RU2765842C1 - Device for comprehensive tracking of seasonal changes in plants - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: botany and forestry.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to the field of botany and forestry and can be used to carry out complex research in the field of seasonal changes in plants, such as phenological observations, observation of the growth of leaves, shoots, flowers, fruits and cones. The device contains a frame on which a camera is mounted at one end and a vertical screen at the other. The upper part of the vertical screen facing the camera is made in the form of a whiteboard. A movable carriage is mounted on the frame between the vertical screen and the camera, on which a frame is mounted in a vertical position, in which a removable cassette with a mesh having a fixed cell size is installed. The movable carriage is equipped with a position lock relative to the frame, while the vertical screen is made in the form of a pocket with a cavity in which a set of removable cassettes with nets is located. There are two mounts on the frame: one for fixing the marker, the other for fixing the marker eraser.

EFFECT: device provides an expansion of technological capabilities.

1 cl, 1 dwg

Description

The invention relates to the field of botany and forestry and can be used for conducting complex research work on seasonal changes in plants in the field, such as phenological observations, observations of the growth of leaves, shoots, flowers, fruits and cones. At present, these seasonal changes are being studied using various devices.

A known method of conducting phenological observations of plants [Bulygin N.E. Phenological observations of woody plants: A manual for educational and scientific research. Leningrad: LTA, 1979. - 96 p. - Electronic resource. - Access mode: http://garden.karelia.ru/fenology/bulygin.pdf section 2.1], which consists in the fact that the researcher bypasses the territory of plant growth, visually inspects the plants and writes down the plant changes seen in the field journal, where the name indicates plants, the date of inspection and the phenological phase of plant development, then analyzes the collected data. This method is implemented using a field journal and a writing stationery (pen or pencil).

Analysis requires comparison with last year's data or with data from other plant habitats. The longer the observation period, the more likely it is that different observers will be involved in their conduct. In addition, when observing in different remote areas, observations are carried out by different people. As a result, the disadvantages of the known method of conducting phenological observations of plants include: different interpretation of phenological phases by different researchers, which leads to the inevitable occurrence of errors in determining the dates of the onset of phenological phases. This method involves only phenological observations of plants and does not provide for fixing and measuring the dynamics of growth and development of the size of vegetative (leaves, shoots) and generative (flowers, fruits, cones) parts of plants.

The disadvantage of using a field journal and writing stationery (pen or pencil) with the above method is the limited use of them during rain. Another disadvantage is that in the case of making notes with an ink ballpoint pen, over time, the ink burns out and the inscriptions made by them become unreadable. This circumstance leads to the inevitable loss of information over time.

A known method of fixing the size of the leaves of plants during their growth [Kuryanov S.A., Gordeev A.S. Method of mass measurements of plant leaf area // Bulletin of the Michurinsk State Agrarian University. 2015. №3. pp. 193-202. - Electronic resource. - Access mode: https://www.elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_24414514_22980019.pdf]. using a paper carrier of information - graph paper and a writing stationery (pen or pencil). According to this method, a leaf of the plant under study is applied to graph paper, outlined with a stationery instrument, the number of integer and fractional squares is calculated from the obtained projection, and the area of the plant is determined by their sum.

The disadvantages of the known method for studying the size of plant leaves during their growth are the length of the measurement process and the high laboriousness of the work, due to the inconvenience of tracing the contours of a plant sample with a writing stationery device for projecting it onto graph paper in the field without damaging them. Also, the disadvantage of this method is the use of a paper information carrier, which limits its use during rain. The devices used in this method allow only measuring the size of plant leaves and do not allow fixing the parameters of other parts of plants and are not involved in phenological observations. It is possible to combine the known method of fixing plant sizes with simultaneous visual phenological observations of plants, but in this case, such visual phenological observation of plants will be characterized by different interpretations of phenological phases by different researchers, which leads to the inevitable occurrence of errors in determining the dates of the onset of phenological phases.

