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15 pages, 7129 KiB  
Article
Exploration and Empirical Study on Spatial Distribution of SOC at the Core Area in Coastal Tamarix Forests’ Inland Side of Changyi National Marine Ecological Area
by Ruiting Liu, Ping Han, Jin Wang, Huiqian Zong, Xuewan Zhang, Qianxun Chen, Feiyong Chen, Yufeng Du, Zhao Li, Yaohui Liu, Pingjie Fu, Xiaoxiang Cheng and Jingtao Xu
Forests 2025, 16(1), 169; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16010169 - 17 Jan 2025
Viewed by 875
Abstract
The forest soil carbon pool plays a vital role in terrestrial ecosystems, being of great significance for maintaining global balance, regulating the global carbon cycle, and facilitating ecological restoration. Shandong Changyi Marine Ecological Special Protection Area is the only state-level marine special protection [...] Read more.
The forest soil carbon pool plays a vital role in terrestrial ecosystems, being of great significance for maintaining global balance, regulating the global carbon cycle, and facilitating ecological restoration. Shandong Changyi Marine Ecological Special Protection Area is the only state-level marine special protection area in China with tamarisk as the main object of protection, and it is the largest continuous and the best preserved natural tamarisk forest distribution area on the mainland coast of China. Compared to other forested areas, research on the spatial distribution of SOC at the core area in coastal Tamarix forests’ inland side appears to be relatively scarce. Based on this, this paper takes the core area of the Changyi National Marine Ecological Special Protection Zone, located on the southern coast of Laizhou Bay, as the research subject, based on the potassium dichromate oxidation-external heating, one-way ANOVA, and Bonferroni methods, analyzing the spatial distribution of the SOC content inland of coastal Tamarix forests. The research yielded the following conclusions: (1) The surface layer (0–10 cm) contributes significantly to the total SOC content within a 0–60 cm depth, accounting for at least 31% and shows notable surface accumulation. (2) The combined SOC content in the surface and subsurface layers (10–20 cm) accounts for at least 50% of the total SOC content within a 0–60 cm depth, indicating the dominance of these two soil layers in carbon storage. (3) The SOC content decreases with the soil depth at all six sampling points within the 0–60 cm range, with a marked drop from 0–10 cm to 10–20 cm. (4) One-way ANOVA and multiple comparisons reveal that the soil depth significantly affects the SOC distribution, particularly between the surface and 20–30 cm layers (p < 0.001), indicating high robustness and statistical significance. (5) Horizontally, the total SOC at 0 m is 45% lower than at 2 m in the 0–60 cm layer. The SOC in the 0–20 cm layer fluctuates significantly with distance from the shrub trunk, while the SOC in the 30–60 cm layers is low and stable, with minimal variations with depth. In addition, this study found that the SOC content in the core area of the protected area is lower than that in the common forest ecosystem. In the future, scientific ecological restoration projects and management protection methods should be used to improve soil’s carbon storage and carbon sink capacity. These findings not only validate the patterns of SOC’s spatial distribution in coastal Tamarix forest wetlands but also provide a scientific basis for carbon assessment and the formulation of ecological protection measures in coastal wetlands. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing Approach for Early Detection of Forest Disturbance)
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16 pages, 2615 KiB  
Article
Metagenomic Analysis Reveals the Effects of Different Land Use Types on Functional Soil Phosphorus Cycling: A Case Study of the Yellow River Alluvial Plain
by Ming Wen, Yu Liu, Chaoyang Feng and Zhuoqing Li
Microorganisms 2024, 12(11), 2194; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12112194 - 30 Oct 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1705
Abstract
Phosphorus (P) is a crucial limiting nutrient in soil ecosystems, significantly influencing soil fertility and plant productivity. Soil microorganisms adapt to phosphorus deficiency and enhance soil phosphorus effectiveness through various mechanisms, which are notably influenced by land use practices. This study examined the [...] Read more.
