Agriculture faces several challenges to use the available resources in a more environmentally sustainable manner. One of the most significant is to develop sustainable water management. The modern Internet of Things (IoT) techniques with real-time data collection and visualisation can play an important role in monitoring the readily available moisture in the soil. An automated Arduino-based low-cost capacitive soil moisture sensor has been calibrated and developed for data acquisition. A sensor- and soil-specific calibration was performed for the soil moisture sensors (SKU:SEN0193 - DFROBOT, Shanghai, China). A Repeatability and Reproducibility study was conducted by range of mean methods on clay loam, sandy loam and silt loam soil textures. The calibration process was based on the data provided by the capacitive sensors and the continuously and parallelly measured soil moisture content by the thermo-gravimetric method. It can be stated that the response of the sensors to changes in soil moisture differs from each other, which was also greatly influenced by different soil textures. Therefore, the calibration according to soil texture was required to ensure adequate measurement accuracy. After the calibration, it was found that a polynomial calibration function (R2 ≥ 0.89) was the most appropriate way for modelling the behaviour of the sensors at different soil textures.
The study examines possible water savings by replacing alfalfa with winter wheat in the Fergana Valley, located upstream of the Syrdarya River in Central Asia. Agricultural reforms since the 1990s have promoted this change in cropping patterns in the Central Asian states to enhance food security and social benefits. The water use of alfalfa, winter wheat/fallow, and winter wheat/green gram (double cropping) systems is compared for high-deficit, low-deficit, and full irrigation scenarios using hydrological modeling with the HYDRUS-1D software package. Modeling results indicate that replacing alfalfa with winter wheat in the Fergana Valley released significant water resources, mainly by reducing productive crop transpiration when abandoning alfalfa in favor of alternative cropping systems. However, the winter wheat/fallow cropping system caused high evaporation losses from fallow land after harvesting of winter wheat. Double cropping (i.e., the cultivation of green gram as a short duration summer crop after winter wheat harvesting) reduced evaporation losses, enhanced crop output and hence food security, while generating water savings that make more water available for other productive uses. Beyond water savings, this paper also discusses the economic and social gains that double cropping produces for the public within a broader developmental context.
During the last decade, biochar has captured the attention of agriculturalists worldwide due to its positive effect on the environment. To verify the biochar effects on organic carbon content, soil sorption, and soil physical properties under the mild climate of Central Europe, we established a field experiment. This was carried out on a silty loam Haplic Luvisol at the Malanta experimental site of the Slovak Agricultural University in Nitra with five treatments: Control (biochar 0 t ha–1, nitrogen 0 kg ha–1); B10 (biochar 10 t ha–1, nitrogen 0 kg ha–1); B20 (biochar 20 t ha–1, nitrogen 0 kg ha–1); B10+N (biochar 10 t ha–1, nitrogen 160 kg ha–1) and B20+N (biochar 20 t ha–1, nitrogen 160 kg ha–1). Applied biochar increased total and available soil water content in all fertilized treatments. Based on the results from the spring soil sampling (porosity and water retention curves), we found a statistically significant increase in the soil water content for all fertilized treatments. Furthermore, biochar (with or without N fertilization) significantly decreased hydrolytic acidity and increased total organic carbon. After biochar amendment, the soil sorption complex became fully saturated mainly by the basic cations. Statistically significant linear relationships were observed between the porosity and (A) sum of base cations, (B) cation exchange capacity, (C) base saturation.
The knowledge of snowpack distribution at a catchment scale is important to predict the snowmelt runoff. The objective of this study is to select and quantify the most important factors governing the snowpack distribution, with special interest in the role of different canopy structure. We applied a simple distributed sampling design with measurement of snow depth and snow water equivalent (SWE) at a catchment scale. We selected eleven predictors related to character of specific localities (such as elevation, slope orientation and leaf area index) and to winter meteorological conditions (such as irradiance, sum of positive air temperature and sum of new snow depth). The forest canopy structure was described using parameters calculated from hemispherical photographs. A degree-day approach was used to calculate melt factors. Principal component analysis, cluster analysis and Spearman rank correlation were applied to reduce the number of predictors and to analyze measured data. The SWE in forest sites was by 40% lower than in open areas, but this value depended on the canopy structure. The snow ablation in large openings was on average almost two times faster compared to forest sites. The snow ablation in the forest was by 18% faster after forest defoliation (due to the bark beetle). The results from multivariate analyses showed that the leaf area index was a better predictor to explain the SWE distribution during accumulation period, while irradiance was better predictor during snowmelt period. Despite some uncertainty, parameters derived from hemispherical photographs may replace measured incoming solar radiation if this meteorological variable is not available.
The paper compares Carnap’s and Hempel’s Standard Conception of Scientific Theories with Newton’s method of theory construction as applied in his Principia. It is shown that the latter is built, contrary to Carnap’s and Hempel’s views, by a cyclical method., Příspěvek porovnává Carnapovu a Hempelovu standardní koncepci vědeckých teorií s Newtonovou metodou konstrukce teorie, jak je aplikován v jeho Principii. To je ukazováno že latter je postaven, na rozdíl od Carnap je a Hempel pohledy, cyklickou metodou., and Igor Hanzel
The paper, as a continuation of the paper Hanzel (2009), provides a methodological generalization of Newton’s method of theory construction as applied in Book I and Book III of his Principia. It reconstructs also the method of measures applied in those books. Finally, it shows how the term ''harmonic law'' changes its meaning in the Principia., Příspěvek, jako pokračování článku Hanzel (2009), poskytuje metodologickou zobecnění Newtonovy metody teorie konstrukce, jak je aplikováno v knize I a knize III jeho Principia. Rekonstruuje také metodu opatření uplatňovanou v těchto knihách. Nakonec ukazuje, jak pojem ,,harmonické právo'' mění svůj význam v Principii., and Igor Hanzel
In this paper, we present Carnap’s modal logic C, which is one of the first attempts to use the concept of possible world (that of state description in the Carnapian original terminology) in shaping the semantics for modalities. Some older technical results, which concern the logic C, are summarized, namely two different kinds of axiomatization of C, one unusual characterization of C as the only set of formulae having one special property, and semantical and syntactical relations of C to S5. The fact that C is not closed under the universal substitution is shortly discussed. Finally, the predicate version of C, which is not axiomatizable, is defined., V tomto příspěvku prezentujeme Carnapovu modální logiku C, která je jedním z prvních pokusů o využití konceptu možného světa (státního popisu v karnapské původní terminologii) při formování sémantiky modalit. Jsou shrnuty některé starší technické výsledky, které se týkají logiky C, a to dva různé druhy axiomatizace C, jedna neobvyklá charakterizace C jako jediná množina vzorců s jednou speciální vlastností a sémantické a syntaktické vztahy C až S5. Krátce je diskutována skutečnost, že C není uzavřena pod univerzální substitucí. Nakonec je definována predikátová verze C, která není axiomatizovatelná., and Vít Punčochář
First I present a puzzle involving two opaque objects and a shadow cast on the ground. After I offer a solution to this puzzle by identifying which of the objects is causally responsible for the shadow, I argue that this case poses a counterexample to David Lewis’s latest counterfactual account of causation, known as his in-fluence theory. Along the way, I discuss preemption, overdetermina-tion, absence causation, and trumping preemption.