ID: 55882
Title: Need for management and risk assessment of genetically modified organisms
Author: V K Kochhar and Sunita Kochhar
Editor: P. Balaram
Year: 2012
Publisher: Current Science Association, Vol 102, No 2, 25 January 2012
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: None
Abstract: None
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 55881
Title: Occurrence of Kryptoglanis shajii, an enigmatic subterranean-spring catfish (Siluriformes, Incertae sedis) in the channels of paddy fields
Author: V V Binoy, K S Roshan, V B Rakesh
Editor: P. Balaram
Year: 2012
Publisher: Current Science Association, Vol 102, No 2, 25 January 2012
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: None
Abstract: None
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 55880
Title: Tricotyledony in Hippophae rhamnoides L. (Elaeagnaceae)
Author: Girish Korekar, Harvinder Singh, Ravi B Srivastava, Tsering Stobdan
Editor: P. Balaram
Year: 2012
Publisher: Current Science Association, Vol 102, No 2, 25 January 2012
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: None
Abstract: None
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 55879
Title: Conservation of chrionji and cultivation of off-season rainfed tomato
Author: S V Dwivedi, S N Singh, Raghwendra Singh
Editor: P. Balaram
Year: 2012
Publisher: Current Science Association, Vol 102, No 2, 25 January 2012
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: None
Abstract: None
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 55878
Title: Pollen analysis of spider webs from Khedla village, Betul district, Madhya Pradesh
Author: M F Quamar and M S Chauhan
Editor: P. Balaram
Year: 2011
Publisher: Current Science Association, Vol 101, No 12, 25 December 2011
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: Allergenicity, pollen analysis, pollen rain spider webs
Abstract: Pollen analysis of spider-web samples collected from the open mixed tropical teak (Tectona grandis)- dominating deciduous forests and the nearby areas of Khedla village, Betul District, Madhya Pradesh throws light on the interplay between the extant vegetation and pollen rain. The study revealed the dominance of pollen of trees and herbs, whereas shrubs, fern spores and algal remains are meagre. Amongst the trees, Madhuca indica, Holoptelea, Lamnea coromandelica, Emblica officinalis and Aegle mermelos are dominating with fair presence of Schleichera oleosa, Syzygium, Grewia, Sapotaceae, Flacourtia, Anacardiaceae and Acacia. However, the rest of the forest constituents are not represented in good frequencies despite their frequent presence in the floristics, which could be attributed to their low pollen productivity as well as poor and differential pollen preservation. On the other hand, the ground vegetation is represented by the good number of Tubuliforae, Poaceae, Cheno/Am, Caryophyllaceae, Xanthium, Capsicum frutescens and Brassicaceae. However, exceptional high frequencies of Lamiaceae cf. Pogostemon and Hyptis, and Asteraceae (Tubuliflorae cf. Blumea and Eclipta) in almost all the samples have been notices, except SW-4. Ferns which occur abundantly along the adjoining stream banks, are marked by the sporadic retrieval of trilete spores that could be ascribed to the prevailing damp condition around the sampling provenance. The study could also be helpful in evaluating the allergenicity of different pollen grains/spores in the area of investigation, causing asthma, hay fever, dermatitis and other disorders.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 55877
Title: Clonal propagation in Eucalyptus camaldulensis using minicutting technique
Author: H Bindumadhava, Jagdish Tamak, K Mahavishnan, A P Upadhyay, Mohan Varghese and N Sharma
Editor: P. Balaram
Year: 2011
Publisher: Current Science Association, Vol 101, No 12, 25 December 2011
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: clonal propagation, coppice, ecosand, hydroponics, minicuttings
Abstract: Efficient nursery management with rapid and cost-effective clonal propagation is a prerequisite for successful plantation. Mass propagation has become an important tool for increasing the competitiveness of the forest-based industry. However, in several hard-wood species, most notably in eucalyptus, the popular stem-cutting method poses limitations in rooting behaviour, such as rapid loss of rooting competence, intra-clonal variation and poor rooting quality which collectively negates genetic expression of some useful clones thereby hindering field deployment.
