DOCSLIB.ORG

Sample Chapter

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Sample Chapter M MACHINE VISION Avery similar system is used for grading apples, as seen in Figures 1 and 2. Fragments of nut shell can be detected when pecan nuts See Visible and Thermal Images for Fruit Detection are shelled, once again by detection of the color. Kernels fall through the inspection area at a speed of around one meter per second. In an early system, light that was MACHINE VISION IN AGRICULTURE reflected from the kernel was split between two photocells that detected the intensity of different wavelengths. The John Billingsley ratio enabled color to discriminate between nut and shell. University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD, More recent versions incorporate laser scanning. As the Australia nut falls further, a jet of air is switched to deflect any detected shell into a separate bin. Definition Machine vision: Visual data that can be processed by Detection of weeds a computer, including monochrome, color and infra red Color discrimination can also be used in the field to dis- imaging, line or spot perception of brightness and color, criminate between plants and weeds for the application time-varying optical signals. of selective spraying (Åstrand and Baerveldt, 2002; Zhang Agriculture: Horticulture, arboriculture and other cropping et al., 2008). It is possible for the color channels of the cam- methods, harvesting, post production inspection and era to include infra-red wavelengths, something that can be processing, livestock breeding, preparation and slaughter. achieved by removing the infra-red blocking filter from a simple webcam. Figure 3 is a low-resolution frame-grab Introduction showing one stage in the detection of a grass-like weed, The combination of low-cost computing power and applica- “panic,” during trials in sugar cane. The computer has tions that target its use for entertainment has led to a readily marked pixels determined to be “weed” in yellow. available platform for analyzing vision signals in a variety of ways. Applications are many and various, but some of Quality assessment the most potentially significant ones are found in agriculture. True machine vision concerns shape information. One example is the assessment of fodder quality. From a web- Sorting by color cam image of a sample handful of hay, the stem-widths For some decades, a simplified form of machine vision has can be measured and a histogram displayed. Color can also been used for sorting produce (Tao et al., 1995). Tomatoes be determined by comparison of the video signal against may be picked green for ripening in the shed. When their that from the image of a calibration card. This makes an color is changing, they ride a conveyor that has pockets objective standard possible, to achieve agreement between for individual fruit. These holders can be tripped by vendor and purchaser (Dunn and Billingsley, 2007). a computer signal, to eject the tomato at one of many pack- Shape information can also be used to monitor the ing stations corresponding to the degree of ripeness, as growth of a crop, measuring stem length between nodes defined by color. automatically (McCarthy et al., 2008). Jan Gliński, Józef Horabik & Jerzy Lipiec (eds.), Encyclopedia of Agrophysics, DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-3585-1, # Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011 434 MACHINE VISION IN AGRICULTURE Machine Vision in Agriculture, Figure 1 Apples moving towards washing and grading. Machine Vision in Agriculture, Figure 3 A frame-grab from the computer-processing of image data to locate weeds. Livestock identification A more detailed version of shape information, in the form of an s-psi profile, has been used to discriminate between animals of different species passing a checkpoint while they approach a watering place. Now the image represents the profile of the animal as seen against a background. A blue background simplifies discrimination for produc- Machine Vision in Agriculture, Figure 2 A conveyor ing a silhouette. From this a boundary can be found by automatically ejects each apple at the correct station. edge-tracing, which yields a sequence of incremental MACHINE VISION IN AGRICULTURE 435 Machine Vision in Agriculture, Figure 4 S-psi plot of the outline of a steer. their RFID tag can be read, to monitor their progress towards “harvesting.” Picking Many attempts have been made over the years to use machine vision to detect and locate fruit for automatic picking. Although positive research results have been