A Novel CCA-NMF Whitening Method for Practical Machine Learning Based Underwater Direction of Arrival Estimation

Underwater direction of arrival(DOA)estimation has always been a very challenging theoretical and practical problem.Due to the serious non-stationary,non-linear,and non-Gaussian characteristics,machine learning based DOA estimation methods trained on simulated Gaussian noised array data cannot be directly applied to actual underwater DOA estimation tasks.In order to deal with this problem,environmental data with no target echoes can be employed to analyze the non-Gaussian components.Then,the obtained information about non-Gaussian components can be used to whiten the array data.Based on these considerations,a novel practical sonar array whitening method was proposed.Specifically,based on a weak assumption that the non-Gaussian components in adjacent patches with and without target echoes are almost the same,canonical cor-relation analysis(CCA)and non-negative matrix factorization(NMF)techniques are employed for whitening the array data.With the whitened array data,machine learning based DOA estimation models trained on simulated Gaussian noised datasets can be used to perform underwater DOA estimation tasks.Experimental results illustrated that,using actual underwater datasets for testing with known machine learning based DOA estimation models,accurate and robust DOA estimation performance can be achieved by using the proposed whitening method in different underwater con-ditions.

CCA Inferred Environmental Implications of Common Ostracods on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

103 surface sediment samples in 71 water bodies, such as lakes with different salinity, swamps, shallow puddles and rivers on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau （QTP）, were collected to study the ecological distribution of living ostracods and their environmental implications. Total of 12 genus and 45 species living ostracods are identified. According to the frequencies and abundance of ostracods occurrence, Limnocythere dubiosa, Limnocytherellina kunlunensis, llyocypris bradyi, Candona candida, Eucypris rischtanica and Leucocythere dilatata are the common species on the QTP, with occurrence frequency of more than 8 and abundance of more than 570 in the 71 water bodies. Among them, L. dubiosa, occurring in 28 water bodies with 2177 shells, is the most widely distributed ostracod in this research. Canonical Correspondence Analysis （CCA） indicates high correlation between species and environmental variables, suggesting that the occurrence of species is strongly related to the changes in ecological conditions of habitats. Among eight environmental factors, salinity and pH value are the most affective variables that influence the species occurrence. L. kunlunensis is positively correlated with salinity while E. rischtanica is negatively correlated with salinity. C. candida has a positive correlation with salinity, as does I. bradyi although there is not such a strong correlation. L. dubiosa displays a positive correlation with pH value. Consequently, we discuss the environmental implications of the common living ostracods on the QTP based on the CCA as well as the distribution of ostracod species in different salinity and pH values water. L. dubiosa, L. kunlunensis and E. rischtanica are euryhaline species, among which, L. dubiosa is the most adaptable species on the QTP with large occurrence in sundry salinity water and the most widely adaptive range for pH values. L. kunlunensis prefers to saline water while E. rischtanica prefers to fresh water. Both L. kunlunensis and E. rischtanica can live in water from faintly acid to alkaline, in contrast, L. dubiosa only appears in neutral and alkaline water bodies. L bradyi only occurs in fresh water and oligohaline water with a large pH tolerance range tolerance range from weakly acidic water to alkaline water weakly acidic water to alkaline water. C. Candida lives in freshwater, with pH value above eight. The six common species reach maximum abundance in alkaline water （pH 8-10） except for llyocypris bradyi.

Floristic composition and ecological gradient analyses of the Liakot Forests in the Kalam region of District Swat,Pakistan

