The spatial and temporal variability of crop parameters are fundamental in precision agriculture. Remote sensing of crop canopy can provide important indications on the growth variability and help understand the complex factors influencing crop yield. Plant biomass is considered an important parameter for crop management and yield estimation, especially for grassland and cover crops. A recent approach introduced to model crop biomass consists in the use of RGB (red, green, blue) stereo images acquired from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) coupled with photogrammetric softwares to predict biomass through plant height (PHT) information. In this study, we generated prediction models for fresh (FBM) and dry biomass (DBM) of black oat crop based on multi-temporal UAV RGB imaging. Flight missions were carried during the growing season to obtain crop surface models (CSMs), with an additional flight before sowing to generate a digital terrain model (DTM). During each mission, 30 plots with a size of 0.25 m² were distributed across the field to carry ground measurements of PHT and biomass. Furthermore, estimation models were established based on PHT derived from CSMs and field measurements, which were later used to build prediction maps of FBM and DBM. The study demonstrates that UAV RGB imaging can precisely estimate canopy height (R² = 0.68–0.92, RMSE = 0.019–0.037 m) during the growing period. FBM and DBM models using PHT derived from UAV imaging yielded R² values between 0.69 and 0.94 when analyzing each mission individually, with best results during the flowering stage (R² = 0.92–0.94). Robust models using datasets from different growth stages were built and tested using cross-validation, resulting in R² values of 0.52 for FBM and 0.84 for DBM. Prediction maps of FBM and DBM yield were obtained using calibrated models applied to CSMs, resulting in a feasible way to illustrate the spatial and temporal variability of biomass. Altogether the results of the study demonstrate that UAV RGB imaging can be a useful tool to predict and explore the spatial and temporal variability of black oat biomass, with potential use in precision farming.

Brazil has enormous genetic diversity of wild fruit trees in the world. However, little is known about most of these species. In the Southwest of Paraná this diversity can be found, however, due to the anthropic action in recent years it has been observed the fragmentation of the ecosystem, causing genetic erosion, losing genotypes with potential use as native fruit trees. Thus, conservation of genetic resources is essential as strategies to reduce the damage to the environment and lack of technical information to enhance their use. The objective of this work was to collect information on the location of these fruit trees in eight hundred rural properties. The present work was carried out in rural properties of Dois Vizinhos, Itapejara do Oeste, Verê and São Jorge d'Oeste (PR). The largest number of family farmers who owned on their properties the native fruit trees Surina cherry, jabuticaba tree, uvaia tree, cereja da mata tree, guabiroba tree, guabiju tree, seven capote tree, yellow and red araça tree. A semi-structured questionnaire was applied, which dealt with questions about the presence, management and use of Myrtaceae fruit tree in their properties and the informed consent term. The native fruit trees present in each property were surveyed, as well as farmers age, land area, community distribution, altitude, and other native species found. in order to determine the preference of the species in relation to these attributes. The native fruit trees of the family Myrtaceae are still present in the rural properties of the Southwest of Paraná, but some species are found with a small quantity, making it necessary to preserve them or to use their fruits to obtain the on farm conservation network, maintaining them for sustainable use. The existing jabuticaba tree were all planted, not observing native occurrence.

The ExG was the best index for analyzing the forest health of Pinus taeda L.

The native fruit trees are of great importance to the Southwest Region of Paraná biome, but little is known about them, especially as the soil fertility in which they are found. Such information is necessary when domestication is intended for orchards usage. The objective of this work was to collect information on the distribution of the native fruit trees in relation to the chemical characteristics of the soil in which they are found, in four municipalities of the Phytophysiognomy Forest and Araucária (DoisVizinhos, Itapejara do Oeste, Verê and São Jorge d'Oeste). The chemical soil characterization for the native fruit trees were applied in the species of jaboticaba tree (Plinia sp.), Surinam cherry tree (Eugenia uniflora L.), sete-capote tree [Campomanesia guazumifolia (Cambess.) O. Berg], cereja-do-mato tree (Eugenia involucrata DC.), guabiroba tree (Campomanesia xanthocarpa Berg), guabiju tree (Myrcianthes pungens), feijoa tree [Acca selowiana (O. Berg) Burret], uvaia tree (E. pyriformis Cambess), yellow and red araça trees (Psidium cattleyanum Sabine). The soil was collected in two hundred properties with the presence of at least some native fruit of natural occurrence, in order to obtain information about the chemical soil characteristics with native fruit presence. In general, only where the native fruits are present, they present weakly acid reaction and high organic matter, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium, as high CTC.