reported, operational speeds are generally low and there has been very limited commercial success. It has been suggested that the growing availability of broadband com- munication can make it possible for “armchair pickers” to tele-operate picking machinery, with the aid of real-time imaging. Machine guidance Vision guidance has been applied with great technical suc- cess to tractors (Billingsley and Schoenfisch, 1996). Within each received image, the software locates the rows Machine Vision in Agriculture, Figure 5 Frame-grab from the of crop and assesses the control action needed to bring the video image that is steering a tractor at speed. vehicle back on course. The algorithms were developed in the early 1990s, when computing power was much less plentiful. The result is a robust strategy that can time-share with GPS analysis and other signal processing. vectors that form a “Freeman chain.” These in turn deliver Within the field of view, “keyholes” are defined that a sequence of tangent angles, to be plotted against the dis- will each contain the image of a single row. Within each tance travelled around the circumference of the silhouette, keyhole, plant images in the form of green pixels are as seen in Figure 4. regarded as data points through which to construct From the original megabyte image, some 256 bytes of a regression line. For the next image, the keyholes are data now define the shape of the animal in view, for corre- moved to be centered on these regression lines. The set lating against a set of templates to separate sheep from of two or three keyholes move at once to indicate the goats or camels from cattle. A gate is then driven to vanishing point, from which the heading error and the lat- exclude or to draft the animals. This work is being refined eral displacement can be deduced. These signals then give to assess the condition of cattle as they pass a point where a steering command to bring the tractor back on track, to 436 MACROPORE FLOW an accuracy of a centimeter or two. A frame-grab from the steering software is shown in Figure 5. MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF SOILS The method is greatly superior to the use of GPS, satel- lite navigation, since an operation such as cultivating will Andrey Alekseev cut the ground at a point relative to the actual location of Laboratory Geochemistry and Soil Mineralogy, Institute the plants, not relative to where the plants are supposed of Physicochemical and Biological Problems of Soil to have been planted. Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, It is unfortunate that marketing of the system started Moscow Region, Russia when enthusiasm for GPS was reaching fever pitch and success has passed it by. Nevertheless research on vision Synonyms guidance is widespread (Gottschalk et al., 2008). Environmental magnetism; Soil magnetism Conclusions Definition As sensors and computing power become ever cheaper, Magnetic properties of soils are dominantly controlled by the opportunity for farm robotics increases. It would be the presence, volumetric abundance, and oxidation state of unwise to make a large machine autonomous, not least iron in soils. Different types of Fe oxides, Fe–Ti oxides, for insurance against the damage it might cause. Small and Fe sulfides are the predominant causes of magnetic robot machines, however, can already be equipped with soil characteristics. The concentration of magnetic Fe vision, navigation, detection and communication systems oxides in soils is affected by the parent material and soil- at a very modest price. We may very soon see teams of forming factors and processes. “Autonomous Robot Farmhands” at work in the field. Introduction Bibliography Magnetism is a fundamental property of all natural mate- rials. The most important kinds of magnetic properties are Åstrand, B., and Baerveldt, A.-J., 2002. An agricultural mobile those called diamagnetism, paramagnetism, ferromagne- robot with vision-based perception for mechanical weed control. Journal Autonomous Robots, 13(1), 21–35. tism, ferrimagnetism, and superparamagnetism. The mag- Billingsley, J., and Schoenfisch, M., 1996. The successful develop- netic properties of soils are a subject of investigation ment of a vision guidance system for agriculture. Computers and started first more than 50 years ago (Le Borgne, 1955). Electronics in Agriculture, 16(2), 147–163. Magnetism of soils have traditionally been investigated in Dunn, M., and Billingsley, J., 2007. The use of machine vision for the environmental science and geophysics communities to assessment of fodder