A phenology-based vegetation index for improving ratoon rice mapping using harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 data

Ratoon rice,which refers to a second harvest of rice obtained from the regenerated tillers originating from the stubble of the first harvested crop,plays an important role in both food security and agroecology while requiring minimal agricultural inputs.However,accurately identifying ratoon rice crops is challenging due to the similarity of its spectral features with other rice cropping systems(e.g.,double rice).Moreover,images with a high spatiotemporal resolution are essential since ratoon rice is generally cultivated in fragmented croplands within regions that frequently exhibit cloudy and rainy weather.In this study,taking Qichun County in Hubei Province,China as an example,we developed a new phenology-based ratoon rice vegetation index(PRVI)for the purpose of ratoon rice mapping at a 30 m spatial resolution using a robust time series generated from Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2(HLS)images.The PRVI that incorporated the red,near-infrared,and shortwave infrared 1 bands was developed based on the analysis of spectro-phenological separability and feature selection.Based on actual field samples,the performance of the PRVI for ratoon rice mapping was carefully evaluated by comparing it to several vegetation indices,including normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI),enhanced vegetation index(EVI)and land surface water index(LSWI).The results suggested that the PRVI could sufficiently capture the specific characteristics of ratoon rice,leading to a favorable separability between ratoon rice and other land cover types.Furthermore,the PRVI showed the best performance for identifying ratoon rice in the phenological phases characterized by grain filling and harvesting to tillering of the ratoon crop(GHS-TS2),indicating that only several images are required to obtain an accurate ratoon rice map.Finally,the PRVI performed better than NDVI,EVI,LSWI and their combination at the GHS-TS2 stages,with producer's accuracy and user's accuracy of 92.22 and 89.30%,respectively.These results demonstrate that the proposed PRVI based on HLS data can effectively identify ratoon rice in fragmented croplands at crucial phenological stages,which is promising for identifying the earliest timing of ratoon rice planting and can provide a fundamental dataset for crop management activities.

Study on Fruit Quality, Phenological Phases and Shoot Histomorphology of a New Bud Mutant Line, ‘Chuanzao Loquat’

[Objective] This study was to explore the growth characteristics and fruit quality of a new bud mutant line, ＇Chuanzao Loquat＇. [Method] Paraffin section technique combined with field investigation method were adopted to conduct com- parative analysis of shoot histomorphology and phenological phases between two Io- quat varieties, ＇Chuanzao Loquat＇ and ＇Zaozhong 6＇. [Result] ＇Chuanzao Loquat＇ branched out and unfolded leaves about half to a month earlier than ＇Zaozhong 6＇; both the flowering and fruiting phases of ＇Chuanzao Loquat＇ were three months earlier than a precocious variety, ＇Zaozhong 6＇; the proportions of epidermis, cortex parenchyma, vascular tissue and medulla were 3.7%, 14.5%, 15.9% and 65.9%, re- spectively, in spdng shoots of ＇Chuanzao Loquat＇, and 3.1%, 42.5%, 6.9% and 47.5%, respectively, in ＇Zaozhong 6＇. [Conclusion] In terms of phenological phases, ＇Chuanzao Loqua＇ is earlier than ＇Zaozhong 6＇, a currently widely planted precocious variety, and thus is an important germplasm resource of Ioquats.

Study on Phenological Character in Seedling Period of Introduced Populus deltoids Clones

In order to provide directionally genetically improved breeding materials of poplar by exploring the phenological traits genetic variation level and its develop- ment potential of Populus deltoides and the resource evaluation was carried out; 8 phenological phases in seedling period were observed and analyzed of 60 Populus deltoids clones introduced from America. The results showed that： （1） there was obvious difference in phonological character among clones, especially in leaf-spread- ing peak stage and the end term of leaf-falling stage, with the largest variation co- efficient of 14.97% and the minimum of 3.83% respectively. （2） Leaf-spreading peak stage scattered but the end term of leaf-falling stage concentrated the most. The phonological character in early stage of seedling growth was the main factor influ- encing the length of growing season. （3） By principal component analysis, pheno- logical phases were classified into 3 typical periods, including germination stage, leaf-spreading peak stage and leaf-falling stage. （4） Totaling 60 clones were classi- fied into 4 types by using clustering analysis in phenological time variables of clones.

Contribution of Root Respiration to Total Soil Respiration in a Cotton Field of Northwest China

To measure the contribution of root respiration (Rr) to total soil respiration (Rt) in arid cotton fields, eighteen plots, nine for girdling and nine control, were built in an arid cotton field in the Aksu National Experimental Station of Oasis Farmland Ecosystem, Xinjiang of China. Given the difference of soil respiration between girdled plots and non-girdled control plots, the components of soil respiration, root respiration (Rr) and respiration originating from decomposition (Rd) were divided. The temperature sensitivities of R r and R d were analyzed, respectively. The results showed that the average contribution of R r to R t in arid cotton field was about 32% during the study period. The temperature-response curve of R r differed from that of Rd . The dynamic variation of R d was more related to the change of soil temperature as compared to Rr . Rr and Rd had different responses to the variation of environment, and thus new models capable of differentiating between Rr and Rd are needed for evaluating the different factors controlling these two components of soil respiration in arid cotton field.