A known method of determining the size of plant leaves using a special technical device - a planimeter [Kuryanov S.A., Gordeev A.S. Method of mass measurements of plant leaf area // Bulletin of the Michurinsk State Agrarian University. 2015. №3. pp. 193-202. - Electronic resource. - Access mode: https://www.elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_24414514_22980019.pdf]. According to this method, the integration of closed flat contours is performed. To do this, the contour of the leaf blade of the plant is applied to a sheet of paper and then the contour point of the planimeter is passed along it. After the contour is closed, repeated by the planimeter, the counting wheels or the screen display the value of the area of the figure.

The disadvantages of using a planimeter in the known method for determining the size of plants are the duration of the process and the high complexity of the work, due to the inconvenience of applying the contour of the leaf blade of a plant to a sheet of paper in the field while maintaining the integrity of the plant, i.e. without detaching the leaf from the stem of the plant. Also, the disadvantage of this method is the use of a paper information carrier in the form of a field journal, which limits its use during rain. The use of a planimeter in this method involves only fixing the size of plant leaves, and does not provide for the study of other seasonal changes in phenological observations. It is possible to combine the known method of determining the size of plant leaves with simultaneous visual phenological observations of plants, but in this case such visual phenological observation of plants will be characterized by different interpretations of phenological phases by different researchers, which leads to the inevitable occurrence of errors in determining the dates of the onset of phenological phases.

A known method of measuring the area of the leaves of plants, including the use of a camera for photographing a leaf of a plant and the use of special software for computer processing of photographs [Kuryanov S.A., Gordeev A.S. Method of mass measurements of plant leaf area // Bulletin of the Michurinsk State Agrarian University. 2015. №3. pp. 193-202. - Electronic resource. - Access mode: https://www.elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_24414514_22980019.pdf].

The disadvantages of the known method for determining the area of leaves using a camera and special software for processing photographs include: the difficulty of placing a plant leaf in a straightened position when photographing (for example, plant leaves during growth most often have a curved shape). If the studied part of the plant is not fully extended, this will lead to an error in determining its size. In addition, this method requires the use of specialized software for digital image processing, which requires a license for its use and special knowledge to work with it. All this leads to the complexity of the procedure for determining the area of leaves. Another disadvantage of this method using these devices is the difficulty in identifying the received images, because There is no identifying information on the image itself. This information is given in the accompanying documentation, which, due to careless handling, may be lost or confused. Also, this method, implemented using these devices, does not provide for tracking changes in other parts of plants and conducting phenological observations.

A known method for measuring the length of shoots of plants during their growth [Molchanov A.A., Smirnov V.V. Methodology for studying the growth of woody plants. - M.: Nauka, 1967. - 95 p.], based on multiple manual measurements of shoot growth by applying centimeter rulers to the shoots and recording the corresponding value in the field journal.

The disadvantage of the known method for measuring the length of shoots with rulers is the complexity of measurements caused by the tortuous growth of shoots, as a result of which it is necessary to straighten the measured shoot, which leads to an increase in the duration of the measurement process and anthropogenic impact on the natural growth of shoots, which can cause the death of the shoot or its unnatural development. Also, the disadvantage of this method is the use of a paper information carrier - a field journal, which limits its use during rain. Also, this method does not involve tracking changes in other parts of plants and conducting phenological observations.

A known method of measuring the length and diameter of the fruits and cones of plants during their growth using a caliper [Ivanov V.P., Marchenko S.I., Zaitseva L.V., Ivanov Yu.V. Methodological aspects of determining the biometric parameters of Scotch pine cones // Bulletin of the Moscow State Forest University - Forest Bulletin. 2012. No. 1 (84). S. 42-46].

The disadvantage of using calipers to measure the length and diameter of fruits and cones of plants during their growth is the length of the measurement process and the possible anthropogenic impact on the natural growth of fruits and cones. In addition, this method does not involve tracking changes in other parts of plants and conducting phenological observations.