Phosphorus (P) is a crucial limiting nutrient in soil ecosystems, significantly influencing soil fertility and plant productivity. Soil microorganisms adapt to phosphorus deficiency and enhance soil phosphorus effectiveness through various mechanisms, which are notably influenced by land use practices. This study examined the impact of different land use types (long-term continuous maize farmland, abandoned evolving grassland, artificial tamarisk forests, artificial ash forests, and wetlands) on soil phosphorus-cycling functional genes within the Tanyang Forest Farm in a typical region of the Yellow River alluvial plain using macro genome sequencing technology. The gene cluster related to inorganic phosphorus solubilization and organic phosphorus mineralization exhibited the highest relative abundance across different land use types (2.24 × 10−3), followed by the gene cluster associated with phosphorus transport and uptake (1.42 × 10−3), with the lowest relative abundance observed for the P-starvation response regulation gene cluster (5.52 × 10−4). Significant differences were found in the physical and chemical properties of the soils and the relative abundance of phosphorus-cycling functional genes among various land use types. The lowest relative abundance of soil phosphorus-cycling functional genes was observed in forestland, with both forestland types showing significantly lower gene abundance compared to wetland, farmland, and grassland. Correlation analysis and redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed a significant relationship between soil physicochemical properties and soil phosphorus-cycling functional genes, with ammonium nitrogen, organic carbon, total nitrogen, and pH being the main environmental factors influencing the abundance of these genes, explaining 70% of the variation in their relative abundance. Our study reveals land use’s impact on soil phosphorus-cycling genes, offering genetic insights into microbial responses to land use changes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Microbial Carbon/Nitrogen/Phosphorus Cycling)
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15 pages, 28330 KiB  
Article
Assessment of the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Suitable Habitats for Typical Halophytic Vegetation in China Based on Maxent Model and Landscape Ecology Theory
by Fuyin Guo, Xiaohuang Liu, Xuehua Chen, Hongyu Li, Zulpiya Mamat, Jiufen Liu, Run Liu, Ran Wang, Liyuan Xing and Junnan Li
Forests 2024, 15(10), 1757; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15101757 - 6 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1609
Abstract
The widespread and complex formation of saline soils in China significantly affects the sustainable development of regional ecosystems. Intense climate changes and regional land use further exacerbate the uncertainties faced by ecosystems in saline areas. Therefore, studying the distribution characteristics of typical halophytic [...] Read more.
The widespread and complex formation of saline soils in China significantly affects the sustainable development of regional ecosystems. Intense climate changes and regional land use further exacerbate the uncertainties faced by ecosystems in saline areas. Therefore, studying the distribution characteristics of typical halophytic vegetation under the influence of climate change and human activities, and exploring their potential distribution areas, is crucial for maintaining ecological security in saline regions. This study focuses on Tamarix chinensis, Tamarix austromongolica, and Tamarix leptostachya, integrating geographic information systems, remote sensing, species distribution models, and landscape ecological risk (LER) theories and technologies. An optimized MaxEnt model was established using the ENMeval package, incorporating 143, 173, and 213 distribution records and 13 selected environmental variables to simulate the potential suitable habitats of these three Tamarix species. A quantitative assessment of the spatial characteristics and the area of their potential geographical distribution was conducted. Additionally, a landscape ecological risk assessment (LERA) of the highly suitable habitats of these three Tamarix species was performed using land use data from 1980 to 2020, and the results of the LERA were quantified using the Landscape Risk Index (LERI). The results showed that the suitable areas of Tamarix chinensis, Tamarix austromongolica, and Tamarix leptostachya were 9.09 × 105 km2, 6.03 × 105 km2, and 5.20 × 105 km2, respectively, and that the highly suitable habitats for the three species were concentrated in flat areas such as plains and basins. Tamarix austromongolica faced increasing ecological risk in 27.22% of its highly suitable habitat, concentrated in the northern region, followed by Tamarix chinensis in 16.70% of its area with increasing ecological risk, concentrated in the western and northern highly suitable habitats; Tamarix chinensis was the least affected, with an increase in ecological risk in only 1.38% of its area. This study provides valuable insights for the protection of halophytic vegetation, represented by Tamarix, in the context of China’s national land development. Full article
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13 pages, 4351 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Land-Use/Cover-Type Extraction Results of Tamarix Shrub Forest of China Based on Remote Sensing Technology
by Jin Wang, Ruiting Liu, Yanhua Zhang, Xiaoxiang Cheng, Jingtao Xu, Yaohui Liu and Feiyong Chen
Forests 2024, 15(7), 1179; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15071179 - 6 Jul 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1156
Abstract
The endmember spectrum method can improve image classification quality based on the spectral features of pure pixels in remote sensing images. The CART (Classification and Regression Tree) is a powerful machine learning algorithm that can also be used for remote sensing image classification. [...] Read more.
