Remote sensing for irrigation water management in the semi-arid Northeast of Brazil

Northeast of Brazil is a semi-arid region, where water is a key strategic resource in the development of all sectors of the economy. Irrigation agriculture is the main water consumer in this region. Therefore, policy directives are calling for tools to aid operational monitoring in planning, control and charging of irrigation water. Using Landsat imagery, this study evaluates the utility of a process that measures the level of water use in an irrigated area of the state of Ceará. The experiment, which models evapotranspiration (ET), was carried out within the Jaguaribe-Apodi irrigation scheme (DIJA) during two months of the agricultural season. The ET was estimated with the model Mapping Evapotranspiration at High Resolution and with Internalized Calibration (METRIC). The model uses the residual of the energy balance equation to estimate ET for each pixel in the image. The results of the estimates were validated using measurements of ET from a micrometeorological tower installed within a banana plantation located near the irrigation scheme. After evaluating the ET estimates, the average fraction of depleted water for a set of agricultural parcels combined with the monthly ET mapping estimates by METRIC provided a method for predicting the total water use in DIJA for the study period. The results were then compared against the monthly accumulated flow rates for all the pumping stations provided by the district manager. Finally, this work discusses the potential use of the model as an alternative method to calculate water consumption in irrigated agriculture and the implications for water resource management in irrigated perimeters.Water resource management Irrigation water charge METRIC model SEBAL model Evapotranspiration

Avaliação da divergência nutricional de variedades de cana-de-açúcar (Saccharum spp.) Evaluation of the nutritional divergence of the sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) varieties

O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar a divergência nutricional de variedades de cana-de-açúcar, utilizando a análise de componentes principais, visando identificar três variedades representativas dessa divergência. As variedades de cana-de-açúcar (Saccharum spp.) avaliadas neste estudo foram: RB855113, RB765418, RB855536, SP79-2233, RB845257, SP80-180, RB855453, RB855336, SP80-1842, SP81-1763, SP80-4445, SP79-1011, RB739359, RB867515 e SP80-3280, colhidas aos 426, 487 e 549 dias após o plantio. As variáveis discriminatórias utilizadas foram fibra em detergente neutro (FDN), hemicelulose, lignina, fração indegradável da FDN e taxa de degradação da fração potencialmente degradável da FDN. Houve diferenças para todas as variáveis estudadas, exceto para a fração indegradável da FDN. A avaliação da divergência nutricional das variedades de cana-de-açúcar baseou-se nos três primeiros componentes principais, explicando 87,8% da variação total. A FDN e a fração indegradável da FDN foram as variáveis de menor importância para explicar a variabilidade nutricional das variedades. A variedade SP80-1842, colhida aos 426 dias após o plantio, e a variedade SP79-1011, colhida aos 549 dias, foram as que apresentaram maior dispersão dos escores nos três primeiros componentes principais, sendo consideradas as mais dissimilares, enquanto a variedade RB845257, colhida aos 487 dias após o plantio, localizou-se em posição intermediária entre ambas. A análise de componentes principais foi também eficiente em selecionar as variedades com diferentes épocas de colheita.<br>The objective of this work was to evaluate the nutritional divergence of the sugarcane varieties, using the principal components analysis, to select three representative varieties of that divergence. The sugarcane varieties (Saccharum spp.) evaluated in this study were: RB855113, RB765418, RB855536, SP79-2233, RB845257, SP80-180, RB855453, RB855336, SP80-1842, SP81-1763, SP80-4445, SP79-1011, RB739359, RB867515 and SP80-3280, harvested at 426, 487 and 549 days post planting. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF), hemicellulose, lignin, undegradable NDF fraction and degradation rate of the potentially degradable NDF fraction were the evaluated discriminatory variables. Differences were observed for all the studied variables, except for the undegradable NDF fraction. The evaluation of the nutritional divergence of the sugarcane varieties based on the first three principal components, that explained 87.8% of the total variation. The NDF and the undegradable NDF fraction were the variables of smaller importance to explain the nutritional variability of the varieties. The SP80-1842 variety, harvested at 426 days post planting, and SP79-1011 variety, harvested at 549 days, were the ones that showed greater score dispersions for the first three principal components, being considered the most dissimilar, while the RB845257 variety, harvested at 487 days post planting, was located in the intermediary position between both. The principal components analysis was also efficient in selecting varieties with different harvesting times

Height Above the Nearest Drainage - a hydrologically relevant new terrain model

This paper introduces a new terrain model named HAND, and reports on the calibration and validation of landscape classes representing soil environments in Amazonia, which were derived using it. The HAND model normalizes topography according to the local relative heights found along the drainage network, and in this way, presents the topology of the relative soil gravitational potentials, or local draining potentials. The HAND model has been demonstrated to show a high correlation with the depth of the water table, providing an accurate spatial representation of soil water environments. Normalized draining potentials can be classified according to the relative vertical flowpath-distances to the nearest drainages, defining classes of soil water environments. These classes have been shown to be comparable and have verifiable and reproducible hydrological significance across the studied catchment and for surrounding ungauged catchments. The robust validation of this model over an area of 18,000km2 in the lower Rio Negro catchment has demonstrated its capacity to map expansive environments using only remotely acquired topography data as inputs. The classified HAND model has also preliminarily demonstrated robustness when applied to ungauged catchments elsewhere with contrasting geologies, geomorphologies and soil types. The HAND model and the derived soil water maps can help to advance physically based hydrological models and be applied to a host of disciplines that focus on soil moisture and ground water dynamics. As an original assessment of soil water in the landscape, the HAND model explores the synergy between digital topography data and terrain modeling, presenting an opportunity for solving many difficult problems in hydrology. © 2011 Elsevier B.V

