Humidity forecasting in a potato plantation using time-series neural models

It is widely acknowledged that, under the frame of sustainable farming, using the minimum water resources is a relevant requirement. In order to do that, precision irrigation aims at identifying the irrigation needs of plantations and irrigate accordingly. Artificial intelligence is a promising solution in this field as intelligent models are able to learn the soil moisture dynamics in the soil-plant-atmosphere system and then generating appropriate irrigation scheduling. This is a complex task as the phenology of plants and its water demand vary with soil properties and weather conditions. The present research contributes to this challenging task by proposing the application of neural networks in order to learn the time-series evolution of irrigation needs associated to a potato plantation. Several of such models are thoroughly compared, together with different interpolation methods, in order to find the best combination for accurately forecasting water needs. In order to predict the soil water content in a potato field crop, in which soil humidity probes were installed at 15, 30, and 45 cm depth during the whole cycle of a potato crop. This innovative study and its promising results provide with significant contributions to address the problem of predicting and managing groundwater for agricultural use in a sustainable way.Lab-Ferrer (METER Group) and the UBUCOMP research group at the University of Burgos

Evaluation of biostimulation, bioaugmentation, and organic amendments application on the bioremediation of recalcitrant hydrocarbons of soil

In the present work, the operational conditions for improving the degradation rates of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPHs) in contaminated soil from a machinery park were optimized at a microcosms scale along a 90- days incubation period. In this study, bioremediation strategies and an organic amendment have been tested to verify the remediation of soil contaminated with different hydrocarbons, mineral oils, and heavy metals. Specifically, designed biostimulation and bioaugmentation strategies were compared with and without adding vermicompost. The polluted soil harboring multiple contaminants, partially attenuated for years, was used. The initial profile showed enrichment in heavy linear alkanes, suggesting a previous moderate weathering. The application of vermicompost increased five and two times the amounts of available phosphorus (P) and exchangeable potassium (K), respectively, as a direct consequence of the organic amendment addition. The microbial activity increased due to soil acidification, which influenced the solubility of P and other micronutrients. It also impacted the predominance and variability of the different microbial groups and the incubation, as reflected by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) results. An increase in the alkaline phosphatases and proteases linked to bacterial growth was displayed. This stimulation of microbial metabolism correlated with the degradation rates since TPHs degradation’ efficiency after vermicompost addition reached 32.5% and 34.4% of the initial hydrocarbon levels for biostimulation and bioaugmentation, respectively. Although Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) were less abundant in this soil, results also decreased, especially for the most abundant, the phenanthrene. Despite improving the degradation rates, results revealed that recalcitrant and hydrophobic petroleum compounds remained unchanged, indicating that mobility, linked to bioavailability, probably represents the limiting step for further soil recovery.This work is funded by the GREENER project of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (Grant Agreement No. 826312). S. Curiel pre-doctoral contract was funded by Junta de Castilla y Leon ´ (ORDEN EDU/1508/2020, de 15 de diciembre)

Comparative toxicological assessment of three soils polluted with different levels of hydrocarbons and heavy metals using in vitro and in vivo approaches

The biological effects induced by the pollutants present in soils, together with the chemical and physical characterizations, are good indicators to provide a general overview of their quality. However, the existence of studies where the toxicity associated to soils contaminated with mixtures of pollutants applying both in vitro and in vivo models are scarce. In this work, three soils (namely, Soil 001, Soil 002 and Soil 013) polluted with different concentrations of hydrocarbons and heavy metals were evaluated using different organisms representative of human (HepG2 human cell line) and environmental exposure (the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas putida and, for the in vivo evaluation, the annelid Enchytraeus crypticus). In vitro assays showed that the soluble fraction of the Soil 001, which presented the highest levels of heavy metals, represented a great impact in the viability of the HepG2 cells and S. cerevisiae, while organic extracts from Soils 002 and 013 caused a slight decrease in the viability of HepG2 cells. In addition, in vivo experiments showed that Soils 001 and 013 affected the survival and the reproduction of E. crypticus. Altogether, these results provide a general overview of the potential hazards associated to three specific contaminated sites in a variety of organisms, showing how different concentrations of similar pollutants affect them, and highlights the relevance of testing both organic and soluble extracts when in vitro safety assays of soils are performed.This work received funding from the GREENER project of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (Grant Agreement No. 826312). S. Curiel-Alegre was granted with a predoctoral contract by Junta de Castilla y León and the European Social Fund (ORDEN EDU/1508/2020, de 15 de diciembre). We thank Mireya Pedrero and Andrea Martínez for their technical support. We also thank Institute of Technology Carlow and Shandong Academy of Sciences for kindly providing us with soil samples

La motivación a través de la participación

Póster presentado en: VIII Jornadas de Innovación Docente de la UBU, Burgos, 5 de abril de 2016, organizadas por el Instituto de Formación e Innovación Educativa-IFIE de la Universidad de Burgo

Hyperspectral images of vine leafs treated with antifungal products [Dataset]

The dataset contains all raw data of the work "Hyperspectral images of vine leafs treated with antifungal products"This dataset is part of the project TED2021-131551B-I00, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the European Union “NextGenerationEU”/PRT

Datos de cultivos de patatas en Cavia (BURGOS)

The dataset contains all interpolation data of the work "Humidity Forecasting in a Potato Plantation using Time-Series Neural Models"This work was financed by a grant agreement between Lab-Ferrer (METER Group) and the UBUCOMP research group at the University of Burgos. Authors are grateful to the farmer Mr. José María Izquierdo for providing the experimental field and the monitoring of irrigation

Phyllosilicate-content influence on the spectroscopic properties and antioxidant capacity of Iberian Cretaceous clays

Kaolinite-rich Cretaceous clay sediment samples from Burgos (Spain) have been analyzed by elemental analysis, X-ray fluorescence, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction and different spectroscopic techniques, as Fourier Transform Infrared, ultraviolet–visible and electron paramagnetic resonance. The clay sediment samples mainly contain quartz, muscovite and kaolinite. Different radicals, as A- and B-Centers in kaolinite and organic paramagnetic species, are detected. An illite/kaolinite FTIR band ratio parameter (IKB) is proposed to infer the illite/kaolinite proportion, which can be useful to graphically visualize the iron-substituted Al(III) sites. Studies of the activity as scavengers of DPPH and ABTS radicals show that samples with a larger amount of orthorhombic Fe(III) ions replacing Al(III) ions exhibit a higher antioxidant capacity.Consejería de Educación of Junta de Castilla y León BU022G18, Junta de Castilla y León and FEDER BU291P18 and BU049P20, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad CTQ2016-75023-C2-1-P and Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades CTQ(QMC) RED2018-102471-T MultiMetDrugs Network (Spain