The endmember spectrum method can improve image classification quality based on the spectral features of pure pixels in remote sensing images. The CART (Classification and Regression Tree) is a powerful machine learning algorithm that can also be used for remote sensing image classification. In this study, the Tamarix chinensis forest in the Changyi National Marine Ecological Special Reserve in Shandong Province was taken as the research object, and the endmember spectrum method and the CART decision tree method were used to compare and analyze the results of land-use/cover-type classification extraction. In the extraction process, the land use/cover types of the Tamarix forest in the study area were first divided into forested land types such as high-density forest land, medium-density forest land, and low-density forest land, as well as non-forested land types such as water bodies, roads, dams, buildings, and bare soil. Through analysis, the following conclusions could be drawn: while the overall forest cover of the Tamarix forest is high, there is still some room for further afforestation and ecological restoration in the protection area; from the results of land-use/cover extraction results based on the endmember spectrum method in the study area, it can be seen that this method has better results when extracting well-grown forested land, such as high-density Tamarix chinensis forests and medium-density Tamarix chinensis forests, and poorer results when extracting non-forested land, such as low-density tamarisk forests, roads, buildings, dams, and water bodies; from the results of land use/cover extraction based on a CART decision tree in the study area, it can be seen that this method is more effective when extracting non-forested land, such as roads, buildings, dams, and water bodies, but less effective when extracting forested land, such as high-density Tamarix chinensis forests, medium-density Tamarix chinensis forests, and low-density Tamarix chinensis forests. The relevant research results and conclusions of this study can provide some reference for the classification and extraction of large-scale shrub forest cover types based on remote sensing images. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Forest Inventory, Modeling and Remote Sensing)
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11 pages, 4538 KiB  
Article
Multilocus Gene Analyses Indicate Tamarix aphylla as Reservoir Host of Diverse Phytoplasmas Associated with Witches’ Broom and Yellowing Symptomatology
by Seyyed Alireza Esmaeilzadeh-Hosseini, Ghobad Babaei, Francesco Pacini and Assunta Bertaccini
Plants 2024, 13(9), 1248; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13091248 - 30 Apr 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1566
Abstract
Tamarisk witches’ broom, yellowing, and little leaf symptoms were observed during 2018–2023 surveys of rural deserts in central regions of Iran with the highest disease incidence up to 72% in Chah Afzal (Yazd province). A verification of the presence and identity of phytoplasmas [...] Read more.
Tamarisk witches’ broom, yellowing, and little leaf symptoms were observed during 2018–2023 surveys of rural deserts in central regions of Iran with the highest disease incidence up to 72% in Chah Afzal (Yazd province). A verification of the presence and identity of phytoplasmas associated with these symptoms was then performed. Tamarisk tree branch cuttings obtained from symptomatic plants sprouted up to 90.3% but with 15–25 days’ delay compared to the asymptomatic ones and showed internode shortening and witches’ broom, while the branch cuttings from asymptomatic plants had normal growth and sprouted up to 97.8%. Phytoplasma transmission by dodder bridges to periwinkle did not succeed, while nested polymerase chain reaction on the phytoplasma ribosomal gene followed by RFLP and phylogenetic analyses revealed the presence of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’, ‘Ca. P. australasiae=australasiaticum’, and ‘Ca. P. trifolii’ (ribosomal subgroups 16SrI-B, 16SrII-D, and 16SrVI-A, respectively) in the samples from symptomatic plants only. Further amplifications were performed on selected phytoplasma-positive samples on tuf and secA genes, and the produced sequences indicated the presence of mixed phytoplasma infection in some of the samples. In particular, in the tuf gene, a mixed infection of ‘Ca. P. australasiae=australasiaticum’ and ‘Ca. P. trifolii’ was detected, while in the secA gene, the presence of ‘Ca. P. asteris’ or ‘Ca. P. tritici’ strains was identified. The first-time detection of diverse phytoplasma strains in symptomatic T. aphylla suggests that this species represent a relevant source of infection for the agricultural crops and for landscape plants especially when temperature allows insect vector transmission, and therefore, it represents a risk in every environment especially in the frame of climatic changes. Full article
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23 pages, 11660 KiB  
Article
Confocal Microscopy and Molecular Analyses Reveal Anal Secretory Apparatus in Immatures and Recover Transcontinental Clade of Gall Mites (Eriophyoidea) from Tamarisks
by Philipp E. Chetverikov, Nompumelelo P. Ngubane-Ndhlovu, Sivu Situngu, Ashraf Elhalawany and James Amrine
Forests 2024, 15(4), 715; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15040715 - 18 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1619
Abstract
Tamarisk is an invasive evergreen shrub native to arid regions of Africa and Eurasia and is considered a weed in some countries with dry climates. The complex of gall mites from tamarisks includes fourteen species from four genera of the family Eriophyidae. We [...] Read more.