Kalam Kohistan is a dry,temperate hilly region in the Hindu Raj Series of the Greater Hindu Kush Mountains with diverse forests.As plant distribution and composition is expression of a range of various environmental variables,ecological and floristic attributes of vegetation in the Laikot Forests were therefore evaluated via consecutive explorative trips.These forests have not been evaluated ecologically before due to harsh climatic conditions and issues of accessibility and the study in hand is one of the first in its nature.Quantitative ecological techniques were used to sample forest vegetation and identify species in quadrats of 2 m×2 m for herbs,5 m×5 m for shrubs and 10 m×10 m for trees.All the data of 195 plant species and environmental factors were analyzed via Two-way Cluster Analysis and Canonical Correspondence Analysis using PCORD and CANOCO software.Among 195 plant species from 63 families were 27 species of Asteraceae,the most-speciose family,followed by Poaceae(20 spp.).The dominant life form was therophyte(86 spp.;44%share),followed by phanerophyte(41 spp.;21%share).For the leaf size spectrum,most prevalent was nanophyll(73 spp.;44%)followed by microphyll(66 spp.,34%)and mesophyll(44 spp.;23%).Calcium carbonate,pH,potassium,sand,silt,organic matter,slope aspect and grazing significantly influenced species composition,distribution and habitat.The floristic variation in the region was diverse due to elevational and aspect gradients and thus devided into three zones.This vegetation zonation can be utilized for forest management,species and habitat conservation.Both in situ and ex situ conservation of threatened plant species may improve their conservation status in future if address properly.

Environmental and Management Factors That Influence Commelina Species in Selected Agro-Ecological Zones in Western Kenya

Commelina species are plant resources full of promise as future food and feed that thrive in diverse ecosystems. They are medicinal plants, leafy vegetables, forage for ruminants, feed for cricket insects, crop protection, and fuel. However, information regarding factors driving Commelina in agro-ecological zones in Western Kenya is lacking. Therefore, we investigated the diversity of Commelina species, the composition of associated weed species as well as environmental and management factors affecting their diversity and distribution based on 22 variables from 12 production sites. In the survey, 115 species belonging to 30 families were recorded of which 11 Commelina species were identified. Among Commelina species, Commelina diffusa and Commelina benghalensis var. benghalensis (non-hybrid variant) had higher relative density. Multiple linear regressions revealed that the environment (exchangeable sodium percentage, magnesium, soil pH, and total nitrogen) and management (agriculture system type) variables exert a stronger effect on the diversity of Commelina species. Detrended Correspondence Analysis detected different ecological conditions for Commelina species and the composition of associated weed species. The forward selection based on Canonical Correspondence Analysis indicated that the distribution of Commelina species responded significantly to soil pH, available phosphorous, total nitrogen, fertility, and crop spacing. Partitioning variation showed the great importance to the environment than management (10.57% versus 5.97%). The low shared variance (environment × management) was -0.4%, indicating that the two factors have a more individualistic than interactive nature. However, the 83.86% that remained unexplained was attributed to stochastic variation or unmeasured variables. This study suggests that the identified five important variables affecting the distribution of Commelina species will certainly contribute to the prioritization of ecological aspects leading to the growth condition of Commelina species.

Effects of Different Land Cover Types on Soil Microbial Biomass Carbon and Nitrogen in the Lower Reaches of Niyang River

[Objectives]To comprehensively and deeply explore the effects of different land cover types in the lower reaches of Niyang River on soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen,and to provide a scientific basis for the rational use and sustainable management of land resources in this area.[Methods]Taking the 3 types of land cover(cultivated land,grass land and forest land)in the lower reaches of Niyang River in Tibet as the research object,the contents,distribution characteristics and relationships of soil organic carbon,organic nitrogen,microbial biomass carbon,microbial biomass nitrogen and readily oxidizable organic carbon,and their relationships were studied in 0-10,10-20,20-40,40-60,and 60-100 cm soil depth.[Results]The soil organic carbon content of forest land was higher than that of grass land and cultivated land;the vertical change trend of soil organic carbon content decreased with the increase of depth(P<0.05),and it was mainly concentrated in the soil with a depth of 0-20 cm.The soil organic carbon content was significantly different among forest land,grass land and cultivated land(P<0.05),but there was no significant difference between cultivated land and grass land(P>0.05).The soil organic nitrogen content was significantly different among cultivated land,grass land,and forest land(P<0.05),but there was no significant difference between grass land and forest land(P>0.05).The readily oxidizable organic carbon,microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in forest land were higher than that in cultivated land and grass land.The change trend of soil readily oxidizable organic carbon,microbial biomass carbon and microbial biomass nitrogen was similar to the change of soil organic carbon content,showing a significant positive correlation.In addition to being subject to land cover,soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen content were also subject to the interaction of factors such as soil temperature,humidity,pH and vegetation types.[Conclusions]Changes in land cover significantly affect soil organic carbon and nitrogen,readily oxidizable organic carbon,microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen content.

