Fostering High Throughput Plant Phenotyping by an Interdisciplinary Approach

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Publications

Evolving robust and readable land cover models for improved forest monitoring

Publication . Batista, João E.; Silva, Sara Guilherme Oliveira da

A importância das florestas a nível mundial está bem estabelecida na sociedade, sabendo-se que a desflorestação tem sérias implicações na biodiversidade, nas sociedades rurais dependentes das florestas para comida e sustento, e nas emissões de gases de efeito de estufa que responsáveis pelas alterações climáticas. Mecanismos como o REDD+, desenvolvidos pela UNFCCC, ajudam países em desenvolvimento através de recompensas por evitarem a desflorestação e degradação florestal enquanto promovem a conservação das florestas, desenvolvimento sustentável e melhorias no sequestro de carbono nas florestas. No entanto, para estes mecanismos serem eficazes, é necessário monitorizar florestas de forma eficiente. Este trabalho contribui para os domínios científicos de ciências da computação e de ciências ambientais ao aplicar aprendizagem automática evolutiva neste tópicos, lidando com dois aspetos importantes da monitorização florestal: o mapeamento de tipos de coberto e a deteção de degradação florestal. Este trabalho também contribui para a área de aprendizagem automática através do estudo de métodos para engenharia de atributos que criem modelos robustos e interpretáveis que possam ser lidos, percebidos e corrigidos pelos especialistas das respetivas áreas científicas. Várias aplicações nossas conseguiram aumentar a robustez e transferibilidade de modelos de aprendizagem automática, melhorando o grau de confiança dos modelos de monitorização florestal. Estes modelos podem ser validados estudando se os atributos usados fazem sentido no contexto do problema, e também reduzindo a dimensionalidade dos conjuntos de dados ao ponto de se conseguir visualmente detetar problemas nos dados. Também estudamos a relação entre a complexidade de modelos com a sua interpretabilidade. Interpretabilidade e explicabilidade de modelos têm vindo a tornar-se tópicos populares nos últimos anos. Isto motiva trabalho futuro no uso de aprendizagem automática evolucionaria para forçar a evolução de modelos que sejam mais facilmente interpretáveis através de funções de fitness específicas.

2024-02Doctoral thesis

Open access

Thermography to assess grapevine status and traits opportunities and limitations in crop monitoring and phenotyping – a review

Publication . La Fata, Antonio; Costa, J. Miguel; Pisciotta, Antonino

Climate change and the increasing water shortage pose increasing challenges to agriculture and viticulture, especially in typically dry and hot areas such as the Mediterranean and demand for solutions to use water resources more effectively. For this reason, new tools are needed to precisely monitor water stress in crops such as grapevine in order to save irrigation water, while guaranteeing yield. Imaging technologies and remote sensing tools are becoming more common in agriculture and plant/crop science research namely to perform phenotyping/selection or for crop stress monitoring purposes. Thermography emerged as important tool for the industry and agriculture. It allows detection of the emitted infrared thermal radiation and conversion of infrared radiation into temperature distribution maps. Considering that leaf temperature is a feasible indicator of stress and/or stomatal behavior, thermography showed to be capable to support characterization of novel genotypes and/or monitor crop’s stress. However, there are still limitations in the use of the technique that need to be minimized such as the accuracy of thermal data due to variable weather conditions, limitations due to the high costs of the equipment/platforms and limitations related to image analysis and processing to extract meaningful thermal data. This work revises the role of remote sensing and imaging in modern viticulture as well as the advantages and disadvantages of thermography and future developments, focusing on viticulture

2021Master thesis

Open access

Using soil and canopy temperature to support efficient management of irrigated vineyards

Publication . Costa, J. M.; Egipto, R.; Lopes, Carlos; Silvestre, J.

Extreme heat and drought events are becoming more frequent and erratic in Mediterranean Europe. Better comprehension of spatial and temporal dynamics of heat fluxes and thermal microclimate in vineyards can support vineyard’s management and minimize the impact of climate variability. Field experiments were carried out in South Portugal with two red cvs. Touriga Nacional and Aragonez (syn. Tempranillo) under deficit irrigation. Canopy temperature (Tc) is a robust predictor of plant water status, especially when measured under more stressful conditions. In parallel, soil temperature (TS) had a positive influence on TC especially at the cluster zone

2020Conference object

Open access

Exploring Local Maize Diversity for Increased Agricultural Sustainability: New Insights into Drought Stress Response and Recovery of Guinea-Bissau Landraces

Publication . Teixeira, Manuela; Feijão, Eduardo; Catarino, Luis; Matos, Ana Rita; Figueiredo, Andreia; Marques da Silva, Jorge

Landraces are rightfully known as the backbone of sustainable food production, particularly in areas experiencing significant environmental constraints. However, protecting landraces from genetic erosion and valuing their potential for plant breeding and sustainable food production requires in-depth understanding of their phenotypic traits. Two Guinea-Bissau landraces (GA, GV) and two elite cultivars (P98438, P0023) were subjected to drought stress for 7 (S1) and 12 (S2) days. After this period plants were rewatered (R). The relative water content (RWC) was unchanged in S1 and decreased in S2 in all genotypes. Chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters changed moderately in S1 and remarkably in S2, including on GA and GV plants, where a decrease of Fv/Fm and PI, and an increase in absorbed, trapped, and dissipated energy per reaction center, was found. P0023 plants showed the most contrasting behavior to Guinea-Bissau genotypes, presenting an increase in Fv/Fm and PI values and a decrease in the specific energy fluxes per reaction center (RC), whereas P9838 presented an intermediate behavior. Drought (S1 and S2) decreased the amount of chlorophyll (Chl.) and carotenoids in GA and GV plants. On the contrary, in the P0023, the only pigment to decrease with stress was Chl. b. Fatty acid (FA) analyses allowed for the identification of C16:0, C18:2, and C18:3 in larger amounts, and C14:0, C16:1t, C18:0, and C18:1 acids in lower abundance. Drought stress decreased C18:3, the double bond index, and the total FA (except for P0023 and GV in S2) and increased C14:0 and C16:0 acids. The expression of phospholipase D (PLD) was higher at S2. After recovery, PLD expression presented a notorious decrease on the Guinea-Bissau landraces. P0023 showed the smallest alterations after recovery, while Guinea’s plants suffered more radical alterations leading to the conclusion that Guinea’s landraces were more drought-sensitive and that their recovery rate was impaired.

2021-05Journal article

Open access