Tamarisk is an invasive evergreen shrub native to arid regions of Africa and Eurasia and is considered a weed in some countries with dry climates. The complex of gall mites from tamarisks includes fourteen species from four genera of the family Eriophyidae. We reinvestigated the type species of the genus Dicruvasates, D. tamaricis from Egypt, described D. ngubani n. sp. from Tamarix usneoides from South Africa, and revised the generic concept of Dicruvasates. This genus possesses cuticular plates marking longitudinal opisthosomal ridges typical of various phyllocoptine genera, e.g., Echinacrus. We sequenced three genes of Dicruvasates and Phyllocoptes mites from Tamarix and Echinacrus from Frangula, combined our sequences with the data from GenBank, and performed single-gene phylogenetic analyses. All analyses inferred the following: (1) a transcontinental clade Tam comprising Dicruvasates + Aceria + Phyllocoptes from Tamarix; (2) Echinacrus distantly related to Dicruvasates, suggesting the homoplastic nature of the cuticular plates on the opisthosomal ridges, and (3) polyphyly of the genera Aceria and Phyllocoptes. We also investigated partially cleared specimens of Dicruvasates under CLSM and, for the first time, visualized a well-developed anal secretory apparatus (ASA) in the immatures of gall mites, which was previously shown to be a specialized system evolved in Eriophyoidea for silk production. We hypothesize that the ASA contributes to finding nymphs by conspecific males and advocate for the importance of the future molecular biology studies of gall mite silk for developing new methods for controlling mites based on the knowledge of their ecology, behavior, and silk gene genetics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Forest Health)
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19 pages, 4085 KiB  
Article
An Experimental Investigation of the Precipitation Utilization of Plants in Arid Regions
by Wei Feng, Xiaoxu Ma, Zixuan Yuan, Wei Li, Yujie Yan and Wenbin Yang
Plants 2024, 13(5), 594; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13050594 - 22 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1256
Abstract
What represents a water source for the ecological restoration of a plant in an arid region is still up to debate. To address this issue, we conducted an in situ experiment in the Ulan Buh Desert of China, to study desert plants absorbing [...] Read more.
