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Research in the field of precision agriculture is becoming increasingly important due to the growing world population whilst area for cultivation remains constant or declines. In this context, methods of monitoring in?season plant development with high resolution and accuracy are necessary. Studies show that terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) can be applied to capture small objects like crops. In this contribution, the results of multi-temporal field campaigns with the terrestrial laser scanner Riegl LMS-Z420i are shown. Four surveys were carried out in the growing period 2012 on a field experiment where various barley varieties were cultivated in small-scale plots. In order to measure the plant height above ground, the TLS-derived point clouds are interpolated to generate Crop Surface Models with a very high resolution of 1 cm. For all campaigns, a common reference surface, representing the Digital Elevation Model was used to monitor plant height in the investigated period. Manual plant height measurements were carried out to verify the results. The very high coefficients of determination (R² = 0.89) between both measurement methods show the applicability of the approach presented. Furthermore, destructive biomass sampling was performed to investigate the relation to plant height. Biomass is an important parameter for evaluating the actual crop status, but non-destructive methods of directly measuring crop biomass do not exist. Hence, other parameters like reflectance are considered. The focus of this study is on non-destructive measurements of plant height. The high coefficients of determination between plant height and fresh as well as dry biomass (R² = 0.80, R² = 0.77) support the usability of plant height as a predictor. The study presented here demonstrates the applicability of TLS in monitoring plant height development with a very high spatial resolution. Proceedings of the Workshop on UAV-based Remote Sensing Methods for Monitoring Vegetation Kölner geographische Arbeiten, 94 ISSN:0454-1294

After green cane harvesting, between 6 and 30 tons of dry matter per hectare of trash remains in the field. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the dynamics of sugarcane residue decomposition, and to study nutrient release from harvest residue. The trial was conducted in Tucumán-Argentina. The soil was a typical Haplustol. Sugarcane varieties LCP 85-384 and RA 87-3 were used in the trial, which lasted from 2008 to 2012. Every 25-35 days we evaluated: 1) quantity of residue (fresh weight and dry weight), and 2) C/N ratio in the residue. Besides, at the beginning and end of each cycle we evaluated P and K contents in the residue. In the four crop cycles considered (ratoon 1 to ratoon 4), the amount of residue left on the ground, expressed as tons of dry matter per hectare, was high. In LCP 85-384, initial trash amount ranged from 11.6 t/ha (ratoon 3) to 15.2 t/ha (ratoon 2), whereas decomposition percentages varied between 43% and 59% in a period of 260 to 323 days. In RA-87-3 initial trash amount ranged from 12.5 t/ha (ratoon 4) to 18.1 t/ha (ratoon 1), with decomposition percentages between 36% and 60% for a period of 194 to 323 days. In general, fresh residue C/N ratios were high (over 60). Initial C/N ratio varied among the following values: 79.2 (2008/2009), 77.4 (2009/2010) and 68.8 (2010/2011), and 93.5 (2008/2009), 102.9 (2009/2010) and 60.5 (2010/2011) for LCP 85-384 and RA 87-3, respectively. Final C/N ratio ranged from 30.8 (2010/2011) to 31.9 (2008/2009) and 39.3 (2009/2010) for LCP 85-384, and from 29.9 (2010/2011) to 33.9 (2008/2009) and 43.4 (2009/2010) for RA 87-3. This represented a reduction in at least 50% in all situations studied. Trash initial C concentration, expressed as percentage of dry matter, amounted to values between 42% and 45.5%, and between 38.8% and 47.5% in LCP 85-384 and RA 87-3, respectively. Residue initial N concentration varied between 0.53% and 0.71% and between 0.43% and 0.66% in LCP 85-384 and RA 87-3, respectively. As expected, N contents were more variable than C contents. Trash final C and N concentrations ranged from 30.4% to 33.2% and from 0.84% to 1.00% in LCP 85-384, whereas these values varied from 27.8% to 34.5% and from 0.82% to 1.1% in RA 87-3. Residue initial P concentrations reached 0.05% and 0.07% in LCP 85-384, and 0.06% and 0.1% in RA 87-3. Final P concentration ranged from 0.06% to 0.08% in both varieties. Residue initial K concentrations were between 0.64% and 0.75% for LCP 85-384, and between 0.56% and 0.67% for RA 87-3, respectively. Final K concentration varied from 0.09% to 0.19% and from 0.11% and 0.19% for LCP 85-384 and RA 87-3, respectively. K release values were high, whereas P ones were generally low.

