In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been actively applied in the agricultural sector. Several UAVs equipped with multispectral cameras have become available on the consumer market. Multispectral data are informative and practical for evaluating the greenness and growth status of vegetation as well as agricultural crops. The precise monitoring of rice paddy, especially in the Asian region, is crucial for optimizing profitability, sustainability, and protection of agro-ecological services. This paper reports and discusses our findings from experiments conducted to test four different commercially available multispectral cameras (Micesense RedEdge-M, Sentera Single NDVI, Mapir Survey3, and Bizworks Yubaflex), which can be mounted on a UAV in monitoring rice paddy. The survey has conducted in the typical paddy field area located in the alluvial plain in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. Six different vegetation indices (NDVI, BNDVI, GNDVI, VARI, NDRE and MCARI) captured by UAVs were also compared and evaluated monitoring contribution at three different rice cropping phases. The results showed that the spatial distribution of NDVI collected by each camera is almost similar in paddy fields, but the absolute values of NDVI differed significantly from each other. Among them, the Sentera camera showed the most reasonable NDVI values of each growing phase, indicating 0.49 in the early reproductive phase, 0.62 in the late reproductive stage, and 0.38 in the ripening phase. On the other hand, compared to the most commonly used NDVI, VARI which can be calculated from only visible RGB bands, can be used as an easy and effective index for rice paddy monitoring.

A meteorological drought refers to reduced rainfall conditions and is a great challenge to food security. Information of a meteorological drought in advance is important for taking actions in anticipation of its effects, but this can be difficult for areas with limited or sparse ground observation data available. In this study, a meteorological drought indicator was approached by applying the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) to satellite-based precipitation products from multiple sources. The SPI based meteorological drought analysis was then applied to Java Island, in particular to the largest rice-producing districts of Indonesia. A comparison with ground observation data showed that the satellite products accurately described meteorological drought events in Java both spatially and temporally. Meteorological droughts of the eight largest rice-producing districts in Java were modulated by the natural variations in El Niño and a positive-phase Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). The drought severity was found to be dependent on the intensity of El Niño and a positive-phase IOD that occurs simultaneously, while the duration seems to be modulated more by the positive-phase IOD. The results demonstrate the potential applicability of satellite-based precipitation monitoring to predicting meteorological drought conditions several months in advance and preparing for their effects.

This paper reports on the systematic literature (SLR) to synthesise research on university research performance using a systematic methodology. We carried out a rigorous screening process to obtain...

Evaluation of research management is essential in higher education The Indonesian government regularly evaluates the research performance, as part of improvement the research ecosystem in higher education system. This study aims to analyze the problems in implementing research performance evaluations in Indonesian higher education system This study used a qualitative method with Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The participants invited were leaders of research institutes at universities that represent the best college clusters. We conducted a four-stage FGD to obtain the required information. The results are answered with recommendations to rearrange the assessment and implementation model that is adapted to conditions in Indonesia. The author believes that this research will not only contribute to the scientific development but also provide assistance to international readers with insight into the research evaluation system in Indonesia, as well as policy-makers in implementing a better research evaluation system.

The groundwater recharge area is one of the crucial components in regional development. Many studies in determining groundwater recharge areas with a combination of Geographic Information System and Multi-criteria Decision Analysis have been carried out. The development of studies over the last ten years is reviewed in this paper using the PRISMA systematic review method to find out the study's progress. A total of 31 studies were found in the previous ten years based on the review results. Information about the country of origin of the study, dominant geology, climatic conditions, criteria used, decision-making and weighting methods, and the validation process for each study were extracted. The results show 12 countries researching this topic, with five dominant geological classes and nine classes of climatic conditions, and 33 criteria are used in the 2011–2021 range with eight dominant criteria used. Four decision rules and the weighted method are used, and a validation process is commonly used with well data. From systematic review and meta-analysis, we conclude: India has become the country that has most researched this topic. Hard-rock-class geology is dominant and arid and semi-arid climate conditions have become the main focus of studies. The variability of criteria is up to 33 with 18 criteria still used only once in each study, and eight dominant criteria have been used. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Multiple Influence Factor (MIF) have become the most-used methods for assigned weight, and Frequency Ratio (FR) is the newest method for assigned weight. Lithology has the highest weight compared with the other seven dominant criteria, and well data has become the most common data for verification of groundwater recharge.

The urban sprawl phenomenon refers to the expansion of urban areas driven by high population growth and migration. A spatio-temporal approach is indispensable in urban sprawl research. Monitoring and evaluating urban sprawl in a region is crucial for controlling drastic environmental changes. Integrated Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies can serve as essential tools for this purpose. The aim of this systematic literature review paper is to gather information on the latest data, methods, and findings to be considered in future urban sprawl research. The PRISMA method was employed, involving filtering from the Scopus database, resulting in 30 papers selected for an in-depth review to address the objectives of this paper. Landsat data remains the preferred choice for monitoring changes due to its extensive historical archive compared to other data sources. Landscape metrics represent a more advanced method com-pared to conventional change detection in quantifying urban sprawl. Other indices and quantifiers are also used to support the quantification of urban sprawl. Two perspectives exist in selecting the study's temporal intervals: consistent and inconsistent, which are adjusted based on the natural characteristics of "change," namely "abrupt" and "gradual." Suggestions for future research include using data with detailed spatial resolution and narrow study intervals while considering the patterns of urban sprawl formation.