What represents a water source for the ecological restoration of a plant in an arid region is still up to debate. To address this issue, we conducted an in situ experiment in the Ulan Buh Desert of China, to study desert plants absorbing atmospheric water vapor. We selected Tamarisk, a common drought-salt-tolerant species in the desert, for ecological restoration as our research subject, used a newly designed lysimeter to monitor precipitation infiltration, and a sap flow system to track reverse sap flow that occurred in the shoot, branch, and stem during the precipitation event, and observed the precipitation redistribution process of the Tamarisk plot. The results showed that Tamarisk indeed directly absorbs precipitation water: when precipitation occurs, the main stem, lateral branch, and shoot all show the signs of reversed sap flow, and the reversed sap flow accounted for 21.5% of the annual sap flow in the shoot and branch, and 13.6% in the stem. The precipitation event in the desert was dominated by light precipitation events, which accounted for 81% of the annual precipitation events. It was found that light precipitation can be directly absorbed by the Tamarisk leaves, especially during nighttime or cloudy days. Even when the precipitation is absent, it was found that desert plants can still absorb water from the unsaturated atmospheric vapor; even the absorbed atmospheric water vapor was transported from the leaves to the stem, forming a reversed sap flow, as a reversed sap flow was observed when the atmospheric relative humidity reached 75%. This study indicated that the effect of light precipitation on desert plants was significant and should not be overlooked in terms of managing the ecological and hydrological systems in arid regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Processes and Sandy Plant Adaptations to Climate Change)
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20 pages, 4405 KiB  
Article
Inducing Evapotranspiration Reduction in an Engineered Natural System to Manage Saltcedar in Riparian Areas of Arid Environments
by Juan C. Solis, A. Salim Bawazir, Brent F. Tanzy, Richard G. Luthy and Soyoung Jeon
Water 2024, 16(1), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16010053 - 22 Dec 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1878
Abstract
Many management practices have been implemented to control non-native saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) in the Southwestern U.S. riparian areas. These management practices include herbicide application, mechanical and biological control. Despite these methods have had some success, they are not cost-efficient and some cases [...] Read more.
Many management practices have been implemented to control non-native saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) in the Southwestern U.S. riparian areas. These management practices include herbicide application, mechanical and biological control. Despite these methods have had some success, they are not cost-efficient and some cases not easy to apply and can create environmental harm. In this study, we use a different approach where the mowing of saltcedar is timed according to the trend of evapotranspiration (ET) rates. The approach suppresses saltcedar growth, reduces ET loss, allows native vegetation to flourish, and eventually creates a healthy and diverse plant community in riparian areas. In an experimental study from 2010–2013, saltcedar was managed by mowing in a managed riparian area in New Mexico, USA. The timing of mowing was based on the observation of ET rates which were measured using the eddy covariance method. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was calculated using Landsat imagery to observe any changes in vegetation of saltcedar before and after mowing and its correlation with ET. During the four years of measurement, it was observed that the timing of mowing led to a suppression of saltcedar, allowing the undergrowth of low water-consuming native grasses and other shrubs to thrive. Nonlinear mixed effects models of years of evapotranspiration during the season showed a significant reduction in ET in 2013 compared to the baseline year of 2010 across the growing stages, especially stage 2 (intercept of −2.0871 with p < 0.001). A reduction in ET of 32% from 1209 mm to 818 mm (difference of 391 mm) was observed between 2010 and 2013. This study showed that the best time to suppress saltcedar and allow native plants to reestablish, is to mow it before it breaks dormancy, at the peak and late parts of the growing season. Mowing can be discontinued once the native plants have been established. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Hydrology)
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15 pages, 22796 KiB  
Article
Spatial and Temporal Changes of Typical Vegetation in the Yellow River Delta Based on Zhuhai-1 Hyperspectral Data
by Junyi Jiang, Hao Tian, Pingjie Fu, Fei Meng and Hongju Tong
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(23), 12614; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132312614 - 23 Nov 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1315
Abstract
The Yellow River Delta wetland boasts a diverse range of vegetation species and harbors an ecosystem that is both sensitive and fragile, so it is of great practical significance to accurately extract the vegetation information and analyze the spatial and temporal changes of [...] Read more.