To overcome production barrier, a study was initiated using novel minicutting-based propagation with a primary objective of reducing the nursery duration from six to four months and in the process improving its productivity. To cater to this need, the hydroponic-aided minicutting production technique for Eucalyptus camaldulensis has been standardized in India. The success lies in the plant nutrition management to get maximum harvestable sprouts. Further, as an imperative step to get vigorous saplings from minicutting sets, an efficient, ecosand-based growing medium was employed to boost survival rate, rapid rooting and early establishment.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 55876
Title: Palaeoethnobotany at Lahuradewa: a contribution to the 2nd millennium BC agriculture of the Ganga Plain, India
Author: Anil K Pokharia
Editor: P. Balaram
Year: 2011
Publisher: Current Science Association, Vol 101, No 12, 25 December 2011
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: Agriculture, chalcolithic, palaeoethnobotany, subsistence economy
Abstract: Carbonized remains from archaeological sites can provide clues that are crucial for understanding and characterizing subsistence strategies during Dark Ages. Analysis of floated samples collected from the archaeological site at Lahuradewa, in the Ganga Plain, has provided data which can be useful in understanding the exploitation of economically important plants by the ancient settlers as dietary preferences during ca. 2000-1500 BC. The crop remains encountered are represented by the grains and seeds of rice, barley, species of wheat, jowar-millet, kodon-millet, chickpea, lentil, fieldpea, grasspea, horsegram, greengram, cowpea, fenugreek, linseed, sesame, Indian mustard and cotton. In addition, there is evidence for fruits of jujube, anwala and phalsa which may have been gathered by the ancient settlers for consumption. This communication also includes an account of some weeds and other wild taxa, which turned up as an ad-mixture with the above economically important remains and are donotative of the surrounding ground vegetation.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 55875
Title: Carbon dioxide observations at Cape Rama, India for the period 1993-2002: implications for constraining Indian emissions
Author: Yogesh K Tiwari, Prabir K Patra, Frederic Chevallier, Roger J Francey, Paul B Krummel, Colin E Allison, J V Revadekar, Supriya Chakraborty, Ray L Langenfelds, S K Bhattacharya, D V Borole, K Ravi Kumar and L Paul Steele
Editor: P. Balaram
Year: 2011
Publisher: Current Science Association, Vol 101, No 12, 25 December 2011
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: Asian carbon cycle, CO2 observation, forward transport model
Abstract: India has the second largest population, one of fastest growing economics and is ranked third in greenhouse gas emissions by fossil-fuel buring in the world. However, there has been little monitoring of atmospheric CO2 concentration over India to date. Here we reanalyse pioneering atmospheric CO2 observations at Cape Rama, India (CRI) during the period from February 1993 to October 2002, using three forward transport models to simulate atmospheric CO2 and separate tracers of terrestrial and oceanic fluxes, and fossil-fuel emission. The CO2 seasonal behaviour at this site has clear signals from monsoon - driven meterology and terrestrial ecosystem activity, which are generally captured by all three models. The quality of the agreement between the simulations and the observations varies with season, with better results obtained during the southwest monsoon months when the CRI site observes the oceanic air of mostly southern hemispheric origin. Relatively poor model-data agreements in the other season, when air originating from the Indian subcontinent passes over the site, arise from the inability of coarse-resolution global models to represent CRI appropriately. In addition, limited atmospheric CO2 measurements in the South Asia region only provide poor constriant on inversion fluxes. Flux signal footprint analysis of the CRI station highlights the need of extending the observation network inland and to different parts of the country for better understanding of the carbon cycle of India.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 55874
Title: Nurturing science talent in villages
Author: M G Deo and P V Pawar
Editor: P. Balaram
Year: 2011
Publisher: Current Science Association, Vol 101, No 12, 25 December 2011
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: Creative minds, outreach programmes, rural areas, science talent
Abstract: Creativity or out-of - the box thinking is evently distributed in all societies in the world. On that count rural India should be a major source of creative minds that has remained untapped. Due to our city-centric policies, it may take decades before modern science and technology (S&T) reaches rural India. Meanwhile the Moving Academy of Medicine and Biomedicine, Pune has developed a module to nurture talent in the villages. The module essentially consists of a base laboratory and village level hub of modern S&T with extensive innovative outreach programmes for village schools. The programmes carry no reward, are open to all but totally voluntary and are held during holidays, on current topics outside the student ' s curricula. For these reasons the programmes attract only committed talented students. The module has the potential to change the face of S &T in rural India, expanding the national pool of creative minds, which is the need of the hour.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 55873
Title: Potential of an ultraviolet, medium-footprint lidar prototype for retrieving forest structure
Author: Tristan Allouis, Sylvie Durrieu, Patrick Chazette, Jean-Stephane Bailly, Juan Cuesta, Cedric Vega, Pierre Flamant, Pierre Couteron
Editor: George Vosselman
Year: 2011
Publisher: Elsevier, Vol 66, Issue 6S, December 2011
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
Keywords: Ultra light aircraft, signal processing, semi-variogram, Forest structure, laser attenuation
Abstract: The aim of the paper is to carry on methodological development for retrieving forest parameters from medium -footprint lidar signals and for assessing the performance of different sampling strategies. The 2.4 m footprint lidar prototype (a profiler instrument using an ultraviolet laser) was flown above two different maritime pine stands: a yound plantation (10 years old) and a mature, semi-natural stand (55 years old), both in the Landes forest, France.