Recent extreme weather events have resulted in an ongoing discussion on the issues of land use and compensation payments within Austrian agriculture. Building on a functional evaluation system for agricultural lands as developed within the Interreg IIIB project “ILUP”, the national project “Agriculture and Flooding” has as its goal to classify the flood-protection contribution and flood sensitivity of agricultural lands. This, in turn, enables the recommendation of targeted measures for potentially improving flood situations, as well as an estimate of their implementation costs. In addition to the digital soil map, other fundamental sources used for the project are the digital flood risk map, IACS land-use data and works by the Institute for Land and Water Management Research. Reference values and marginal returns sourced from the Federal Institute of Agricultural Economics also flow into the cost estimates for the recommended combination. The results will contribute to an understanding of the multifunctionality of agricultural lands and to the setting of priorities on a regional scale regarding packaged flood-prevention and damage-minimization. However, the results at hand can only serve as one step toward regional flood protection projects, whose development will require the cooperation of all interest groups.

This is a scanned copy of a document on the determination of component and total biomass of Leucadendron laureolum in the Kogelberg research site KBE/3, site 3418BD/3/6, including photographs. The Jonkershoek Forestry Research Center (part of the former South African Forestry Research Institute) was established in 1935 at Jonkershoek, near Stellenbosch, under the directorship of Dr C. L. Wicht. The initial aim was to determine how forestry activities in state plantations would affect climate, water conservation and erosion, and was later expanded to include studies of fynbos ecology, fire and alien species. Studies from the 1930s to the early 1990s saw the accumulation of a large amount of data dealing with fire experiments, detailed vegetation plot surveys, rare plant surveys and ecological studies, hydrological studies and the development of management plans for catchments around the Western Cape. SAEON now houses the archive of data collected by the Jonkershoek Forestry Research Center, which was originally held by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Nitrogen wet deposition is naturally composed from natural and fertilizer/industrial compounds. We focused on estimations of feedbacks between nitrogen wet deposition (NWD) and the N uptake by floodplain tree species that depend on optimal available nitrogen supply. We estimated The tree wood N uptake from the tree­ring analysis re­calculated to the obtained N content in the dry mass. These datasets we compared using 1km grid GIS map algebra over an forested area of the north­east Czech Republic (Central Europe; 6,247 km2; forest cover 21.39%). Present Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) utilizate about 58.5 t/km2 per year. Willow stands (Salix sp.) utilizate 24.3 t/km2 per year. Potential presented ahs­woods on an optimalized area of 2,375 km2 could utilizate upto 1,389 kt per decade while potential willow­woods on 1,177 km2 upto 285.9 kt per decade. 3.3 t/km2 of N per year could fall on ash and/or willow stands. Willows seem to be able to decrease the pressumed N pollution impacts effectivelly for short­time period while ash­woods for long­time period. However, the tree species pollution buffer­potential is limited due to the over­coming of predicted above­limit levels of the NWD. A pollution decrease is necessary to continuance in providing of the woods buffer effects. Proceedings of the 18th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 3-7 May 2010, Lyon, France, pp. 2269-2274