The Yellow River Delta wetland boasts a diverse range of vegetation species and harbors an ecosystem that is both sensitive and fragile, so it is of great practical significance to accurately extract the vegetation information and analyze the spatial and temporal changes of this region. Based on the hyperspectral image data of Zhuhai-1, this study selected the characteristic bands through the continuum removal method. It combined these spectral attributes with index-based characteristics, utilizing the random forest algorithm to classify prevalent vegetation types while subjecting the outcomes to thorough analysis. It was shown that (1) when integrating spectral features, red edge indices, water indices, and vegetation indices to classify five distinct vegetation types in the Yellow River Delta during 2020 and 2022, the random forest classification algorithm showed higher classification accuracy, and the study achieved commendable overall classification accuracy rates and Kappa coefficients of 85.92% and 0.84, and 86.25% and 0.84, respectively. (2) In 2020 and 2022, the distribution of vegetation in the Yellow River Delta exhibited the following order: Suaeda glauca > Phragmites > Spartina alterniflora > Tamarisk > Typha orientalis Presl. With the exception of Spartina alterniflora, all categories of vegetation witnessed an increase in their distribution areas. Phragmites experienced the most significant growth, with an area expansion of 9.42%. (3) The ecological restoration and management measures taken in the Yellow River Delta have proven notably effective. The proportion of Spartina alterniflora within the vegetation decreased by 3.45%, the native vegetation showed a resurgence, the distribution pattern of vegetation communities moved toward stability, and the total area of vegetation in the study area exhibited an upward trajectory. Full article
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17 pages, 6139 KiB  
Article
Spatial and Temporal Variations in Soil Moisture for a Tamarisk Stand under Groundwater Control in a Hyper-Arid Region
by Xiaobo Yi, Ji Luo, Pengyan Wang, Xiao Guo, Yuanjie Deng, Tao Du, Haijun Wang, Cuicui Jiao, Guofu Yuan and Mingan Shao
Water 2023, 15(19), 3403; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15193403 - 28 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1677
Abstract
In hyper-arid regions, soil moisture’s role in ecohydrological processes can differ significantly from that in arid or semi-arid ecosystems. We investigated the spatial–temporal dynamics of soil moisture and its relationship with groundwater depths in a 200 m × 300 m phreatophytic tamarisk stand [...] Read more.
In hyper-arid regions, soil moisture’s role in ecohydrological processes can differ significantly from that in arid or semi-arid ecosystems. We investigated the spatial–temporal dynamics of soil moisture and its relationship with groundwater depths in a 200 m × 300 m phreatophytic tamarisk stand in the lower basin of the Tarim River, a hyper-arid zone in China. Soil moisture profiles, from the surface to the water table, were derived using drilling and oven-drying techniques. Over a three-year period, the soil moisture at multiple depths was continuously monitored in a specific plot using nine frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) sensors. Our results indicate a correlation between horizontal variations in soil moisture and groundwater depths (GWDs). Nevertheless, anomalies in this correlation were observed. Variations in horizontal soil moisture were strongly influenced by the clay content in the soil, with finer soils retaining more moisture. Despite varying GWDs, soil moisture profiles remained consistent, with no distinct correlation between them. Soil moisture exhibited stability across layers, with noticeable changes only adjacent to the water table. These results imply that in hyper-arid environments, soil texture primarily governs soil moisture distribution. However, the limited spatial and temporal scopes in our dataset, constrained by the region’s inhospitable conditions, necessitate further investigation. Future work should prioritize amalgamating diverse data sources to devise a region-specific soil moisture model for in-depth analysis of hyper-arid regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Soil and Water)
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17 pages, 24650 KiB  
Article
Plant Population Classification Based on PointCNN in the Daliyabuyi Oasis, China
by Dinghao Li, Qingdong Shi, Lei Peng and Yanbo Wan
Forests 2023, 14(10), 1943; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14101943 - 24 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1670
Abstract
Populus euphratica and Tamarix chinensis hold significant importance in wind prevention, sand fixation, and biodiversity conservation. The precise extraction of these species can offer technical assistance for vegetation studies. This paper focuses on the Populus euphratica and Tamarix chinensis located within Daliyabuyi, utilizing [...] Read more.