Multivariate Analysis, Description, and Ecological Interpretation of Weed Vegetation in the Summer Crop Fields of Anhui Province, China

Two surveys were conducted to investigate weed vegetation in a 153-hm^2 sampling area of summer crop fields from Anhui Province, China, through visual scoring of the level of weed infestation compared with summer crops on a seven-class scale. In total, 155 sampling sites were selected in the field based on crops, tillage, rotation systems, geographical regions, and soil types across the province. Data on weed communities and environmental factors were collected and analyzed through principal component analysis （PCA） and canonical correspondence analysis （CCA）, and the output was interpreted ecologically. Results showed that the main factors influencing the structure and distribution of weed communities in summer crop fields were the soil submersion period, latitude, and soil type and pH. The CCA indicated a significant relationship between weed dominance and soil submersion duration, latitude, and soil pH. From the result of the PCA and CCA ordination, the 155 sampling sites could be divided into three groups based on geographic and floristic composition, as well as weed abundance. The southern dry land group, which was characterized by a double-cropping system in the hilly regions of southern and central Anhui Province with a continuous summer crop and an autumn dry land crop, was dominated by Galium aparine Linn. var. tenerum （Gren. et Godr） Robb., Avenafatua L., and Veronica persica Poir. The northern dry land group, which had the same cropping system as the southern dry land group, was dominated by G. aparine var. tenerum, Galium tricorne Stokes, Descurainia sophia （L.） Schur., and Lithospermum arvense L. in the North Anhui Province, China. These two dry land groups could be combined into one large dry land group, in which the Galium weed vegetation type dominated. The third group was the paddy soil group, which was characterized by a continu- ous summer crop and double- or triple-cropping systems of rice, and prevailed in the south and central areas of Anhui Province; Alopecurus aequalis Sobol. was the dominant weed in this group. Other main weeds in this group included Malachium aquaticum （L.） Fries, Stellaria alsine Grimm, Alopecurusjaponicus Steud., and Lapsana apogonoides Maxim. Thus, the weed community distributions in this group were described as the Alopecurus weed vegetation type. The paddy soil group could be divided into two subgroups, one southern and one central paddy soil subgroup. A strategy for integrated weed management is suggested according to the weed distribution pattern. The present study serves as a good example of how a quantitative research method was used to associate a visual estimate of weed infestation with multivariate analyses, such as PCA and CCA, and how this method can be applied to the study of weed vegetation on arable land.

Canonical correlation analysis of hydrological response and soil erosion under moving rainfall

The impacts of rainfall direction on the degree of hydrological response to rainfall properties were investigated using comparative rainfall-runoff experiments on a small-scale slope(4 m×1 m),as well as canonical correlation analysis(CCA).The results of the CCA,based on the observed data showed that,under conditions of both upstream and downstream rainfall movements,the hydrological process can be divided into instantaneous and cumulative responses,for which the driving forces are rainfall intensity and total rainfall,and coupling with splash erosion and wash erosion,respectively.The response of peak runoff(Pr)to intensity-dominated rainfall action appeared to be the most significant,and also runoff(R)to rainfall-dominated action,both for upstream-and downstream-moving conditions.Furthermore,the responses of sediment erosion in downstream-moving condition were more significant than those in upstream-moving condition.This study indicated that a CCA between rainfall and hydrological characteristics is effective for further exploring the rainfall-runoff-erosion mechanism under conditions of moving rainfall,especially for the downstream movement condition.