quality. In Proceedings of the 14th Interna- indicate soil development, paleosols and climate change, tional Conference on Mechatronics and Machine Vision in Practice, Xiamen, PRC, 3–5 December 2007, pub IEE ISBN pollution, and as tools for archaeological mapping and 1-4224-1357-5, pp. 179–184. prospecting (Thompson and Oldfield, 1986;Maherand Gottschalk, R., Burgos-Artizzu, X. P., Ribeiro, A., Pajares, G., and Thompson, 1999; Evans and Heller, 2003;Maher,2008). Sainchez-Miralles, A., 2008. Real-time image processing for the guidance of a small agricultural field inspection vehicle. In Soil magnetics Proceedings Mechatronics and Machine Vision in Practice, 2008. pp. 493–498 The magnetic characteristics of soil and sediments reflect McCarthy, C. L., Hancock, N. H., and Raine, S. R., 2008. On-the-go the amount and quality of ferruginous minerals they con- machine vision sensing of cotton plant geometric parameters: tain and are connected with their content, mineralogy, first results.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • D:Int Agrophysics -1Balashov Alashov.Vp
    Int.Agrophys.,2011,25,1-5 IINNNTTTEEERRRNNNAAATTTIIIOOONNNAAALL AAgggrrroooppphhhyyysssiiicccss www.international-agrophysics.org Impactofshort-andlong-termagriculturaluseofchernozemonitsqualityindicators E.Balashov*andN.Buchkina AgrophysicalResearchInstituteRAAS,14GrazhdanskyProspekt,St.Petersburg195220,Russia ReceivedMay11,2010;acceptedJune21,2010 A b s t r a c t. The impact of 5, 45, and 75 year agricultural use During the last two decades, particular attention of of a clayey loam Haplic Chernozem on its selected quality indica- scientists has been focused on two directions of multi- tors was determined. Contents of soil organic matter and microbial disciplinary studies of selected quality indicators of soils. biomass carbon were equal to 43.1±2.2 g C kg-1 soil and 480.0± 67.6 mg C kg-1 soil in the fallow land. Soil organic matter content in The first direction of the research was to quantify the thermo- the agricultural soils ranged from 30.2±1.8 (75 year plot) to dynamic characteristics of soil solid phase. The results of 47.5±2.1 g C kg-1 soil (5 year plot), while microbial biomass carbon thosestudiesshowedsignificantdifferencesin: content varied from 340.2±5.9 (75 year plot) to 371.2±10.2 mg C – water vapour and nitrogen adsorption energy of different -1 kg soil (5 year plot). Among the three agricultural treatments, soil clay minerals, soil types (Józefaciuk and Bowanko, only the 75 year one resulted in a significant decline in total 2002), soil organic matter content (Soko³owska et al., amounts of water-stable aggregates (70.8±8.2%) and clay content (26.9±1.0%), compared to those parameters in the fallow land 1993)andsoiltillage(Józefaciuk etal.,2001); (90.1±9.4% and 30.5±1.2%, respectively).
    [Show full text]
  • Applied Physics
    Physics 1. What is Physics 2. Nature Science 3. Science 4. Scientific Method 5. Branches of Science 6. Branches of Physics Einstein Newton 7. Branches of Applied Physics Bardeen Feynmann 2016-03-05 What is Physics • Meaning of Physics (from Ancient Greek: φυσική (phusikḗ )) is knowledge of nature (from φύσις phúsis "nature"). • Physics is the natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through space and time, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves. • Physics is one of the oldest academic disciplines, perhaps the oldest through its inclusion of astronomy. Over the last two millennia, physics was a part of natural philosophy along with chemistry, certain branches of mathematics, and biology, but during the scientific revolution in the 17th century, the natural sciences emerged as unique research programs in their own right. Physics intersects with many interdisciplinary areas of research, such as biophysics and quantum chemistry, and the boundaries of physics are not rigidly defined. • New ideas in physics often explain the fundamental mechanisms of other sciences, while opening new avenues of research in areas such as mathematics and philosophy. 2016-03-05 What is Physics • Physics also makes significant contributions through advances in new technologies that arise from theoretical breakthroughs. • For example, advances in the understanding of electromagnetism or nuclear physics led directly to the development of new products that have dramatically transformed modern-day society, such as television, computers, domestic appliances, and nuclear weapons; advances in thermodynamics led to the development of industrialization, and advances in mechanics inspired the development of calculus.
