Target acquisition performance in the presence of JPEG image compression

This paper presents an investigation on the effect of JPEG compression on the similarity between the target image and the background,where the similarity is further used to determine the degree of clutter in the image.Four new clutter metrics based on image quality assessment are introduced,among which the Haar wavelet-based perceptual similarity index,known as HaarPSI,provides the best target acquisition prediction results.It is shown that the similarity between the target and the background at the boundary between visually lossless and visually lossy compression does not change significantly compared to the case when an uncompressed image is used.In future work,through subjective tests,it is necessary to check whether this presence of compression at the threshold of just noticeable differences will affect the human target acquisition performance.Similarity values are compared with the results of subjective tests of the well-known target Search_2 database,where the degree of agreement between objective and subjective scores,measured through linear correlation,reached a value of 90%.

Organic Carbon Changes Over 40-years in a Haplic Luvisol Type Farmland in Hungary

It is well known the effect of fertilizer applications in Haplic Luvisols after crop production, but long term changes in precipitation and soil organic carbon are not well documented. Study aimed to determine the effect of precipitation and fertilization （NPKCaMg） on the changes in soil organic carbon （SOC） in a long-term field experiment set up in Nyirlugos （Nyirs6g region, Hungary： N： 47°41′60″ and E： 22°2′80″ since 1962） on a Haplic Luvisol. Over the 40 year period, from 1962 to 2002, SOC pool values ranged between 2.32 and 3.36 mg kg-1. On the untreated control plots the values remained nearly constant （3.31 mg kg-1, ± 0.29 mg kg1 and 0.52 mg kg-1）. NPKCaMg fertilization resulted in a significant （P 〈 0.001） decline （16.6%） in SOC in comparison to the control plots in the Ist 20-year interval, while in the 2nd 20-year period a significant （P 〈 0.001） increased （up to 31.9%） was noticed. During the 40 experimental years the seasonal correlations （R2 among SOC （mg kgl）, WHY and SHY precipitation （mm） ranged from 0.3343 to 0.9078 （on the P 〈 0.001 significance level）. The correlations （R2） on the influence of NPKCaMg fertilization on SOC （mg kg-1） and precipitation （mm） were significant （P 〈 0.001）： the means for WHY, SHY and over the 40 years were 0.4691, 0.6171 and 0.6582, respectively. Organic carbon reserves （mg kg-1） in soils decreased linearly as precipitation increased （from 3.22 to 7.27 mm yr-1）. In case this trend-increasing precipitation caused by climate change reduces SOC in arable soils-will continue, and is aggravated by warming temperatures and a more altering climate （as predicted by climate change forecasts）, the livelihoods of many Hungarian and European farmers may be substantially altered.

Web service for biodiversity estimation using remote sensing data

This paper presents a technique for the assessment and mapping of land biodiversity by using remote sensing data.The proposed approach uses a fuzzy model that encapsulates different ecological factors influencing biodiversity.We implemented our approach as a web service for the Pre-Black Sea region of the Ukraine.