ACCURACIES, ERRORS, AND UNCERTAINTIES OF GLOBAL CROPLAND PRODUCTS

ABSTRACT ACCURACIES, ERRORS, AND UNCERTAINTIES OF GLOBAL CROPLAND PRODUCTS By Kamini Yadav University of New Hampshire, May 2019 Global cropland products are continuously being produced at different spatial resolutions using remotely sensed satellite imagery. Recently, with our increased accessibility to higher computing processing, three different cropland extent maps have been developed as a part of Global Food Security-Support Analysis Data (GFSAD) project at three spatial resolutions (i.e., GFSAD1km, GFSAD250m, and GFSAD30m). All cropland maps should be assessed for their accuracy, errors, and uncertainty for various agriculture monitoring applications. However, in previous assessment efforts appropriate assessment strategies have not always been applied and many have reported only a single accuracy measure for the entire world. This research was divided into four components to provide more attention and focus on the accuracy assessment of large area cropland products. First, a valid assessment of cropland extent maps was performed addressing different strategies, issues, and constraints depending upon various conditions related to the cropland distribution, proportion, and pattern present in each continent. This research focused on dealing with some specific issues encountered when assessing the cropland extent of North America (confined to the United States), Africa and Australia. Continent-specific sampling strategies and accuracy assessments were performed within homogenous regions (i.e., strata) of different continents to ensure that an appropriate reference data set was collected to generate rigorous and valid accuracy results indicative of the actual cropland proportion. Second, all the three different GFSAD cropland extent maps were assessed using appropriate sampling and collection of a cropland reference data based on the cropland distribution and proportion for different regions in the entire world. In addition to the accuracy assessment, the cropland extent maps developed at the three spatial resolutions were compared to investigate the differences among them and provide guidance for users to select the appropriate resolution given different agriculture field sizes. The comparison of three different GFSAD cropland extent maps was performed based on the similarity of the cropland area proportion (CAP) and landscape clumping at different spatial resolutions to provide specific recommendations for when to apply these maps in different agriculture field sizes. Third, an issue was discovered with the accuracy assessment of 30m global cropland extent map (i.e., GFSAD30m) in that insufficient samples were collected resulting in an ineffective assessment when the cropland map class was rare as occurred in some regions around the world. This research evaluated the sampling designs for different cropland regions to achieve sufficient samples and effective accuracy of rare cropland map class by comparing the distribution, allocation of samples and accuracy measures. The evaluation of sampling designs demonstrated that the cropland regions of \u3c15% CAP must be sampled with an appropriate stratified sampling combined with a predetermined minimum sample size for each map class. Finally, the accuracy assessment of all thematic maps (e.g., crop type maps) needs sufficient reference data to conduct a valid assessment. The availability of reference data is a severely limiting factor over large geographic region because of the time, effort, cost, and accessibility in different parts of the world. The objectives of this research were to augment and extend the limited availability of crop type reference data using non-ground-based sources of crop type information for creating and assessing large area crop type maps. There is the potential to either interpret the photographs available from Google Street View (GSV) or classify High Resolution Imagery (HRI) using a phenology-based classification approach to generate additional reference data within similar agriculture ecological zones (AEZs) based on the crop characteristics, their types, and growing season. These two methods of augmenting and extending crop type reference data were developed for the United States (US) where high-quality crop type reference data already exist so that the methods could be effectively and efficiently tested. This research described a tale of three continents providing recommendations to adapt accuracy assessment strategies and methodologies for assessing global cropland extent maps. Based on these results, the assessment and comparison of different resolution GFSAD cropland extent maps were performed to provide specific recommendations for when to apply each of the maps for agriculture monitoring based on the agriculture field sizes. When assessing the cropland extent maps, different sampling strategies perform differently in the various cropland proportion regions and therefore, must be selected according to the cropland extent maps to be assessed. Finally, this research concluded that the limited crop type reference data can be effectively extended using a phenology-based classification approach and is more efficient than the interpretation of photographs collected from GSV