    [Show full text]
  • Outline of Physical Science
    Outline of physical science “Physical Science” redirects here. It is not to be confused • Astronomy – study of celestial objects (such as stars, with Physics. galaxies, planets, moons, asteroids, comets and neb- ulae), the physics, chemistry, and evolution of such Physical science is a branch of natural science that stud- objects, and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth, including supernovae explo- ies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a “physical sions, gamma ray bursts, and cosmic microwave background radiation. science”, together called the “physical sciences”. How- ever, the term “physical” creates an unintended, some- • Branches of astronomy what arbitrary distinction, since many branches of physi- cal science also study biological phenomena and branches • Chemistry – studies the composition, structure, of chemistry such as organic chemistry. properties and change of matter.[8][9] In this realm, chemistry deals with such topics as the properties of individual atoms, the manner in which atoms form 1 What is physical science? chemical bonds in the formation of compounds, the interactions of substances through intermolecular forces to give matter its general properties, and the Physical science can be described as all of the following: interactions between substances through chemical reactions to form different substances. • A branch of science (a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of • Branches of chemistry testable explanations and predictions about the • universe).[1][2][3] Earth science – all-embracing term referring to the fields of science dealing with planet Earth. Earth • A branch of natural science – natural science science is the study of how the natural environ- is a major branch of science that tries to ex- ment (ecosphere or Earth system) works and how it plain and predict nature’s phenomena, based evolved to its current state.
    [Show full text]
  • Overview of Current Research and Education Activity of the Institute of Agrophysics
    9 Research and Teaching of Physics in the Context of University Education Nitra, June 5 and 6, 2007 OVERVIEW OF CURRENT RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ACTIVITY OF THE INSTITUTE OF AGROPHYSICS Jozef Horabik Institute of Agrophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences Lublin, Poland Physics, with its research tools and mathematical methods of description and interpretation, found applications in many branches of science that developed to interdisciplinary fields as biophysics, astrophysics, geophysics, and most recently - agrophysics. Agrophysics as a branch of science applying physics to the investigations of properties of materials and the processes involved in the production and processing of agricultural products, especially in relationships between soil, plant, atmosphere and soil, plant, machine, agricultural products. Particular attention is given to sustainable plant and animal production, modern agricultural technologies, and quality of raw materials and food products. The scientific activity of the Institute concentrates on studies of physical properties and processes important for proper management of soil environment and development of sustainable agriculture and food production. It covers also elaboration and improvement of specific methods of physical measurements, computer modeling and monitoring. Monitoring equipped with appropriate measuring systems constitutes a basic tool in study of the environment. The Institute develops agrophysical metrology that takes care on elaboration, optimization and standardization of agrophysical measuring methods. Modeling and computer simulation concerns environmental and technological processes as: mass and energy exchange in soil-plant-atmosphere system and agricultural products, regulation of physical, physicochemical, hydrophysical, thermophysical and biological properties of soil and plant structures, optimal fertilization systems, physical characteristics of granular materials (soils, grains, flour) as well as physical aspects of agricultural products processing.
    [Show full text]
  • International Agrophysics
    International Agrophysics ICOS eddy covariance flux-station site setup --Manuscript Draft-- Manuscript Number: Full Title: ICOS eddy covariance flux-station site setup Short Title: ICOS eddy covariance flux-station site setup Article Type: original research paper Section/Category: GHG Balance Keywords: ICOS, tower set up, protocol, greenhouse gas, eddy covariance technique Corresponding Author: Corinna Rebmann, Ph.D. Helmholtz-Zentrum fur Umweltforschung UFZ Leipzig, GERMANY Corresponding Author Secondary Information: Corresponding Author's Institution: Helmholtz-Zentrum fur Umweltforschung UFZ Corresponding Author's Secondary Institution: First Author: Corinna Rebmann, Ph.D. First Author Secondary Information: Order of Authors: Corinna Rebmann, Ph.D. Marc Aubinet, Prof. Hans Peter Schmid, Prof. Nicola Arriga, Ph.D. Mika Aurela, Ph.D. George Burba, Ph.D. Robert Clement, Ph.D. Anne De Ligne, Ph.D. Gerardo Fratini, Ph.D. Bert Gielen, Ph.D. John Grace, Prof. Alexander Graf, Ph.D. Patrick Gross Sami Haapanala Mathias Herbst, Ph.D. Lukas Hörtnagl, Ph.D. Andreas Ibrom, Ph.D. Lilian Joly, Ph.D. Natascha Natascha Kljun, Prof. Olaf Kolle Andrew Kowalski, Prof. Anders Lindroth, Prof. Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems Corporation Denis Loustau, Prof. Ivan Mammarella, Ph.D. Matthias Mauder, Ph.D. Lutz Merbold, Ph.D. Stefan Metzger, Ph.D. Meelis Mölder, Ph.D. Leonardo Montagnani, Ph.D. Dario Papale, Ph.D. Marian Pavelka, Ph.D. Matthias Peichl, Dh.D. Marilyn Roland, Ph.D. Penélope Serrano Ortiz, Ph.D. Lukas Siebicke, Ph.D. Rainer Steinbrecher, Ph.D. Juha-Pekka Tuovinen, Ph.D. Timo Vesala, Prof. Georg Wohlfahrt, Prof. Daniela Franz Order of Authors Secondary Information: Manuscript Region of Origin: GERMANY Abstract: At ecosystem stations of the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS), the principal technique for measurements of ecosystem-atmosphere fluxes of greenhouse gases is the eddy-covariance (EC) method.