Populus euphratica and Tamarix chinensis hold significant importance in wind prevention, sand fixation, and biodiversity conservation. The precise extraction of these species can offer technical assistance for vegetation studies. This paper focuses on the Populus euphratica and Tamarix chinensis located within Daliyabuyi, utilizing PointCNN as the primary research method. After decorrelating and stretching the images, deep learning techniques were applied, successfully distinguishing between various vegetation types, thereby enhancing the precision of vegetation information extraction. On the validation dataset, the PointCNN model showcased a high degree of accuracy, with the respective regular accuracy rates for Populus euphratica and Tamarix chinensis being 92.106% and 91.936%. In comparison to two-dimensional deep learning models, the classification accuracy of the PointCNN model is superior. Additionally, this study extracted individual tree information for the Populus euphratica, such as tree height, crown width, crown area, and crown volume. A comparative analysis with the validation data attested to the accuracy of the extracted results. Furthermore, this research concluded that the batch size and block size in deep learning model training could influence classification outcomes. In summary, compared to 2D deep learning models, the point cloud deep learning approach of the PointCNN model exhibits higher accuracy and reliability in classifying and extracting information for poplars and tamarisks. These research findings offer valuable references and insights for remote sensing image processing and vegetation study domains. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Forest Inventory, Modeling and Remote Sensing)
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15 pages, 3471 KiB  
Article
Quantitative Chest X-ray Radiomics for Therapy Response Monitoring in Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis
by Tamarisk Du Plessis, William Ian Duncombe Rae, Gopika Ramkilawon, Neil Alexander Martinson and Mike Michael Sathekge
Diagnostics 2023, 13(17), 2842; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13172842 - 1 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1727
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) remains the second leading cause of death globally from a single infectious agent, and there is a critical need to develop improved imaging biomarkers and aid rapid assessments of responses to therapy. We aimed to utilize radiomics, a rapidly developing image [...] Read more.
Tuberculosis (TB) remains the second leading cause of death globally from a single infectious agent, and there is a critical need to develop improved imaging biomarkers and aid rapid assessments of responses to therapy. We aimed to utilize radiomics, a rapidly developing image analysis tool, to develop a scoring system for this purpose. A chest X-ray radiomics score (RadScore) was developed by implementing a unique segmentation method, followed by feature extraction and parameter map construction. Signature parameter maps that showed a high correlation to lung pathology were consolidated into four frequency bins to obtain the RadScore. A clinical score (TBscore) and a radiological score (RLscore) were also developed based on existing scoring algorithms. The correlation between the change in the three scores, calculated from serial X-rays taken while patients received TB therapy, was evaluated using Spearman’s correlation. Poor correlations were observed between the changes in the TBscore and the RLscore (0.09 (p-value = 0.36)) and the TBscore and the RadScore (0.02 (p-value = 0.86)). The changes in the RLscore and the RadScore had a much stronger correlation of 0.22, which is statistically significant (p-value = 0.02). This shows that the developed RadScore has the potential to be a quantitative monitoring tool for responses to therapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Pathology and Molecular Diagnostics)
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17 pages, 3242 KiB  
Article
Methane Anaerobic Oxidation Potential and Microbial Community Response to Sulfate Input in Coastal Wetlands of the Yellow River Delta
by Jun Li, Qingfeng Chen, Xinghua Wang, Yu Tan, Luzhen Li, Bowei Zhang, Beibei Guo and Changsheng Zhao
Sustainability 2023, 15(9), 7053; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097053 - 23 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2056
Abstract
In the context of global warming and carbon neutrality, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is fundamental to achieving sustainable development. As an important greenhouse gas, methane has a much stronger warming effect than CO2, and studies have demonstrated that anaerobic oxidation of [...] Read more.
In the context of global warming and carbon neutrality, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is fundamental to achieving sustainable development. As an important greenhouse gas, methane has a much stronger warming effect than CO2, and studies have demonstrated that anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) is important for global methane emissions. This paper systematically investigated the AOM potential and microbial community response to the input of SO42− in the three typical salt marsh soils of the Yellow River Delta: Reed, Suaeda salsa, and Tamarisk, using SO42− as the electron acceptor and a combination of indoor anaerobic culture and high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that after adding an appropriate concentration of SO42−, the AOM potential was significantly promoted in Tamarix soil (p < 0.05) and significantly inhibited in Reed and Suaeda salsa soil (p < 0.05); soil AOM potential and SO42− input concentration and background values were correlated. At the microbial level, SO42− input affected the abundance of some microorganisms. At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria was increased in Suaeda salsa soil, decreased in Tamarisk soil, and did not change significantly in Reed soil; that of Crenarchaeota and Desulfobacterota was significantly increased in Tamarisk soil. At the genus level, Methylophaga, Methylotenera, and Methylomonaceae became the dominant populations, and it can be inferred that these bacteria are involved in the anaerobic oxidation of methane after the input of SO42−. This study will be of great significance to the mechanistic study of AOM and the conservation of microbial diversity in the Yellow River Delta Coastal Wetland, as well as provide a scientific basis for CH4 reduction in coastal wetlands. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Emission)
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17 pages, 2887 KiB  
Article
Phytochemical Profile and Activity against Fusarium Species of Tamarix gallica Bark Aqueous Ammonia Extract
by Eva Sánchez-Hernández, Vicente González-García, Adriana Correa-Guimarães, José Casanova-Gascón, Jesús Martín-Gil and Pablo Martín-Ramos
Agronomy 2023, 13(2), 496; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13020496 - 9 Feb 2023
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3397
Abstract
French tamarisk, Tamarix gallica L. (family Tamaricaceae) is a deciduous tree that, like other halophytes, grows in a wide variety of saline habitats thanks to its powerful phenolics-based antioxidant system. Given that antioxidant properties are usually linked to the presence of compounds [...] Read more.