The vertical distribution of lidar measurements was studied for retrieving forest height parameters (mean total height, mean crown height and top height). The processing alogrithm was based on an aggregation of successive signals followed by the correction of the signal attenuation along the travel through the vegetation. The performance of different sampling strategies was assessed by comparing the results for the full dataset (several fight lines over the stands) and for only a data subset (one flight line).
In addition, the horizontal distribution of height measurements was studied for identifying the planting pattern of the stands and assessing the tree spacing of the semi-natural parcel, using geostatistics.
We obtained a sub-metric estimation error (lidar -reference) of 0.2 m on the mean total height in the young stand (-0.7 m in the mature stand), a bias of -0.3 m (-0.3m ) on the mean crown height measurement and of 0.6 m (-1.0 m) on the top height. The planting pattern was also successfully identified, and the distance between trees was assessed in agreement with ground measurements.
Having demonstrated its ability to assess forest structure, even with a unique flight line, the lidar prototype seems to be valuable sensor for performing fast forest inventory at regional scale. In addition, this sensor opens the way to the development of bi-functional lidar for both atmosphere and vegetation remote sensing.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 55872
Title: Testing a near-infrared Lidar mounted with a large incidence angle to monitor the water level of turbid reservoirs
Author: S Tamari, J Mory, V Guerrero-Meza
Editor: George Vosselman
Year: 2011
Publisher: Elsevier, Vol 66, Issue 6S, December 2011
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
Keywords: Terrestrial Lidar, Off-Nadir angle, Tyndall effect, Stage monitoring, lake, earth-dam embankment
Abstract: It is sometimes difficult to monitor the water level of reservoirs with a sloping bank-such as many lakes and earth-dam embankment-using terrestrial techniques or airborne instruments. A proposed alternative is a new technique using a terrestrial near- infrared Lidar mounted with a large incidence angle (atleast between 400 and 700). This technique assumes that the Lidar can detect the (sub-) surface of a water body provided that it contains enough suspended particles to backscatter the light emitted by the instrument to its detector. Tests performed with a commercial Lidar show that the technique can be used to estimate the water level of a reservoir with moderate accuracy (within + 0.05 m[p=0.95]) when the water is very turbid (Secchi depth<0.5m). The versatility and accuracy of the technique is expected to improve in the future with the use of current Lidar that are more sophisticated than the tested one.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 55871
Title: Relevance assessment of full-waveform lidar data for urban area classification
Author: Clement Mallet, Frederic Bretar, Michel Roux, Uwe Soergel, Christian Heipke
Editor: George Vosselman
Year: 2011
Publisher: Elsevier, Vol 66, Issue 6S, December 2011
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
Keywords: Full-waveform lidar data, urban areas, classification, feature selection, support vector machines
Abstract: Full-waveform lidar data are increasingly being available. Morphological features can be retrieved from the echoes composing the waveforms, and are now extensively used for a long variety of land-cover mapping issues. However, the genuine contribution of these features with respect to those computed from standard discrete return lidar systems has been barely theoretically investigated. This paper therefore aims to study the potential of full-waveform data through the automatic classification of urban areas in building, ground, and vegetation points. Two waveform processing methods, namely a non-linear least squares method and a marked point process approach, are used to fit the echoes both with symmetric and asymmetric modeling functions. The performance of the extracted full-waveform features for the classification problem are then compared to a large variety of multiple -pulse features thanks to three feature selection methods. A support vector machines classifiers is finally used to label the point cloud according to various scenarios based on the rank fo the features. This allows to find the best classification strategy as well as the minimal feature subsets allowing to achieve the highest classfication accuracy possible for each of the three feature selection methods.