    [Show full text]
  • Outline of Natural Science
    Outline of natural science The following outline is provided as an overview of and study biological phenomena (organic chemistry, for topical guide to natural science: example). Natural science – a major branch of science that tries to explain, and predict, nature’s phenomena based on 2.1.1 Physics empirical evidence. In natural science, hypothesis must be verified scientifically to be regarded as scientific the- • • Physics – physical science that studies matter ory. Validity, accuracy, and social mechanisms ensur- and its motion through space-time, and related ing quality control, such as peer review and repeatabil- concepts such as energy and force ity of findings, are amongst the criteria and methods used • Acoustics – study of mechanical waves in for this purpose. Natural science can be broken into 2 solids, liquids, and gases (such as vibra- main branches: life science, and physical science. Each tion and sound) of these branches, and all of their sub-branches, are re- • ferred to as natural sciences. Agrophysics – study of physics applied to agroecosystems • Soil physics – study of soil physical 1 What type of thing is natural sci- properties and processes. • Astrophysics – study of the physical as- ence? pects of celestial objects • Astronomy – studies the universe beyond Natural science can be described as all of the following: Earth, including its formation and de- velopment, and the evolution, physics, • Branch of science – systematic enterprise that builds chemistry, meteorology, and motion of and organizes knowledge in the form of testable ex- celestial objects (such as galaxies, plan- planations and predictions about the universe.[1][2][3] ets, etc.) and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth (such as • Major category of academic disciplines – an aca- the cosmic background radiation).
    [Show full text]
  • REVIEW PAPER Agrophysics – Physics in Agriculture And
    Agrophysics physics in agriculture and environment 67 SOIL SCIENCE ANNUAL DOI: 10.2478/ssa-2013-0012 Vol. 64 No 2/2013: 6780 REVIEW PAPER JAN GLIÑSKI*, JÓZEF HORABIK, JERZY LIPIEC Institute of Agrophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Dowiadczalna 4, 20-290 Lublin, Poland Agrophysics physics in agriculture and environment Abstract: Agrophysics is one of the branches of natural sciences dealing with the application of physics in agriculture and environment. It plays an important role in the limitation of hazards to agricultural objects (soils, plants, agricultural products and foods) and to the environment. Soil physical degradation, gas production in soils and emission to the atmosphere, physical properties of plant materials influencing their technological and nutritional values and crop losses are examples of such hazards. Agrophysical knowledge can be helpful in evaluating and improving the quality of soils and agricultural products as well as the technological processes. Key words: agrophysics, soils, agriculture, environment, physical methods INTRODUCTION senin, 1986) and food physics (Sahin and Sumnu, 2006) and fills the gap between such disciplines as Agrophysics is defined as a science that studies agrochemistry, agrobiology, agroecology and agroc- physical processes and properties affecting plant pro- limatology. Agrophysical research plays a significant duction. The fundaments of agrophysical investiga- cognitive and practical role, especially in agronomy, tions are mass (water, air, nutrients) and energy (li- agricultural engineering, horticulture, food and nu- ght, heat) transport in the soil-plant-atmosphere and trition technology, and environmental management soil-plant-machine-agricultural products-foods con- (Fr¹czek and lipek, 2009). Application of agrophy- tinuums and way of their regulation to reach biomass sical research allows mitigating chemical and physi- of high quantity and quality with the sustainability to cal degradation of soils, decreasing greenhouse ga- the environment.