Predicting the distribution of forest tree species using topographic variables and vegetation index in eastern Acre, Brazil

Species distribution modeling has relevant implications for the studies of biodiversity, decision making about conservation and knowledge about ecological requirements of the species. The aim of this study was to evaluate if the use of forest inventories can improve the estimation of occurrence probability, identify the limits of the potential distribution and habitat preference of a group of timber tree species. The environmental predictor variables were: elevation, slope, aspect, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and height above the nearest drainage (HAND). To estimate the distribution of species we used the maximum entropy method (Maxent). In comparison with a random distribution, using topographic variables and vegetation index as features, the Maxent method predicted with an average accuracy of 86% the geographical distribution of studied species. The altitude and NDVI were the most important variables. There were limitations to the interpolation of the models for non-sampled locations and that are outside of the elevation gradient associated with the occurrence data in approximately 7% of the basin area. Ceiba pentandra (sama&#250;ma), Castilla ulei (caucho) and Hura crepitans (assacu) is more likely to occur in nearby water course areas. Clarisia racemosa (guari&#250;ba), Amburana acreana (cerejeira), Aspidosperma macrocarpon (pereiro), Apuleia leiocarpa (cumaru cetim), Aspidosperma parvifolium (amarel&#227;o) and Astronium lecointei (aroeira) can also occur in upland forest and well drained soils. This modeling approach has potential for application on other tropical species still less studied, especially those that are under pressure from logging

Características de produção e qualidade nutricional de genótipos de capim- colonião colhidos em três estádios de maturidade Characteristics of nutritional quality and production of genotypes of guineagrass harvested in three maturity stages

Objetivou- se verificar a existência de variação genética entre cultivares de capim- colonião quanto ao efeito da maturidade sobre a composição química e a digestibilidade, e classificar os genótipos de acordo com características produtivas e de qualidade nutricional. Utilizou- se o delineamento de blocos ao acaso, com parcelas subdivididas e três repetições, considerando parcelas as datas de corte e subparcelas, os genótipos. A produção de MS diferiu entre os genótipos somente aos 90 dias de crescimento, mas a porcentagem de folhas, colmos e material morto variou tanto aos 60 como aos 90 dias de crescimento. Ao contrário do observado para as folhas, a composição química e a digestibilidade do colmo apresentou grande variabilidade entre os genótipos. O colmo apresentou concentrações mais elevadas de FDN, FDA e lignina e menores valores de PB em comparação às folhas. Apresentou ainda maior digestibilidade da MS aos 60 dias de crescimento e maior digestibilidade da FDN aos 30 e 60 dias de crescimento. No agrupamento dos cultivares, os genótipos PM39 e PM47 foram apontados como os mais promissores no programa de melhoramento, por apresentarem alta produtividade e alta qualidade nutricional. A maturidade pouco afeta a digestibilidade de folhas em comparação ao colmo. Quando a participação de colmo no total de massa seca aumenta, esse componente passa a ser o limitador da qualidade de plantas forrageiras. Portanto, programas de melhoramento devem considerar, além da relação folha:colmo, também a digestibilidade in vitro da FDN do colmo na seleção de genótipos.<br>This study aimed to verify the existence of genetic variation among guineagrass cultivars regarding the effect of maturity on chemical composition and digestibility, and to classify the genotypes according to productive characteristics and nutritional quality. A randomized block design, with split- plots and three replications, was used. Dates of the cuts were considered as the plots, and the genotypes were considered as the sub- plots. Dry matter yield differed among the genotypes only at 90 days of growth, but the percentage of leaves, stems, and senesced material changed at 60 days of growth, as well as at 90 days of growth. Differently from what was observed for the leaves, chemical composition and digestibility of stem showed great variability among genotypes. The stem showed higher concentrations of neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, and lignin, and lower values of crude protein, when compared to the leaves. It also presented higher digestibility of dry matter at 60 days of growth, and higher digestibility of neutral detergent fiber at 30, and at 60 days of growth. Clustering of the cultivars identified the PM39 and PM47 genotypes as the most promising ones in the breeding program, because they showed high productivity and high nutritional quality. Maturity has little effect on leaf digestibility when compared to the stem. When participation of the stem increases in the total of dry matter, this component becomes the major factor limiting quality of forage plants. Therefore, breeding program must consider, in addition to leaf:stem ratio, the in vitro digestibility of neutral detergent fiber of the stem when selecting genotypes