Climatic Control on Forests and Tree Species Distribution in the Forest Region of Northeast China

North-east （NE） China covers considerable climatic gradients and all major forests types of NE Asia. in the present study, 10 major forest types across the forest region of NE China were sampled to Investigate forest distribution in relation to climate. Canonical correspondence analysis （CCA） revealed that growing season precipitation and energy availability were primary climatic factors for the overall forest pattern of NE China, accounting for 66% of the explanatory power of CCA. Conversely, annual precipitation and winter coldness had minor effects. Generalized additive models revealed that tree species responded to climatic gradients differently and showed three types of response curve： （i） monotonous decline; （ii） monotonous Increase; and （iii） a unimodai pattern. Furthermore, tree species showed remarkable differences in limiting climatic factors for their distribution. The power of climate in explaining species distribution declined significantly with decreasing species dominance, suggesting that the distribution of dominant species was primarily controlled by climate, whereas that of subordinate species was more affected by competition from other species.

Vertical diversity of sediment bacterial communities in two different trophic states of the eutrophic Lake Taihu, China

Vertical diversity of sediment bacterial communities in 2 different trophic states （macrophyte-dominated and algae-dominated） of the large shallow eutrophic Lake Taihu, China, were investigated using denaturing gradient gel electropfioresis （DGGE） and 16S rRNA sequence analysis. Clustering analysis of DGGE profiles showed that different clusters were recognized in different depths of sediment cores in the 2 lake trophic states. Analyses of the bacterial diversity, as estimated by the Shannon index （H＇）, showed that different sediment layers of the macrophyte-dominated state had higher diversity than the algae-dominated state. In addition, bacterial diversity of the sediment in the macrophyte-dominated state changed abruptly throughout the layers, but bacterial diversity of the algae-dominated state decreased gradually with sediment depth. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Proteobacteria was the most abundant phylum in the middle sediment of the 2 lake trophic states. In the macrophyte-dominated state, clone sequences related to Betaproteobacteria （50.0%） were the most abundant, followed by Epsilonproteobacteria （21.1%）, Acidobacteria （7.9%）, Deltaproteobacteria （7.9%）, Chloroflexi （7.9%）, and Bacteroidetes （5.3%）; whereas in the algae-dominated state, sequences affiliated with Betaproteobacteria （84.4%） were predominant, followed by Deltaproteobacteria （12.5%） and Acidobacteria （3.1%）. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that organic matter and pH play key roles in driving the vertical changes of bacterial community composition.

Interaction and independence on methane oxidation of landfill cover soil among three impact factors:water,oxygen and ammonium

To understand the influence patterns and interactions of three important environmental factors,i.e.soil water content,oxygen concentration,and ammonium addition,on methane oxidation,the soils from landfill cover layers were incubated under full factorial parameter settings.In addition to the methane oxidation rate,the quantities and community structures of methanotrophs were analyzed to determine the methane oxidation capacity of the soils.Canonical correspondence analysis was utilized to distinguish the important impact factors.Water content was found to be the most important factor influencing the methane oxidation rate and Type II methanotrophs,and the optimum value was 15%(w/w),which induced methane oxidation rates 10-and 6-times greater than those observed at 5%(w/w)and 20%(w/w),respectively.Ambient oxygen conditions were more suitable for methane oxidation than 3%oxygen.The addition of 100 mg-N·kg^(-1) drysoil of ammonium induced different effects on methane oxidation capacity when conducted at low or high water content.With regard to the methanotrophs,Type II was sensitive to the changes of water content,while Type I was influenced by oxygen content.Furthermore,the methanotrophic acidophile,Verrucomicrobia,was detected in soils with a pH of 4.9,which extended their known living environments.

Distribution patterns of plant communities and their associations with environmental soil factors on the eastern shore of Lake Taihu,China

