system. The dynamic equation of the ad-atom, a Generalized Langevin equation, is analytically derived from the full Hamiltonian of the ad-atom+substrate system submitted to the acoustic wave. A detailed analysis of each term of this equation, as well as of their properties, is presented. Special attention is devoted to the expression of the effective force induced by the wave on the ad-atom. It has essentially the same spatial and time dependences as its parent standing acoustic wave

Quasi One-Dimensional Photonic Crystals as Building Block for Compact Integrated Optical Refractometric Sensors

A quasi one-dimensional photonic crystal has been fabricated and the applicability of this strong grating for optical sensing has been investigated by measuring the transmission spectra as a function of the cladding refractive index. The cladding index was varied a small range. By monitoring the transmitted output power the transmission stop-band was found to shift by 1 nm wavelength for either a cladding refractive index change of 0.05 or a temperature change of 120 K

Quasi 1-dimensional photonic crystals as building block for compact integrated optical sensors

A quasi one-dimensional photonic crystal has been fabricated and the applicability of this kind of structure for optical sensing has been investigated by measuring the transmission spectra as a function of the cladding refractive index. The cladding index was varied using a liquid flow, of which the index was slowly varied over a small range. The shift with cladding index of the steep stop band edge provides a relatively sensitive detection mechanism in an extremely compact device

Affine convex body semigroups

In this paper we present a new kind of semigroups called convex body semigroups which are generated by convex bodies of R^k. They generalize to arbitrary dimension the concept of proportionally modular numerical semigroup of [7]. Several properties of these semigroups are proven. Affine convex body semigroups obtained from circles and polygons of R^2 are characterized. The algorithms for computing minimal system of generators of these semigroups are given. We provide the implementation of some of them

Using species richness and functional traits predictions to constrain assemblage predictions from stacked species distribution models

Aim: Modelling species at the assemblage level is required to make effective forecast of global change impacts on diversity and ecosystem functioning. Community predictions may be achieved using macroecological properties of communities (MEM), or by stacking of individual species distribution models (S-SDMs). To obtain more realistic predictions of species assemblages, the SESAM framework suggests applying successive filters to the initial species source pool, by combining different modelling approaches and rules. Here we provide a first test of this framework in mountain grassland communities. Location: The western Swiss Alps. Methods: Two implementations of the SESAM framework were tested: a "Probability ranking" rule based on species richness predictions and rough probabilities from SDMs, and a "Trait range" rule that uses the predicted upper and lower bound of community-level distribution of three different functional traits (vegetative height, specific leaf area and seed mass) to constraint a pool of environmentally filtered species from binary SDMs predictions. Results: We showed that all independent constraints expectedly contributed to reduce species richness overprediction. Only the "Probability ranking" rule allowed slightly but significantly improving predictions of community composition. Main conclusion: We tested various ways to implement the SESAM framework by integrating macroecological constraints into S-SDM predictions, and report one that is able to improve compositional predictions. We discuss possible improvements, such as further improving the causality and precision of environmental predictors, using other assembly rules and testing other types of ecological or functional constraints

Monsoon extremes and society over the past millennium on mainland Southeast Asia

The early 21st century has seen vigorous scientific interest in the Asian monsoon and significant development of paleo-proxies of monsoon strength. These include the Monsoon Asian Drought Atlas – a 700-year, gridded reconstruction of hydroclimate derived from 327 tree ring records – and several long speleothem records from China and India. Similar progress has been made on the study of monsoon climate dynamics through re-analysis data products and General Circulation Model diagnostics. The story has emerged of a variable monsoon over the latter Holocene, with extended droughts and anomalously wet episodes that occasionally and profoundly influenced the course of human history. We focus on Southeast Asia where an anomalous period of unstable climate coincided with the demise of the capital of the Khmer Empire at Angkor between the 14th and the 16th centuries, and we suggest that protracted periods of drought and deluge rain events, the latter of which damaged Angkor's extensive water management systems, may have been a significant factor in the subsequent transfer of the political capital away from Angkor. The late 16th and early 17th century experienced climate instability and the collapse of the Ming Dynasty in China under a period of drought, while Tonkin experienced floods and droughts throughout the 17th century. The 18th century was a period of great turmoil across Southeast Asia, when all of the region's polities saw great unrest and rapid realignment during one of the most extended periods of drought of the past millennium. New paleo-proxy records and the incorporation of historical documentation will improve future analyses of the interaction between climate extremes, social behavior and the collapse or disruption of regional societies, a subject of increasing concern given the uncertainties surrounding projections for future climate

A potential use for the C-band polarimetric SAR parameters to characterise the soil surface over bare agriculture fields

The objective of this study was to analyze the potential of the C-band polarimetric SAR parameters for the soil surface characterization of bare agricultural soils. RADARSAT-2 data and simulations using the Integral Equation Model (IEM) were analyzed to evaluate the polarimetric SAR parameters' sensitivities to the soil moisture and surface roughness. The results showed that the polarimetric parameters in the C-band were not very relevant to the characterization of the soil surface over bare agricultural areas. Low dynamics were often observed between the polarimetric parameters and both the soil moisture content and the soil surface roughness. These low dynamics do not allow for the accurate estimation of the soil parameters, but they could augment the standard inversion approaches to improve the estimation of these soil parameters. The polarimetric parameter alpha_1 could be used to detect very moist soils (>30%), while the anisotropy could be used to separate the smooth soils