The results show that the echo amplitude as well as two features computed from the radiometric calibration of full-waveform data, namely the cross-section and the backscatter coefficient, significantly contribute to the high classification accuracies reported in this paper (around 95%). Conversely, features extracted from the non Gaussian modelling of the echoes are not relevant for the discrimination of vegetation, ground, and buildings in urban areas.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 55870
Title: Fast and automatic image-based registration of TLS data
Author: Ma. Weinmann, Mi. Weinmann, S Hinz, B Jutzi
Editor: George Vosselman
Year: 2011
Publisher: Elsevier, Vol 66, Issue 6S, December 2011
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
Keywords: Laser scanning, TLS, point cloud, image, registration, automation
Abstract: The fast and automatic registration of laser scanner data is of great interest in photogrammetric research. Recent developments show that for registration purposes characteristic 3 D points can be extracted from the measured laser data, where the data are also represented as image. In this paper, radiometric and geometric information derived from TLS data are utilized for estimating the transformation parameters between two unregistered point clouds. After the extraction of characteristic 2D points based on SIFT features, these points are projected into 3D space by using interpolated range information. From these 3D conjugate points and their corresponding 2D projections onto a virtual plane 3D-to-2D correspondences are established. The fast, accurate and robust RANSAC-based registration scheme including teh EPnP algorithm provides a framework to estimate the coarse transformation parameters from these 3D-to-2D correspondences. The coarse estimates are further refined by a single step outlier removal to gain a higher accuracy by introducing additional geometric constraints. These new constraints are based on 3D-to-3D correspondences which are much stronger than the 3D-to-2D correspondences alone. It will be shown that the presented approach is successfully applied to a benchmarked data set with million of points resulting in a fast and accurate estimation of the transformation parameters with a processing speed of several seconds on a standard PC and an accuracy in the low centimeter range.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 55869
Title: Fusion of camera images and laser scans for wide baseline 3D scene alignment in urban environments
Author: Michael Ying Yang, Yanpeng Cao, John McDonald
Editor: George Vosselman
Year: 2011
Publisher: Elsevier, Vol 66, Issue 6S, December 2011
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
Keywords: senor fusion, terrestrial laser scan, wide baseline alignment, viewpont invariation feature, plane extraction, feature extraction
Abstract: In this paper we address the problem of automatic laser scan registration in urban environments. This represents a challenging problem for two major reasons. First, two individual laser scans might be captured at significantly changed viewpoints (wide baseline) and have very little overlap. Second, man-made buildings usually contain many structures of similar appearances. This will result in considerable aliasing in the matching process. By sensor fusion of laser data with camera images, we propose a novel improvement to the existing 2D feature techniques to enable automatic 3D alignment between two widely separated scans. The key idea consists of extracting dominant planar structures from 3D point clouds and then utilizing the recovered 3D geometry to improve the performance of 2D image feature for wide baseline matching. The resulting featured descriptors become more robust to camera viewpoint changes after the procedure of viewpoint normalization. Moreover, the viewpoint normalized 2D features provide robust local feature information including patch scale and dominant orientation for effective repetitive structure matching in man-made environments. Comprehensive experimental evaluations with real data demonstrate the potential of the proposed method for automatic wide baseline 3D scan alignment in urban environments.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 55868
Title: Data fusion of extremely high resolution aerial imagery and LiDAR data for automated railroad centre line reconstruction
Author: Reinhard Beger, Claudia Gedrange, Robert Hecht, Marco Neubert
Editor: George Vosselman
Year: 2011
Publisher: Elsevier, Vol 66, Issue 6S, December 2011
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: None
Subject: ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
Keywords: Multi-source data fusion, Object-based image analysis, LiDAR, Aerial imagery, RANSAC, object extraction
Abstract: The quality of remotely sensed data in regards of accuracy and resolution has considerably improved in recent years. Very small objects are detectable by means of imaging and laser scanning yet there are only few studies to use such data for large scale mapping of railroad infrastructure.
In this paper , an approach is presented that integrates extremely high resolution ortho-imagery and dense airborne laser scanning point clouds. These data sets are used to reconstruct railroad track centre lines. A feature level data fusion is carried out in order to combine the advantages of both data sets and to achieve a maximum of accuracy and completeness.
The workflow consists of three successive processing steps. First, object-based image analysis is used to derive a railroad track mask from ortho-imagery. This spatial location information is then combined with the height information to classify the laser points. Lastly, the location of railroad track centre lines from these classified points were approximated using a feature extraction method based on an adapted random sample consensus algorithm. This workflow is tested on two railorad sections and was found to deliver very accurate results in a quickly and highly automated manner.
Location: 231
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None