Estudos indicam a perda ambiental com a reformulação da legislação florestal dada atualmente pela Lei de Proteção da Vegetação Nativa (LPVN), antigo Código Florestal. Ainda são necessárias pesquisas que indiquem o efeito sobre os titulares das terras, em regiões jurisdicionadas por outras regulamentações ambientais, como para o bioma Mata Atlântica, e ainda, os reflexos da integração das leis com questões de cumprimento da função social dos imóveis. A região Sudoeste do Paraná possui estrutura fundiária caracterizada pela pequena propriedade rural, e os objetivos deste trabalho foram: verificar se existe diferença no cumprimento da função social rural da pequena propriedade, considerando a realidade inicial das propriedades, o Código Florestal de 1965, e a LPVN; estimar o custo de oportunidade economizado pelo agricultor com a adequação ambiental rural pela lei de 2012; determinar as diferenças entre áreas de preservação permanente (APP) e reservas legais (RL) nas duas legislações; estimar a área aser recuperada pelo Programa de Regularização Ambiental (PRA) nas pequenas propriedades. Foram confeccionados sete mapas de uso e ocupação do solo em ambiente de Sistema de Informação Geográfica, na qual os montantes de áreas foram analisados com estatísticas inferenciais. Os dados permitiram concluir que: a pequena propriedade rural na região cumpre a função social rural em todos os padrões; o custo de oportunidade economizado foi de 6,2% do salário mínimo por módulo fiscal; A APP a restaurar foi inferior em relação à lei antecedente; estima-se para a região sudoeste, a necessidade de recuperação de 11.762,40 hectares de matas ciliares; não existe diferença significativa entre a reserva legal preexistente entre as duas leis; existe diferença significativa entre a reserva legal a recuperar.

Given the current climate change scenario, it is essential to find strategies to reduce environmental risks and obtain economically sustainable agricultural productions. This study investigated the impact of various agronomic treatments on an almond orchard in northeastern Portugal, focusing on their relationships with crop growth/vigour and yield. The experiment was conducted using a factorial design that combined three variables: almond cultivar (Constantí and Vairo), irrigation regime (full and regulated deficit irrigation), and kaolin application (with or without application). These combinations resulted in eight distinct treatments, each replicated across two experimental plots. To monitor the crop physiological status, two drone flights equipped with a multispectral camera were flown during the kernel-filling stage (3 and 30 August 2021). Vegetation indices (VI) derived from the multispectral images were used to assess the crop vigour. In relation to the production data, including kernel and in-shell almond weights, these were collected in 14 representative trees of each treatment. Lastly, parametric and nonparametric regression analyses were performed to better understand relationships between VI and crop yields and derive predictive models. The main results can be summarised as follows: (a) cv. Vairo was more vulnerable to the regulated deficit irrigation strategy with striking repercussions on almond production, translating into an average reduction per tree of 22% and 16% in almond kernel and in-shell almonds compared to full irrigation, respectively; (b) kaolin application did not reflect statistically significant differences in the mean crop yield, as Tukey’s pairwise comparisons involving kaolin as a differentiating factor (e.g., C100+k—C100, V100+K—V100) showed confidence intervals with central value close to zero; and (c) regression analysis using the nonparametric random forest model and individualised treatments demonstrated a better agreement with the observed data (R² > 0.7). This research provided valuable insights into how cultivar selection, irrigation strategy, and kaolin application can influence the almond crop performance. When integrating multispectral aerial monitoring and advanced statistical modelling, it enables an effective assessment of both crop vigour and expected yield, supporting the development of more informed and adaptive management practices to face emerging environmental challenges.