The closest and taken as a prototype is a device that includes a frame at one end on which a camera is placed, and at the other a screen used in the implementation of a known method for modeling plant growth [Henke M., Huckemann, Kurth W., Sloboda B. Reconstructing leaf growth based on non-destructive digitizing and low-parametric shape evolution for plant modeling over a growth cycle // Silva Fennica. Vol.48. no. 2. Article id 1019. 23 p.]. The use of the device involves placing the test part of the model plant in front of the screen, photographing it, determining the size of the test part of the plant leaf by projecting its image onto the screen. To determine the size of a model plant, digital photo processing is used using special software.

The disadvantages of using the known device when implementing the method for modeling plant growth include: the difficulty of placing the test part of the model plant in a straightened position in front of the screen (for example, leaves or shoots of plants often have a bent concave shape) and fixing it in such a fixed position. If the studied part of the plant is not fully extended or is not parallel to the screen, then this will lead to an error in determining its size, because. its projection area on the screen will be reduced. Therefore, there is a possibility of error due to incorrect orientation of the studied part of the model plant. In addition, this method requires the use of specialized software for digital image processing, which requires a license for its use and special knowledge to work with it. All this leads to the complexity of the implementation of this method. In addition, the use of a known device in the implementation of this method does not allow the control of measurements immediately in the field, but involves obtaining a result only after processing the photographs. Another disadvantage of this method is the difficulty in identifying the received images, because There is no identifying information on the image itself. This information is given in the accompanying documentation, which, due to careless handling, may be lost or confused. Also, this method does not involve tracking changes in other parts of plants and conducting phenological observations.

The technical result of the device for comprehensive monitoring of seasonal changes in plants is to expand the technological capabilities, improve ease of use by fixing the test part of the model plant in front of the screen in a straightened position and parallel to it for the period of photography, simplifying the determination of the size of the test part of the model plant along the grid lines with a known size step, the absence of anthropogenic impact on the studied plant growth processes, as well as the display on the images of information identifying the studied part of the model plant, which facilitates the identification of images in time.

The technical result is achieved by the fact that in the device for comprehensive monitoring of seasonal changes in plants, including a frame on which a camera is installed at one end and a vertical screen at the other, the upper part of the vertical screen facing the camera is made in the form of a marker board, on the frame a movable carriage is installed between the vertical screen and the camera, on which the frame is mounted in a vertical position, a removable cassette with a grid having a fixed cell size is installed in the frame, the movable carriage is equipped with a position lock relative to the frame, while the vertical screen is made in the form of a pocket with a cavity in which a set of removable cassettes with grids is placed, and two fasteners are made on the frame, one for fixing the marker, the other for fixing the marker eraser.

In FIG. 1 shows a general view of a device for comprehensive tracking of seasonal changes in plants.

The device for comprehensive monitoring of seasonal changes in plants includes a frame 1, on which a camera 2 is installed at one end, and a vertical screen 3 at the other. The upper part of the vertical screen 3, facing the camera 2, is made in the form of a marker board 4. A vertical screen 3 and a camera 2 are equipped with a movable carriage 5, on which a frame 6 is mounted in a vertical position. A removable cassette with a grid 7 with a fixed cell size is installed in the frame 6. The movable carriage 5 is equipped with a position lock 8 relative to the frame. The position lock 8 can be made, for example, in the form of a threaded screw screwed into a threaded hole in the movable carriage 5. The vertical screen 3 is made in the form of a pocket with a cavity 9 in which a set of removable cassettes with grids is placed. On the frame 1, two fasteners 10, 11 are made, one for fixing the marker 12, the other for fixing the marker eraser 13.

When the latch 8 is made in the form of a threaded screw screwed into a threaded hole in the movable carriage 5, the fixed position is fixed by screwing the threaded screw into the threaded hole of the carriage, as a result of which the screw rests against the frame with its end and thereby creates a fixing force. If it is necessary to disable the action of the lock, the threaded screw is unscrewed from the threaded hole.

The device for comprehensive monitoring of seasonal changes in plants works as follows.

