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As the World Wide Web (WWW) expands, information is rapidly becoming more accessible. Using satellite data previously required high-end computers running complex imaging software, sophisticated downloading equipment, and high monetary support. Satellite data is now available on the internet for little or no cost and can be handled on standard desktop computers using common software programs. The purpose of our project was to determine the availability and cost of different types of data and how this data may benefit horticultural instruction. Satellite data currently is archived at NASA, NOAA, the Department of Defense, the US Geological Survey, and various meteorological departments throughout the world. Satellite data such as large-scale thermal imagery can be used to determine microclimate effects within urban areas, including the cooling effects of urban plants. Natural Density Vegetation Index (NDVI) imagery can indicate changes in vegetational cover or give general indications of plant health in large areas. NASA photographic imagery can show the effects of erosion on a large scale. Higher resolution imagery can give indications of plant stresses in large plantings such as orchards or vegetable plots.
Urban areas are typically 2 to 3°C warmer than surrounding rural areas throughout the year. Winter minimum temperatures are often 4 to 5 °C warmer in the city and, during extreme episodes may exhibit differences of 12 to 13°C. Because the USDA Hardiness Maps compile readings from individual stations in an area, temperature differences may not be apparent at the local scale. This study was conducted to compare ornamental plant damage during Winter 1995–96 in Fort Worth, Texas. AVHRR 1-km thermal satellite imagery was used to determine the warmest and coolest portions in Fort Worth, Texas. Each temperature area was divided into five 0.5-km blocks on the basis of similar landscape features and plant types. During Mar. 1996, these areas were evaluated on the basis of plant damage to several species. Asian jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum), indian hawthorn (Raphiolepis indica), St. augustine turf (Stenotaphrum secundatum), southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), and Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) were the primary species damaged. Asian jasmine and St. Augustine turf were either completely killed or severely damaged in the coldest areas but suffered only moderate or light damage in the warmest areas. Indian hawthorn, live oak, and southern magnolia suffered leaf and stem damage in the coldest areas but little to no damage in the warmer areas.
Urban areas have average annual temperatures 2–3°C warmer than surrounding rural areas, with daily differences of 5–6°C common. A suggested reason for this temperature difference is the extensive use of concrete, asphalt, and other building materials in the urban environment. Vegetation can moderate these temperatures by intercepting incoming radiation. The influence of vegetation patterns on the magnitude of urban and micro-urban “heat islands” (UHI and MUHI, respectively) is compared for several cities including Houston, Austin, College Station, and Ft. Worth, Texas; Huntsville, Ala.; and Gainesville, Fla. Temperatures for all cities studied were greatest in the built-up areas and dropped off in suburban areas and adjacent rural areas. In Houston, surrounding rice fields were 3–5°C cooler than urban areas. Heavily built-up areas of Austin were 2–4°C warmer than parks and fields outside of the city. In all of the cities, large parks were typically 2–3°C cooler than adjacent built-up areas. Large shopping malls varied in nocturnal winter and summer temperature, with winter temperatures near door openings 2–3°C warmer, and summer daytime temperatures as much as 17°C cooler beneath trees. This effect seemed to persist at the microclimatic scale. Areas beneath evergreen trees and shrubs were warmer in the winter than surrounding grass covered areas. Video thermography indicated that the lower surfaces of limbs in deciduous trees were warmer than the upper surfaces. Overall, vegetation played a significant role, both at the local and microscale, in temperature moderation.
Phytophthora diseases are economically important, requiring the use of chemical fungicides and, more recently, biological controls. Recent research suggests that composted bark products may lessen the impact of the disease, even in the absence of these chemicals. An experiment was conducted to compare chemical and biological fungicides to untreated pine bark compost. Impatiens wallerana plugs were transplanted from 288 trays into 1801 trays. All plants were planted into Berger BM-7, 35% composted bark mix (Berger Horticulture, Quebec, Canada). Media was prepared by premixing one of the five following fungicide treatments: 1) Control, 2) Banrot at 0.6 g/L, 3) Root Shield at 1.6 g/L, 4) Actino-Fe at 5.1 g/Ll, or 5) SoilGard at 1.6 g/L. Plants received no fertilizer. Three strains of Phytophthora were grown in 25 °C on clarified V8 media. Pathogenic inoculum was made by macerating the growth media and fungi in 100 ml H2O. Mixture was pulse-blended for 1 min, and an additional 200 mL dH2O was added. Inoculation was 5 ml per plant. Flats were kept on a misting bench, and misted twice daily for 15 min. The experiment was set up using a RBD repeated six times with three plants per rep. Plants were rated weekly for 5 weeks using a damage scale of 0 to 5, with 0 indicating no sign of disease and 5 being dead. Statistical analysis was conducted using a Chi-Square. Disease incidence between the biological, chemical, and composted bark treatments did not differ, with all treatments providing complete control. At least in this study, the use of composted pine bark media provided Phytophthora control equivalent to current chemical and biological fungicides.