Climate change poses one of the biggest challenges that most countries have to face over the coming decades. The transformations in our global weather patterns are expected to bring some very adverse effects for most of the island nations that comprise the Caribbean region. These nations have been continuously identified as one of the territorial groups that are most vulnerable to climate change, while the region barely contributes to the main triggers of these changes. Caribbean island nations have many elements that hinder their individual and regional development. Climate change will aggravate those conditions while bringing new challenges to these territories, particularly in the capital cities, as these urban areas serve are the main economic, social, political and cultural centres of these nations. A good understanding of the vulnerabilities of these cities will become a critical factor for developing good adaptation measures for their respective nations. Planning can prove useful for implementing climate change adaptation strategies, particularly for cities. This research provides three main contributions to the literature on climate change and on urban planning studies. First, it expands the discussion upon the linkages between disaster risk reduction experiences and climate change adaptation practices. Second, it highlights the relevance of capital cities for evaluating climate change impacts and adaptation actions for small island territories. The third contribution is the creation of a planning tool to assess climate change vulnerabilities of Caribbean cities. These three elements will further expand the existing knowledge base related to climate change adaptation and urban planning disciplines, particularly pertaining to the Caribbean region. Caribbean cities will greatly benefit from a planning perspective that can guide their development processes in the face of climate impacts. By means of vulnerability assessments it is possible to facilitate the analysis of climate change impacts and outcomes on vulnerable areas and planners can contribute to this aspect. A planning support tool was created to aid in the development of a vulnerability assessment for small island cities in the region - the Caribbean Climate change Urban Vulnerability Index (CCUVI). Using the CCUVI, a vulnerability assessment methodology was developed, using the city of San Juan (Puerto Rico) as a case study. The results of the vulnerability assessment helped identify five different areas within the case study city that are prone to be more affected by climate change impacts. The assessment also analysed how the vulnerability conditions in these areas and in the city changed through time, exploring two distinct scenario storylines for San Juan towards 2050. A series of normative and operational recommendations emerged from the assessment process that will help planners and policymakers engage in adaptation actions to reduce the climate vulnerabilities of Caribbean small island capital cities. Climate change poses one of the biggest challenges that most countries have to face over the coming decades. The transformations in our global weather patterns are expected to bring some very adverse effects for most of the island nations that comprise the Caribbean region. These nations have been continuously identified as one of the territorial groups that are most vulnerable to climate change, while the region barely contributes to the main triggers of these changes. Caribbean island nations have many elements that hinder their individual and regional development. Climate change will aggravate those conditions while bringing new challenges to these territories, particularly in the capital cities, as these urban areas serve are the main economic, social, political and cultural centres of these nations. A good understanding of the vulnerabilities of these cities will become a critical factor for developing good adaptation measures for their respective nations. Planning can prove useful for implementing climate change adaptation strategies, particularly for cities. This research provides three main contributions to the literature on climate change and on urban planning studies. First, it expands the discussion upon the linkages between disaster risk reduction experiences and climate change adaptation practices. Second, it highlights the relevance of capital cities for evaluating climate change impacts and adaptation actions for small island territories. The third contribution is the creation of a planning tool to assess climate change vulnerabilities of Caribbean cities. These three elements will further expand the existing knowledge base related to climate change adaptation and urban planning disciplines, particularly pertaining to the Caribbean region. Caribbean cities will greatly benefit from a planning perspective that can guide their development processes in the face of climate impacts. By means of vulnerability assessments it is possible to facilitate the analysis of climate change impacts and outcomes on vulnerable areas and planners can contribute to this aspect. A planning support tool was created to aid in the development of a vulnerability assessment for small island cities in the region - the Caribbean Climate change Urban Vulnerability Index (CCUVI). Using the CCUVI, a vulnerability assessment methodology was developed, using the city of San Juan (Puerto Rico) as a case study. The results of the vulnerability assessment helped identify five different areas within the case study city that are prone to be more affected by climate change impacts. The assessment also analysed how the vulnerability conditions in these areas and in the city changed through time, exploring two distinct scenario storylines for San Juan towards 2050. A series of normative and operational recommendations emerged from the assessment process that will help planners and policymakers engage in adaptation actions to reduce the climate vulnerabilities of Caribbean small island capital cities.

Background: Global climate is changing more rapidly than ever, threatening plant growth and productivity while exerting considerable direct and indirect effects on the quality and quantity of plant nutrients. Scope: This review focuses on the global impact of climate change on the nutritional value of plant foods. It showcases the existing evidence linking the effects of climate change factors on crop nutrition and the concentration of nutrients in edible plant parts. It focuses on the effect of elevated CO2 (eCO2), elevated temperature (eT), salinity, waterlogging and drought stresses, and what is known regarding their direct and indirect influence on nutrient availability. Furthermore, it provides possible strategies to preserve the nutritional composition of plant foods under changing climates. Conclusions: Climate change has an impact on the accumulation of minerals and protein in crop plants, with eCO2 being the underlying factor of most of the reported changes. The effects are clearly dependent on the type, intensity and duration of the imposed stress, plant genotype and developmental stage. Strong interactions (both positive and negative) can be found between individual climatic factors and soil availability of nitrogen (N), potassium (K), iron (Fe) and phosphorous (P). The development of future interventions to ensure that the world's population has access to plentiful, safe and nutritious food may need to rely on breeding for nutrients under the context of climate change, including legumes in cropping systems, better farm management practices and utilization of microbial inoculants that enhance nutrient availability.