Mullerian and gonadal dysgenesis: an unusual presentation

The estimated prevalence of a unicornuate uterus is rather low, approximately 0.3% of the whole population, 0.6% of the infertile population, and 0.2% of the fertile population. Of the mullerian defects, however, unicornuate uterus is found in 3 to 13% of women. Ovarian maldescent occasionally occurs in patients with a normal uterus, the incidence is reported to be 20% when the uterus is absent (Rokitansky-Kustner - Hauser syndrome) and as high as 42% in cases of unicornuate uterus. The occurrence of Mullerian anomalieswith concomitant gonadal developmental abnormalities isvery rare. Case reports about the unicornuate uterus withovarian abnormalities are very limited in the literature. We present a case of 17 year old girl with primary amenorrhoea and hematometra, for which she was operated and later on she was diagnosed as a case of vaginal and cervical atresia with unicornuate uterus together withipsilateral ovarian agenesis and contralateral ectopic ovary

Therapeutic Approach and Characterisation of Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) Rind against Acrylamide Toxicity

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a cheap and easily available fruit in the local markets of India. The rind, which is the outer layer of watermelon, is completely edible. It is the only fruit with 90 per cent of water, and is fully edible including its rind and seeds as they contains different types of nutrients which are needed by our body in day to day life. The benefits in our body, includes reduced blood pressure, presence of different types of vitamins, such as vitamin A, B & C, as well as different types of minerals required by our body. The present study aims in evaluating the presence of different secondary metabolites in the watermelon rind. The therapeutic efficacy of watermelon rind against acrylamide toxicity in the lymphocyte cell line is studied. As selenium is an important micronutrient, an attempt has been made to prepare the selenium nanoparticles followed by its characterisation

Greater Skeletal Gains in Ovary Intact Rats at Maturity Are Achieved by Supplementing a Standardized Extract of Butea monosperma Stem Bark that Confers Better Bone Conserving Effect following Ovariectomy and Concurrent Treatment Withdrawal

With a longitudinally designed study, we tested whether an acetone soluble fraction (ASF) from the stem bark of Butea monosperma resulted in maximizing bone gain in rats during growth and maturation and thus protected against osteopenia following ovariectomy (OVx) with concomitant treatment withdrawal. Female rats at weaning were given ASF (100 mg/kg/d) or vehicle for 12 weeks, and baseline skeletal parameters (micro-CT) and total plasma antioxidant status (TAS) were measured. At this stage, one group was OVx and the other group was sham operated. Vehicle group (untreated) after OVx was given E2 or continued with vehicle (OVx control). ASF group after OVx was given vehicle (ASF withdrawn, ASFW). After another 12 weeks, all groups were killed and various skeletal parameters were determined. ASF resulted in substantially better skeletal parameters and higher plasma TAS over control at maturity. Rats treated with ASF before OVx had reduced rates of bone loss compared to OVx control. Twelve weeks after OVx, the ASFW group exhibited better trabecular microarchitectural preservation, bone turnover profiles, increased cortical deposition, and biomechanical strength over the OVx control, and the effects were comparable to OVx + E2 group. ASF supplementation during skeletal growth could maximize bone accrual and could confer increased resistance to postOVx osteopenia despite treatment withdrawal

Greater Skeletal Gains in Ovary Intact Rats at Maturity Are Achieved by Supplementing a Standardized Extract of Butea monosperma

With a longitudinally designed study, we tested whether an acetone soluble fraction (ASF) from the stem bark of Butea monosperma resulted in maximizing bone gain in rats during growth and maturation and thus protected against osteopenia following ovariectomy (OVx) with concomitant treatment withdrawal. Female rats at weaning were given ASF (100 mg/kg/d) or vehicle for 12 weeks, and baseline skeletal parameters (micro-CT) and total plasma antioxidant status (TAS) were measured. At this stage, one group was OVx and the other group was sham operated. Vehicle group (untreated) after OVx was given E2 or continued with vehicle (OVx control). ASF group after OVx was given vehicle (ASF withdrawn, ASFW). After another 12 weeks, all groups were killed and various skeletal parameters were determined. ASF resulted in substantially better skeletal parameters and higher plasma TAS over control at maturity. Rats treated with ASF before OVx had reduced rates of bone loss compared to OVx control. Twelve weeks after OVx, the ASFW group exhibited better trabecular microarchitectural preservation, bone turnover profiles, increased cortical deposition, and biomechanical strength over the OVx control, and the effects were comparable to OVx + E2 group. ASF supplementation during skeletal growth could maximize bone accrual and could confer increased resistance to post-OVx osteopenia despite treatment withdrawal