A study was conducted on the Texas A&M Univ.-Commerce campus to evaluate the effect of compost type on the spread of bermudagrass into rose garden beds. Roses were planted in an randomized complete-block design in beds amended with composts derived from yard waste, manure, poultry litter, or dairy manure, or an unamended control. The study site was free of vegetation prior to planting. No pre- or post-emergent herbicides were applied after planting. Each bed was assessed visually monthly and scored on a scale of 0 to 10, with each point equivalent to 10% coverage. A bed received a score of 10 upon full coverage. Beds amended with poultry litter and yard waste had significantly higher bermudagrass invasion and reached 100% coverage more quickly than other treatments. Some of the poultry litter beds reached 100% coverage within 40 days of planting. The control planting had significantly lower coverage than all compost treatments throughout the study.
Urban foresters must be able to accurately assess costs associated with planting trees in the built environment, especially since resources to perform community forest management are limited. Red oak (Quercus rubra) and swamp white oak (Q. bicolor) (n = 48) that were produced using four different nursery production systems—balled and burlapped (BNB), bare root (BR), pot-in-pot container grown (PIP), and in-ground fabric (IGF)—were evaluated to determine costs of planting in the urban environment. Costs associated with digging holes, moving the trees to the holes, and planting the trees were combined to determine the mean cost per tree: BNB trees cost $11.01 to plant, on average, which was significantly greater than PIP ($6.52), IGF ($5.38), and BR ($4.38) trees. Mean costs for BR trees were significantly lower than all other types of trees; IGF trees were less expensive to plant (by $1.14) than PIP trees, but this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.058). Probabilities that cost per tree are less than specific values also are calculated. For example, the probabilities that IGF and BR can be planted for less than $8.00 per tree are 1.00. The probability that a PIP can be planted for less than $8.00 is 0.86, whereas the probability for a BNB tree is just 0.01. This study demonstrates that the cost of planting urban trees may be affected significantly in accordance with their respective nursery production method.
The combination of concrete and asphalt surfaces, large buildings, lack of surface water, and anthropogenic heat inputs result in urban temperatures warmer than surrounding rural areas. This effect is often most pronounced with winter minimum temperatures and may cause changes in local plant hardiness zones. Local minimum temperatures were obtained for the years 1974-96 from the National Climatic Data Center and the Office of the State Climatologist of Texas for all recording stations within the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas metropolitan area. Data were averaged and analyzed in two groups: 1974-86 and 1987-96. Contour maps were created using Surfer software. The 1974-86 local map had only one major difference from the 1990 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone map, which was the inclusion of 8a temperatures in more western portions of the metroplex. The inclusion of the years 1987-96 resulted in the westward expansion of 8a and a new 8b zone near downtown Dallas. These changes mimic the expansion of suburban development and increased urbanization over the last decade. We propose an updated plant hardiness zone map for this metropolitan area, which should more accurately reflect changes that have occurred since publication of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone map.
Abstract
Glasshouse microclimate during 3 growth periods in the Southern Piedmont region of the United States was characterized. An increase in density of tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) by one-third, which doubled radiation interception, was suggested by early observations. Maintenance of clean glass surfaces was found to be particularly important during cloudy weather. There was no significant difference between mean air temperature and mean rooting media temperature in the raised beds used. CO2 concentration was found to be low (240 ppm) when fans were not circulating outside air. CO2 generators, installed to increase greenhouse CO2 levels, were not effective possibly because control was inadequate. The use of CO2 enrichment requires further study under Southeastern conditions. Relative humidity remained below the recommended 90% in the green-house except during cloudy-mild weather. Although inside relative humidity was generally less than outside relative humidity, values ranged from 90 to 100%.
During the initial season of implementation, four tomato production systems differing in soil management, pest control practices, and level of inputs, such as labor, materials, and management intensity were evaluated. These systems were CON, a low input (no mulch, no trellising, overhead irrigation, preplant fertilization, scheduled pest control), conventional agrichemical system; BLD, a high input [straw mulch, trellising, trickle irrigation, compost fertility amendment, integrated pest management (IPM)], ecologically-oriented system that emphasized the building up of soil organic matter levels and used no agrichemicals to supply fertility or for pest control; BLD+, a system similar to BLD, except that agrichemical pesticides were used; and ICM, a high input system (black polyethylene mulch, trellising, trickle irrigation, fertigation, IPM pest control) that used agrichemicals to supply fertility and for pest control. Soil characteristics and fertility levels in the BLD and BLD+ systems were modified with extensive amendments of spent mushroom compost and well-rotted cattle manure. Levels of agrichemical NPK calculated to meet current crop needs were supplied to the CON and ICM systems, with 75% of fertility in the ICM system supplied through the trickle irrigation lines (fertigation). The BLD system had a greater soil water holding capacity and sharply reduced irrigation requirements. During a wet period, fruit cracking and evidence of water-mold root rot were significantly higher in the ICM system than the BLD and CON systems. Defoliation by Alternaria solani was greatest in the BLD system and least in the ICM system. The BLD and ICM systems resulted in a 1 week earlier peak yield compared to the CON system. The yield of No. 1 fruit was 55% to 60% greater in the BLD+ system than the other three systems, which were comparable in yield. Net return was highest in the BLD+ system, although the benefit/cost ratio was greatest in the CON system. This multidisciplinary study has identified important differences in the performance of diverse production systems during the unique transitional season.