MEd (Development and Management ), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus Indigenous Knowledge system (IKS) also referred to as traditional knowledge has been part of communities for a long period. This knowledge system ensures that the traditional methods of completing tasks and activities continue to be part of the communities. The IKS is mainly tacit, unique and it is drawn from practical experiences and also lessons learned. The IKS is a type of system that is entrenched in the culture of the community and it is geographically aligned. The usage of the IKS is seen in various fields like medicine, agriculture, linguistics, ecology, psychology, climate, and craft. It is also linked and related to survival and subsistence, and visible in the decision-making process in the field of food security. The problem that was investigated was focused on establishing the impact of the IKS on sustainable development with a focus on sustainable agriculture and how this also affects food security in communities of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (COT). The contextualisation of the IKS was established by consultation of related theories. The theoretical exploration was aimed at establishing an understanding of the concepts in the study and set out the focus on the research design and process. A mixed-methods research approach was used to further investigate the impact of the IKS on sustainable development, sustainable agriculture and food security. A qualitative semi-structured questionnaire was utilised as a part of the observation and interview process. The research was conducted in different communities within the COT municipality. In the study, the participants illustrated an understanding of the various knowledge systems and different agricultural practices available. The analysis of the IKS concept and related concepts (sustainable agriculture and food security) indicated that the combination of both the IKS agricultural methods and modern technology affords the agricultural practitioners the opportunity to enhance the yield of the crop and increase in production which enables the practitioners to meet the current food demand and ensure food security while using sustainable methods. Sharing the IKS and incorporating it with technology and modern agriculture can create a new dynamic, agricultural practice that will benefit both commercial farmers, community or primary farmers, and households with functional gardens. The results of the study further indicated the usage of indigenous farming methods and knowledge to be more prevalent in community-based farming rather than with commercial farmers who uses the practice minimally or combined with modern farming methods. The usage of the IKS requires more time and patience which for commercial farmers do not make business sense as they need to promote their crops and engage in agricultural marketing fast and effectively. Recommendations have been made at the end of the study which include an in-depth study on how to utilise the positive and functional attributes of the IKS into modern farming and commercial agricultural practices. The IKS should be shared with both individuals and the community at large to ensure successful and sustainable results. Masters

Climate change could affect the costs and returns of livestock production by altering the thermal environment of animals thereby affecting animal health, reproduction, and the efficiency by which livestock convert feed into retained products (especially meat and milk). In the United States, concentrated livestock operations are located in a variety of climatic regions, suggesting that the industry could adapt to future changes in temperature and weather patterns resulting from global warming. However, this adaption could be costly. We use nationally representative data on dairy producers coupled with finely-scaled climate data to empirically examine how producers’ costs, returns, and production systems vary across U.S. regions as a function of the local climate.

This research aims to study bioactivity of leaf, inflorescence and branch extracts from Acacia auriculiformis that has been used as forest plantation in Thailand. The extracts were evaluated of antioxidant activities by DPPH scavenging method, branch extract gave the best 50 percent Inhibition Concentration (IC50) at 19.36 mg/ml. To find out total phenolic contents, branch extract had the highest total phenolic contents at 597.22 mg GAE/g extract. Antibacterial studied of extracts against five bacterial strains; Escherichia coli TISTR 780, Staphylococcus aureus TISTR 1466, Micrococcus luteus TISTR 2374, Bacillus cereus TISTR 687 and Xanthomonas campestrispv.campestris TISTR 2065. The result of antibacterial activity using agar well diffusion method was found that all of extracts could not inhibit the growth ofE. coliwhileleaf, inflorescence and branch extract could inhibit the growth ofother four bacterial strains S. aureus, M. luteus B. cereus and X. campestrispv campestris. And MIC studied found thatinflorescence extract used the lowest concentration to inhibit the growth ofS. aureus, M. luteus, B. cereus and X. campestrispv campestris. According to the bioactivities results, branch and inflorescence extracts of A. auriculiformis have potential for remedy aspects to add value of this plant. Proceedings of the 30th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 9-12 May 2022, Online, pp. 1056-1059