When walking around the territory along a predetermined route, the researcher approaches the selected model plant. The researcher removes the marker 12 from the mount 10. On the upper part of the vertical screen 3, facing the camera 2 and made in the form of a marker board 4, the researcher puts an identifying inscription. Next, the marker 12 returns to the holder 10. The identifying inscription contains, for example, the date and time of observation, the name of the researcher, the characteristics of the model plant: species, age, etc. Depending on the size of the model plant, the researcher chooses a removable cassette with the grid spacing that is most suitable for the given conditions. Then the researcher removes the selected removable cassette with mesh from the cavity 9 of the vertical screen 3 and installs it in a vertical frame 6 mounted on a movable carriage 5. Next, the researcher loosens the action of the latch 8, places the test part of the model plant between the removable cassette with mesh 7 and vertical screen 3 and moves the movable carriage 5 together with the removable cassette with mesh 7 towards the vertical screen 3 until the studied part of the model plant is clamped in the expanded form between the removable cassette with mesh 7 and the vertical screen 3. Then the researcher switches on the action of the latch 8, thereby ensuring the immobility of the carriage 5 relative to the frame 1. Next, the researcher takes photographs with the camera 2. Then the researcher turns off the action of the latch 8, moves the movable carriage 5 together with the removable cassette with the mesh 7 from the screen 3 and removes the part of the model plant under study. Next, the researcher removes the marker eraser 13 from the mount 11 and erases the inscription from the upper part 4 of the screen 3, after which the screen eraser returns to the mount 11. The removable cassette with the grid 7 is removed from the frame 6 and placed in the cavity 9 of the vertical screen 3. Moves on to the next plant .

Based on the obtained photograph, taking into account the scale of the image of the grid cells, the dimensions of the studied part of the model plant are determined. According to the photograph, seasonal changes in the model plant are established. It is advisable to analyze photographs in the laboratory after bypassing the planned route and photographing all model plants scheduled for control.

The whiteboard-like design of the top of the vertical screen facing the camera makes it easy to identify pictures by displaying identifying information written with a marker. This, in turn, provides an expansion of technological capabilities, an increase in convenience and a decrease in the labor intensity of work when tracking plant growth by providing the necessary identifying records on the images themselves. This, in turn, simplifies the work with images and eliminates the possibility of incorrect comparison of the image and the record about it, which can happen if the image description is stored on a separate medium independent of the image, for example, paper.

Due to the fact that two fasteners are made on the frame: one for fixing the marker, the other for fixing the marker eraser, the convenience of using the device is ensured by placing on it all the marker items and its eraser necessary for applying information identifying images.

Due to the fact that a movable carriage is installed on the frame between the vertical screen and the camera, on which the frame is mounted in a vertical position, and a removable cassette with a grid with a fixed cell size is installed in the frame, it is possible to change the distance between the removable cassette with a grid and the vertical screen. The placement of the studied elements of different sizes between them and, at the same time, by pressing the grid to the object under study, it is possible to orient it in space so that the studied element of the object is in a plane parallel to the grid in the most favorable position for taking photographs and subsequent analysis of the results obtained. Due to the fact that a grid with a certain known cell pitch is placed in front of the object under study, it is convenient to determine the size of the object under study and its surface area from a photograph.

Due to the fact that the movable carriage is equipped with a position lock relative to the frame, its immobility is ensured, and at the same time, the immobility of the studied plant element pressed against it when photographing it. This ensures that the pictures taken are clear.

Due to the fact that the vertical screen is made in the form of a pocket with a cavity in which a set of removable cassettes with grids is placed, it is possible to store and quickly access a set of removable cassettes with grids with different pitches. This improves the usability.

Claims (1)

Device for comprehensive monitoring of seasonal changes in plants, including a frame on which a camera is installed at one end, and a vertical screen at the other, characterized in that the upper part of the vertical screen, facing the camera, is made in the form of a marker board, on the frame between the vertical screen and the camera has a movable carriage on which the frame is mounted in a vertical position, a removable cassette with a grid having a fixed cell size is installed in the frame, the movable carriage is equipped with a position lock relative to the frame, while the vertical screen is made in the form of a pocket with a cavity in which the kit is placed removable cassettes with grids, moreover, two fasteners are made on the frame: one for fixing the marker, the other for fixing the marker eraser.

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