Quantifying the Influence of Pollen Aging on the Adhesive Properties of Hypochaeris radicata Pollen

Although pollination is one of the most crucial biological processes that ensures plant reproduction, its mechanisms are poorly understood. Especially in insect-mediated pollination, a pollen undergoes several attachment and detachment cycles when being transferred from anther to insect and from insect to stigma. The influence of the properties of pollen, insect and floral surfaces on the adhesion forces that mediate pollen transfer have been poorly studied. Here, we investigate the adhesive properties of Hypochaeris radicata pollen and their dependence on pollen aging by quantifying the pull-off forces from glass slides using centrifugation and atomic force microscopy. We found that the properties of the pollenkitt-the viscous, lipid liquid on the surface of most pollen grains-influences the forces necessary to detach a pollen from hydrophilic surfaces. Our results show that aged H. radicata pollen form weaker adhesions to hydrophilic glass than fresh ones. On the other hand, when a pollen grain ages in contact with glass, the adhesion between the two surfaces increases over time. This study shows for the first time the pollen aging effect on the pollination mechanism

Terrestrial, UAV-borne, and airborne laser scanning point clouds of central European forest plots, Germany, with extracted individual trees and manual forest inventory measurements

Laser scanning point clouds of forest stands were acquired in southwest Germany in 2019 and 2020 from different platforms: an aircraft, an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) and a ground-based tripod. The UAV-borne and airborne laser scanning campaigns cover twelve forest plots of approximately 1 ha. The plots are located in mixed central European forests close to Bretten and Karlsruhe, in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Terrestrial laser scanning was performed in selected locations within the twelve forest plots. Airborne and terrestrial laser scanning point clouds were acquired under leaf-on conditions, UAV-borne laser scans were acquired both under leaf-on and later under leaf-off conditions. In addition to the laser scanning campaigns, forest inventory tree properties (species, height, diameter at breast height, crown base height, crown diameter) were measured in-situ during summer 2019 in six of the twelve 1-ha plots. Single tree point clouds were extracted from the different laser scanning datasets and matched to the field measurements. For each tree entry, point clouds, tree species, position, and field-measured and point cloud-derived tree metrics are provided. For 249 trees, point clouds from all three platforms are available. The tree models form the basis of a single tree database covering a range of species typical for central European forests which is currently being established in the framework of the SYSSIFOSS project

Terrestrial, UAV-borne, and airborne laser scanning point clouds of central European forest plots, Germany, with extracted individual trees and manual forest inventory measurements

Laser scanning point clouds of forest stands were acquired in southwest Germany in 2019 and 2020 from different platforms: an aircraft, an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) and a ground-based tripod. The UAV-borne and airborne laser scanning campaigns cover twelve forest plots of approximately 1 ha. The plots are located in mixed central European forests close to Bretten and Karlsruhe, in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Terrestrial laser scanning was performed in selected locations within the twelve forest plots. Airborne and terrestrial laser scanning point clouds were acquired under leaf-on conditions, UAV-borne laser scans were acquired both under leaf-on and later under leaf-off conditions. In addition to the laser scanning campaigns, forest inventory tree properties (species, height, diameter at breast height, crown base height, crown diameter) were measured in-situ during summer 2019 in six of the twelve 1-ha plots. Single tree point clouds were extracted from the different laser scanning datasets and matched to the field measurements. For each tree entry, point clouds, tree species, position, and field-measured and point cloud-derived tree metrics are provided. For 249 trees, point clouds from all three platforms are available. The tree models form the basis of a single tree database covering a range of species typical for central European forests which is currently being established in the framework of the SYSSIFOSS project