French tamarisk, Tamarix gallica L. (family Tamaricaceae) is a deciduous tree that, like other halophytes, grows in a wide variety of saline habitats thanks to its powerful phenolics-based antioxidant system. Given that antioxidant properties are usually linked to the presence of compounds with antifungal properties, in the work presented herein the antimicrobial activity of T. gallica bark extract was investigated against four phytopathogenic species of genus Fusarium. According to the results of gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy, the phytochemical profile of the aqueous ammonia extract included 1-(2,4,6-trihydroxyphenyl)-2-pentanone; 3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxycinnam aldehyde; trans-squalene; 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxy-benzaldehyde; dihydro-3-methylene-2,5-furandione; 1-(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-ethanone; and 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxy-benzoic acid as main constituents. Concerning in vitro antifungal activity, EC90 effective concentrations in the 335–928 μg·mL−1 range were obtained against F. acuminatum, F. culmorum, F. equiseti, and F. graminearum, remarkably lower than those of two conventional fungicides (viz. mancozeb and fosetyl-Al). The antifungal activity of the extract was tested further in wheat and maize grain protection bioassays, confirming that the treatment effectively controlled F. graminearum at a concentration of 375 µg·mL−1. Given this promising activity, T. gallica bark extracts may be susceptible to valorization as a natural and sustainable biorational for Fusarium spp. control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Treatment and Management of Fusarium Disease in Wheat)
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15 pages, 3792 KiB  
Article
Atmospheric Vapor Impact on Desert Vegetation and Desert Ecohydrological System
by Zhiming Xin, Wei Feng, Hongbin Zhan, Xuying Bai, Wenbin Yang, Yiben Cheng and Xiuqin Wu
Plants 2023, 12(2), 223; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12020223 - 4 Jan 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3257
Abstract
The ability of plants to absorb unsaturated atmospheric water vapor is a controversial topic. To study how vegetation in arid areas survives under limited water resources, this study uses Tamarisk in the Ulan Buh Desert of China as an example. The in-situ observation [...] Read more.
The ability of plants to absorb unsaturated atmospheric water vapor is a controversial topic. To study how vegetation in arid areas survives under limited water resources, this study uses Tamarisk in the Ulan Buh Desert of China as an example. The in-situ observation of a newly designed Lysimeter and sap flow meter system were used to monitor the precipitation infiltration and the utilization efficiency of Tamarisk of atmospheric vapor. The results show that the annual precipitation of 84 mm in arid areas could still result in deep soil recharge (DSR) with a recharge rate of 5 mm/year. Furthermore, DSR is detectable even in the winter, and the 5-year average DSR was 5.77% of the annual precipitation. It appears that the small precipitation events are critically important for the survival of Tamarisk. When the atmospheric relative humidity reaches 70%, Tamarisk leaves can absorb the unsaturated atmospheric vapor, which accounts for 13.2% of the annual precipitation amount. To adapt to the arid environment, Tamarisk can harvest its water supply from several sources including atmospheric vapor and micro-precipitation events (whose precipitation is below the measurement limit of 0.2 mm of the precipitation gauge) and can still permit a certain amount of recharge to replenish the deep soil moisture. Such an ecohydrological dynamic is of great significance to desert vegetation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sand Vegetation and Restoration)
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