Investigation on Physiological Status of Regional Vegetation Using Pushbroom Hyperspectral Imager Data

To extract vegetation pigment concentration and physiological status has been studied in two test areas covered with swamp and flourish vegetation using pushbroom hyperspectral imager (PHI) data which flied in September of 2000 at Daxing'anling district of Heilongjiang Province, China. The ratio analysis of reflectance spectra (RARS) indices, which were put forward by Chappelle et al (1992), are chosen in this paper owing to their effect and simpleness against both comparison with various methods and techniques for exploration of pigment concentration and characteristics of PHI data. The correlation coefficients between RARS indices and pigment concentration of vegetation were up to 0.8. The new RARS indices modes are established in the two test areas using both PHI data and spectra of different vegetations measured in the field. The indices' parameter images of chlorophyll a (Chl a), chlorophyll b (Chl b) and carotenoids (Cars) of the test areas covered with swamp and flourish vegetation are acquired by the new RARS indices modes. Furthermore, the regional concentration of Chl a and Chl b are extracted and quantified using regression equations between RARS indices and pigment concentrations, which were built by Blackburn (1998). The results showed the physiological status and variety clearly, and are in good agreement with the distribution of vegetation in the field.

Chlorophyll, anthocyanin, and gas exchange changes assessed by spectroradiometry in Fragaria chiloensis under salt stress

Chlorophyll and anthocyanin contents provide a valuable indicator of the status of a plant’s physiology, but to be more widely utilized it needs to be assessed easily and non‐destructively. This is particularly evident in terms of assessing and exploiting germplasm for plant‐breeding programs. We report, for the first time, experiments with Fragaria chiloensis（L.）Duch. and the estimation of the effects of response to salinity stress（0, 30, and 60 mmol NaCl/L） in terms of these pigments content and gas exchange. It is shown that both pigments（which interestingly, themselves show a high correlation） give a good indication of stress response. Both pigments can be accurately predicted using spectral reflectance indices（SRI）;however, the accuracy of the predictions was slightly improved using multilinear regression analysis models and genetic algorithm analysis. Specifically for chlorophyll content, unlike other species, the use of published SRI gave better indications ofstress response than Normalized Difference Vegetation Index.The effect of salt on gas exchange is only evident at the highest concentration and some SRI gave better prediction performance than the known Photochemical Reflectance Index. This information will therefore be useful for identifying tolerant genotypes to salt stress for incorporation in breeding programs.

The effect of different deformation mechanisms on the chemical structure of anthracite coals

To study the effect of different deformation mechanisms on the chemical structure of anthracite coals and further understand the correlation between changed chemical structures and coal and gas outburst, ten groups of sub-high-temperature and sub-high-pressure deformation experiments were performed. All samples maintained primary structure, which were collected from the Qudi Mine in the southern Qinshui Basin of China. The samples were analyzed by ultimate analysis, Vitrinite Reflection(VR), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy both before and after deformation experiments for contrasting. The results showed that the VR values of all samples after experiments were significantly higher than before experiments, which suggested that the metamorphism degree of anthracite coals was increased by deformation. The results also indicated that both temperature and strain rate had significant effects on the chemical structure of anthracite coals. At a high strain rate of 4×10?5 s?1, the deformation of the samples was mainly brittle in which the mechanical energy was transformed mainly into frictional energy. In this situation, all samples developed several distinct fractured surfaces and the change of chemical structures was not obvious. On the contrary, with the decrease of the strain rates, the ductile deformation was dominated and the mechanical energy was mainly transformed into strain energy, resulting in the accumulation of deformation energy confessed by increasing quantity of dislocation and creep in the coal's interior nucleus. The absorption in the aromatic ring groups increased; otherwise the absorption in the aliphatic structures and ether oxygen groups decreased rapidly. During these experiments, CO was collected from two experimental samples. The number of aromatic rings and the structure defects within the two generated gas samples increased and the degree of molecular structure orders decreased.

Early detection of tomato bacterial canker by reflectance indices

Early detection of infected asymptomatic plants could prevent the dissemination of tomatobacterial canker throughout the crop and, thus, reduce associated economic losses. Reflectance spectroscopy has been proposed for the detection of diseases in plants, mainlycaused by foliar fungal pathogens. In contrast, bacterial canker is a vascular disease thatdoes not produce visible foliar symptoms until it is too late to avoid contagion to otherplants. The effects of the disease on the conductivity of the xylem have an impact onthe water content of the leaves;initially, a subtle effect that cannot be assessed with thenaked eye but can be evaluated by reflectance spectroscopy. The objective of this workwas to identify indices, based on the reflectance spectral signature of the plants, for thedetection of tomato plants affected by bacterial canker prior to the appearance of symptoms. To verify that the proposed methodology is applicable to a broad range of tomatogenotypes, two experiments were carried out with different tomato cultivars grown in potsand another on the ground in a greenhouse. Plants were inoculated with the pathogenicbacteria and the reflectance spectrum of the apical leaflet of two leaves per plant wereobtained before symptoms expression;several spectral indices were calculated from thereflectance spectra. Three indices, of the shortwave-infrared zone, allowed the detectionof bacterial canker inoculated plants in a fast and non-destructive way, up to one weekbefore symptoms were visible: Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Simple Ratioof Water Index (SRWI) and Water Index 1 180 (WI1180). Our research demonstrates, forthe first time, the usefulness of spectral indices sensitive to water content for the identifi-cation of diseased plants. These indices arise as a promising tool for the early detection ofvascular plant diseases, that could be integrated into sustainable management plans.

Measurement of the wavelength modulation indices with selective reflection spectroscopy

The wavelength modulation indices are measured based on harmonic amplitude ratio of 4famp/6famp (4famp and 6famp are the 4- and 6-th harmonic central peak amplitudes correspondingly) with the Doppler-free selective reflection modulation spectroscopy. The experiments for the 6S1/2(F = 4) → 6P3/2(F' = 5) transition of cesium D2 line with 30-MHz linewidth were carried out. The 4f- and 6f-harmonic signals were detected with two digital lock-in amplifiers separately. The maximum error for modulation indices measurement was ±0.1 within the range of m from 3 to 6. The non-linear modulation behaviour of an external cavity diode laser induced by voltage tuning was studied with this method. The method for modulation indices measurement does not require a solid etalon as usual for measuring the wavelength modulation depth and the absorption linewidth correspondingly.