Daidzein Prevents the Increase in CD4+CD28null T Cells and B Lymphopoesis in Ovariectomized Mice: A Key Mechanism for Anti-Osteoclastogenic Effect

Estrogen deficiency leads to an upregulation of TNF-α producing T cells and B-lymphopoesis which augments osteoclastogenesis. Estrogen deficiency also increases the population of premature senescent CD4+CD28null T cells which secrete a higher amount of TNF-α thus leading to enhanced osteoclastogenesis. Isoflavonoids like daidzein and genistein are found mostly in soybeans, legumes, and peas. These share structural similarity with 17β-stradiol (E2) and have osteoprotective role. This study explores the effect of daidzein (Daid) on the proliferation of TNF-α producing T cells, premature senescent T cells and B cell lymphopoesis under estrogen deficient conditions. For this study adult Balb/c mice were treated with Daid at 10 mg/kg body weight dose by oral gavage daily post ovariectomy (Ovx). After six weeks animals were autopsied and bone marrow and spleen cells were collected for FACS analysis. Blood serum was collected for ELISA. It was observed that Ovx mice treated with Daid for six weeks show reduction in Ovx induced expansion of CD4+ T cells in bone marrow and spleen when analysed by flow cytometry. Estrogen deficiency led to increased prevalence of TNF-α secreting CD4+CD28null T cells, however, treatment with Daid increased the percentage of CD4+CD28+ T cells. Co-culture of CD4+CD28null T cells and bone marrow resulted in enhanced osteoclastogenesis as evident by increased tartarate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) expression, an osteoclast marker. However, treatment with Daid resulted in reduced osteoclastogenesis in CD4+CD28null T cells and bone marrow cell co-culture. Daid also regulated B lymphopoesis and decreased mRNA levels of RANKL in B220+ cells. Taken together, we propose that one of the mechanisms by which Daid prevents bone loss is by reversing the detrimental immune changes as a result of estrogen deficiency

Spectral matching techniques (SMTs) and automated cropland classification algorithms (ACCAs) for mapping croplands of Australia using MODIS 250-m time-series (2000–2015) data

Mapping croplands, including fallow areas, are an important measure to determine the quantity of food that is produced, where they are produced, and when they are produced (e.g. seasonality). Furthermore, croplands are known as water guzzlers by consuming anywhere between 70% and 90% of all human water use globally. Given these facts and the increase in global population to nearly 10 billion by the year 2050, the need for routine, rapid, and automated cropland mapping year-after-year and/or season-after-season is of great importance. The overarching goal of this study was to generate standard and routine cropland products, year-after-year, over very large areas through the use of two novel methods: (a) quantitative spectral matching techniques (QSMTs) applied at continental level and (b) rule-based Automated Cropland Classification Algorithm (ACCA) with the ability to hind-cast, now-cast, and future-cast. Australia was chosen for the study given its extensive croplands, rich history of agriculture, and yet nonexistent routine yearly generated cropland products using multi-temporal remote sensing. This research produced three distinct cropland products using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 250-m normalized difference vegetation index 16-day composite time-series data for 16 years: 2000 through 2015. The products consisted of: (1) cropland extent/areas versus cropland fallow areas, (2) irrigated versus rainfed croplands, and (3) cropping intensities: single, double, and continuous cropping. An accurate reference cropland product (RCP) for the year 2014 (RCP2014) produced using QSMT was used as a knowledge base to train and develop the ACCA algorithm that was then applied to the MODIS time-series data for the years 2000–2015. A comparison between the ACCA-derived cropland products (ACPs) for the year 2014 (ACP2014) versus RCP2014 provided an overall agreement of 89.4% (kappa = 0.814) with six classes: (a) producer’s accuracies varying between 72% and 90% and (b) user’s accuracies varying between 79% and 90%. ACPs for the individual years 2000–2013 and 2015 (ACP2000–ACP2013, ACP2015) showed very strong similarities with several other studies. The extent and vigor of the Australian croplands versus cropland fallows were accurately captured by the ACCA algorithm for the years 2000–2015, thus highlighting the value of the study in food security analysis. The ACCA algorithm and the cropland products are released through http://croplands.org/app/map and http://geography.wr.usgs.gov/science/croplands/algorithms/australia_250m.htm