    [Show full text]
  • Editorial: at the Crossroads: Lessons and Challenges in Computational Social Science
    EDITORIAL published: 29 August 2016 doi: 10.3389/fphy.2016.00037 Editorial: At the Crossroads: Lessons and Challenges in Computational Social Science Javier Borge-Holthoefer 1, 2, 3*, Yamir Moreno 3, 4, 5 and Taha Yasseri 6, 7 1 Complex Systems Group (CoSIN3), Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3), Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain, 2 Qatar Computing Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar, 3 Institute of Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain, 4 Department of Theoretical Physics, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain, 5 Institute for Scientific Interchange, Torino, Italy, 6 Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, 7 Alan Turing Institute, London, UK Keywords: computational social science, simulation, models, big data, complex systems The Editorial on the Research Topic At the Crossroads: Lessons and Challenges in Computational Social Science The interest of physicists in economic and social questions is not new: during the last decades, we have witnessed the emergence of what is formally called nowadays sociophysics [1] and econophysics [2] that can be grouped into the common term “Interdisciplinary Physics” along with biophysics, medical physics, agrophysics, etc. With tools borrowed from statistical physics and complexity science, among others, these areas of study have already made important contributions to our understanding of how humans organize and interact in our modern society. Large scale data
    [Show full text]
  • Physics 1 Physics
    Physics 1 Physics This article is about the field of science. For other uses, see Physics (disambiguation). Various examples of physical phenomena Part of a series on Science • Outline • Portal • Category • v • t [1] • e Physics (from Ancient Greek: φυσική (ἐπιστήμη) phusikḗ (epistḗmē) “knowledge of nature”, from φύσις phúsis "nature"[2]) is the natural science that involves the study of matter[3] and its motion through space and time, along with related concepts such as energy and force.[4] More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.[5][6] Physics is one of the oldest academic disciplines, perhaps the oldest through its inclusion of astronomy. Over the last two millennia, physics was a part of natural philosophy along with chemistry, certain branches of mathematics, and biology, but during the Scientific Revolution in the 17th century, the natural sciences emerged as unique research programs in their own right.[7] Physics intersects with many interdisciplinary areas of research, such as biophysics and quantum chemistry, and the boundaries of physics are not rigidly defined. New ideas in physics often explain the fundamental mechanisms of other sciences while opening new avenues of research in areas such as mathematics and philosophy. Physics also makes significant contributions through advances in new technologies that arise from theoretical breakthroughs. For example, advances in the understanding of electromagnetism or nuclear physics led directly to the development of new products which have dramatically transformed modern-day society, such as television, computers, domestic appliances, and nuclear weapons; advances in thermodynamics led to the development of Physics 2 industrialization; and advances in mechanics inspired the development of calculus.
    [Show full text]
  • Role of Agrophysics in Sustainable Agriculture Rôle De L'agrophysique Pour L'agriculture Durable
    Scientific registration n° : 517 Symposium n° : 20 Presentation : poster Role of agrophysics in sustainable agriculture Rôle de l'agrophysique pour l'agriculture durable GLINSKI Jan Institute of Agrophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Doœwiadczalna 4, P.O.BOX 201, 20- 290 Lublin 27, Poland An example of application of physics in the development of knowledge in other branches of natural sciences are: astrophysics, physics of atmosphere, environmental physics and geophysics. The development of environmental physics is very important for mankind due to its relevance to a direct description, modelling and prediction of human environment. Agrophysics is an integral part of environmental physics and it deals with the processes in agricultural used lands [1]. Such areas cover only 9.7 % of global Earth surface, however, they are under intensive human ingeration, e.g., monoculture crops, water management and high level of chemical and mechanical treatment. Agrophysics is also occupied in investigating of physical and physicochemical processes connected with mass and energy exchange in soil- plant- atmosphere system and the processes related to gathering, transport and storage of agricultural plant materials[2,4,8,11,13,14]. In agrophysics, like in other natural sciences, the fundamental method of description of investigated objects and physical phenomena and processes taking place in them is modelling. Knowledge of physical properties of the soil-plant-atmosphere system and their time and space variability allows physical model development for simulation and prognosis of evolution of environmental conditions in time [10]. Developed models make possible to prognoses the human environment change due to global climate change and human activity (land use, food production, etc.).