Introduction:Plant communities and soil factors might interact with each other in different temporal and spatial scales,which can influence the patterns and processes of the wetland ecosystem.To get a better understanding of the distribution of plants in wetlands and analyze their associations with environmental soil factors,the structure and types of plant communities in the eastern shore area of Lake Taihu were analyzed by two-way indicator species analysis and canonical correspondence analysis(CCA)ordination.The spatial distribution patterns of vegetation and the main factors affecting the distributions were investigated.Outcomes:Sixty-six sampling sites were selected to obtain vegetation species and soil environmental factor data.Results showed that 22 species from the 66 sites could be divided into seven communities:I:Arundo donax;II:A.donax+Phragmites australis;III:Zizania latifolia+Typha orientalis;IV:P.australis+Alternanthera philoxeroides+Polygonum hydropiper;V:P.australis;VI:P.australis+Humulus scandens;and VII:Erigeron acer+Ipomoea batatas+Rumex acetosa.Plant species and soil factors in the CCA analysis showed that I.batatas,E.acer,Chenopodium album,Polygonum lapathifolium,and Acalypha australis were mainly affected by pH,whereas Echinochloa crus-galli,Setaria viridis,and H.scandens were mainly affected by soil total phosphorus.Mentha canadensis and A.donax were mainly affected by soil conductivity,A.philoxeroides was mainly affected by soil organic matter and,Z.latifolia,Metaplexis japonica and P.hydropiper were mainly affected by available phosphorus.Conclusion:These results indicated that different plants adapted to different soil environmental factors and provided basic information on the diversity of Lake Taihu wetland vegetation.

A STUDY ON VARIABILITY OF SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE IN TROPICAL PACIFIC, INDIAN OCEAN AND RELATED AIR CIRCULATION

Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) was a-dopted in the present paper tostudy the of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) in the tropical Pacific, Indian Ocean and related aircirculation. The results show that on the seasonal time scale, El Nino events can be divided intotwo types: the east one and the middle one. For the middle type the SST variations appear contrarilyin the tropical Pacific and Indian O-cean, and the anomalous SST decreases in the east butincreases in the northwest and south-middle of the tropical Indian O-cean, specially in the east ofMadagascar Island. And vice versa. On annual time scale, when the Asian continent high gets strongerand the deepened Aleutian low shifts southeastward, both of them trigger an onset of the El Ninoevents. Contrarily, the La Nina events take place. On decadal time scale, there are two basic modesof air-sea system over the tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean. Firstly, when the Asian continent highgets stronger and deepened Aleutian low shifts southeastward, the anomalous SST increases in themiddle and east of the proical Pacific, extending to the subtropical regions, and so in most of thetropical Indian Ocean, specially in the northeast of Madagascar Island and nearby. And vice versa.Secondly, when the Asian continent high gets stronger in the north and the Aleutian low decreasesfixedly or even disappears, the anomalous SST decreases slightly in middle of the tropical Pacificand the temperate northern Pacific but increases weakly in other regions, the anomalous SSTincreases in the south but decreases in the north of the tropical Indian O-cean, and the SSTincreases more obviously in southeast of Madagascar Island. And vice versa. The linear trends ofglob- al warming seems to play a certain role for the El Nino onsets.

A METHOD FOR PREDICTING SHORT-AND MID-RANGE TURNING AND ACCELERATION MOTION TREND OF TROPICAL CYCLONES OVER THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

An approach is proposed for predicting turning and acceleration motion trend of the tropical cyclones over the South China Sea for 72 h in the extrapolated track coordinates.Cross-track (CT)and along-track(AT)components are defined according to the persistently extrapolated track coodinates based on observed positions at the initial and past 24 h times.A kind of straight- forward measure may be provided with CT and AT components for typhoon turning motion and ac- celeration motion.Canonical correlation analysis(CCA)is performed to reveal the correlaotions be- tween tropical cyclone tracks and environmental 500 hPa geopotential height fields.A stepwise dis- criminate analysis technique is adopted to derive the classification functions of the respective three categories for AT and CT components.Especially,categorical combinations of CT and AT compo- nents are divided into possible 9 regions corresponding with tropical cyclone behaviors.Not only can 9 motion trends of a tropical cyclone be predicted,but also the location and its maximum error at least in certain direction are available.The perfect prediction(PP)verifications indicate that the percent corrects for the CT and AT categories are 67% and 69% in the independent samples,73% and 53% in the dependent samples,respectively,higher than that of 33.3% for random chance; moreover,the rate for successfully forecasting that in which one of the nine regions the tropical cy- clones will fall at 72 h is about 40%,also higher than the stochastic probability of 11%.The method has been proved to be skillful and promising.