Emerging Themes and Future Directions of Multi-Sector Nexus Research and Implementation

Water, energy, and food are all essential components of human societies. Collectively, their respective resource systems are interconnected in what is called the “nexus”. There is growing consensus that a holistic understanding of the interdependencies and trade-offs between these sectors and other related systems is critical to solving many of the global challenges they present. While nexus research has grown exponentially since 2011, there is no unified, overarching approach, and the implementation of concepts remains hampered by the lack of clear case studies. Here, we present the results of a collaborative thought exercise involving 75 scientists and summarize them into 10 key recommendations covering: the most critical nexus issues of today, emerging themes, and where future efforts should be directed. We conclude that a nexus community of practice to promote open communication among researchers, to maintain and share standardized datasets, and to develop applied case studies will facilitate transparent comparisons of models and encourage the adoption of nexus approaches in practice

Emerging Themes and Future Directions of Multi-Sector Nexus Research and Implementation

Water, energy, and food are all essential components of human societies. Collectively, their respective resource systems are interconnected in what is called the “nexus”. There is growing consensus that a holistic understanding of the interdependencies and trade-offs between these sectors and other related systems is critical to solving many of the global challenges they present. While nexus research has grown exponentially since 2011, there is no unified, overarching approach, and the implementation of concepts remains hampered by the lack of clear case studies. Here, we present the results of a collaborative thought exercise involving 75 scientists and summarize them into 10 key recommendations covering: the most critical nexus issues of today, emerging themes, and where future efforts should be directed. We conclude that a nexus community of practice to promote open communication among researchers, to maintain and share standardized datasets, and to develop applied case studies will facilitate transparent comparisons of models and encourage the adoption of nexus approaches in practice

Issues with Large Area Thematic Accuracy Assessment for Mapping Cropland Extent: A Tale of Three Continents

Accurate, consistent and timely cropland information over large areas is critical to solve food security issues. To predict and respond to food insecurity, global cropland products are readily available from coarse and medium spatial resolution earth observation data. However, while the use of satellite imagery has great potential to identify cropland areas and their specific types, the full potential of this imagery has yet to be realized due to variability of croplands in different regions. Despite recent calls for statistically robust and transparent accuracy assessment, more attention regarding the accuracy assessment of large area cropland maps is still needed. To conduct a valid assessment of cropland maps, different strategies, issues and constraints need to be addressed depending upon various conditions present in each continent. This study specifically focused on dealing with some specific issues encountered when assessing the cropland extent of North America (confined to the United States), Africa and Australia. The process of accuracy assessment was performed using a simple random sampling design employed within defined strata (i.e., Agro-Ecological Zones (AEZ’s) for the US and Africa and a buffer zone approach around the cropland areas of Australia. Continent-specific sample analysis was performed to ensure that an appropriate reference data set was used to generate a valid error matrix indicative of the actual cropland proportion. Each accuracy assessment was performed within the homogenous regions (i.e., strata) of different continents using different sources of reference data to produce rigorous and valid accuracy results. The results indicate that continent-specific modified assessments performed for the three selected continents demonstrate that the accuracy assessment can be easily accomplished for a large area such as the US that has extensive availability of reference data while more modifications were needed in the sampling design for other continents that had little to no reference data and other constraints. Each continent provided its own unique challenges and opportunities. Therefore, this paper describes a tale of these three continents providing recommendations to adapt accuracy assessment strategies and methodologies for validating global cropland extent maps