    [Show full text]
  • Sample Chapter
    A ABSORPTION Cross-references Agrophysics: Physics Applied to Agriculture The process by which one substance, such as solid or liq- uid, takes up another substance, such as liquid or gas, through minute pores or spaces between its molecules. ADAPTABLE TILLAGE Clay minerals can take water and ions by absorption. See Tillage, Impacts on Soil and Environment ABSORPTIVITY ADHESION Absorbed part of incoming radiation/total incoming radiation. The attraction between different substances, acting at sur- faces of contact between the substances e.g., water and solid, water films and organo-mineral surfaces, soil and ACOUSTIC EMISSION the metal cutting surface. The phenomenon of transient elastic-wave generation due to a rapid release of strain energy caused by a structural ADSORPTION alteration in a solid material. Also known as stress-wave emission. A phenomenon occurring at the boundary between phases, where cohesive and adhesive forces cause the con- Bibliography centration or density of a substance to be greater or smaller McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, than in the interior of the separate phases. Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Bibliography Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics (First Edition). 2003. ACOUSTIC TOMOGRAPHY Elsevier Inc. Daniel Hillel (ed.) http://www.sciencedirect.com/ science/book/9780123486554 A form of tomography in which information is collected from beams of acoustic radiation that have passed through Cross-references an object (e.g., soil). One can speak of thermo-acoustic Adsorption Energy and Surface Heterogeneity in Soils tomography when the heating is realized by means of Adsorption Energy of Water on Biological Materials microwaves, and of photo-acoustic tomography when Solute Transport in Soils optical heating is used.
    [Show full text]
  • D:Int Agrophysicsint Agrophysics 24-25(4) -4Notesanaya
    Int. Agrophys., 2011, 25, 395-398 IINNNTTTEEERRRNNNAAATTTIIIOOONNNAAALL AAgggrrroooppphhhyyysssiiicccss www.international-agrophysics.org Note Analysis of soil capability versus land use change by using CORINE land cover and MicroLEIS M. Anaya-Romero1*, R. Pino2, J.M. Moreira3, M. Muñoz-Rojas1, and D. de la Rosa1 1Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology, Spanish National Research Council, Reina Mercedes 10, 41012 Sevilla, Spain 2Department of Statistics and Operational Research, University of Seville, Reina Mercedes s/n, Sevilla, Spain 3DG Sustainable Development and Environmental Information, Regional Government of Andalusia, Ave. Manuel Siurot 50, 41071 Sevilla, Spain Received December 4, 2010; accepted April 15, 2011 A b s t r a c t. Land use and land cover changes in agricultural 24 European countries. Land cover reflects the biophysical lands between 1956 and 2007 in Seville province (SW Spain) were state of the real landscape (including the effects of human analyzed in this research. The agricultural land use change was activity on the biophysical unit). For this reason LC data are compared to land capability with the aim to analyze dysfunctions increasingly used for derivation of different landscape attri- related to agricultural capacity of the area. Furthermore, factors affecting agroecological land use in the province were examined in butes such as its changes, diversity, forecasting, etc. and for the light of their implications for agroforestry sustainability. There modelling of land different properties (Feranec et al., 2010). are significant differences in the extent and rate of agricultural land Sustainable management of natural resources requires use change at regional level. Present circumstances in the province an exhaustive knowledge of the physical environmental are favourable for a reversal of agroforestry uses, nevertheless components with particular focus on the relations between urbanization process is the major pressure in the agricultural re- these elements and the different plant communities.
    [Show full text]