International Journal of Biometeorology最新文献

Maize production is affected by several biotic and abiotic factors, with diseases being a major cause of yield and quality loss. The maize white spot (MWS) is one of the most important diseases and is widespread in tropical and subtropical production areas. Its development depends on the interactions among plants, pathogens and environmental conditions. Understanding the environmental conditions that favor disease development is essential for predicting disease occurrence in different regions and for implementing effective crop management strategies. This study evaluated the relationships between agrometeorological variables and the severity of MWS, as well as the impact of the disease on maize yield under field conditions. The analysis was based on 25 years of MWS severity and yield data collected from 29 production sites in São Paulo, Brazil. Statistical approaches include correlation analysis, linear regression models, and pattern identification in the data distribution. The observed trend suggests that the maize yield decreases by approximately 45.7 kg ha⁻¹ (≈ 1%) for each 1% increase in MWS severity. The variables most strongly associated with increased MWS severity are relative humidity (> 55%), soil moisture (> 0.3), mean temperature (15–22 °C), maximum temperature (20–30 °C), diurnal temperature range (8–16 °C), and wind speed (< 3 m s⁻¹). These findings improve the understanding of the effects of the environment on disease progression, expand the knowledge of key factors and reveal new associations. The results provide valuable input for predictive models and management strategies to mitigate the impact of MWS on maize production.

As global temperatures continue to rise, heat stress presents significant risks to animal health, particularly affecting kidney function that is of vital importance due to its essential role in detoxification and fluid balance. This study investigates the effects of a carbohydrate rich diet (CRD) on renal health in albino rats subjected to prolonged heat and humidity stress. A total of 180 rats (90 males, 90 females) were assigned to Routine Diet (RD) and CRD groups, each further divided into no-stress, heat stress, and humidity stress subgroups. Stress exposure lasted 4 h daily for 30 days, with sample collection at 10, 20, and 30 days. The results demonstrated that heat and humidity stress significantly impacted renal biomarkers (urea, creatinine, uric acid, and BUN) in both male and female albino rats. Males generally exhibited higher serum levels of these markers compared to females, indicating greater susceptibility to stress-induced renal strain. Under no-stress conditions, CRD-fed males and females showed elevated renal markers compared to RD-fed counterparts, with females exhibiting relatively lower values. Humidity stress caused the most pronounced increase in renal markers, with RD-fed males and females reaching peak urea and BUN levels. The CRD diet partially mitigated these elevations in both sexes, although values remained significantly higher than in the no-stress group. Moreover, decapitation interval analysis revealed a consistent increase in urea, creatinine, and uric acid levels over time in both sexes, suggesting cumulative physiological stress. These findings highlight the complex interplay between diet, environmental stress, and gender in renal health, underscoring the potential of dietary strategies to mitigate stress-induced kidney damage. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying these gender-specific and dietary effects.

The unique climate of plateau regions increases the risk of cold-related conditions, such as hypothermia and frostbite. Therefore, it is essential to study and improve severe-cold protective equipment for use in these environments. This research involved an experiment simulating a plateau at an altitude of 4,500 m, with an ambient temperature of -9℃ and 23℃. Sixteen healthy male participants performed two types of physical activities—weighted hiking and heavy lifting—while thermophysiological and subjective thermal responses were recorded, including local skin temperature and thermal sensation. Statistical analysis revealed that different physical activities and environmental temperatures in plateau environments significantly influence human thermophysiology. During hiking, the back and shoulders exhibited weaker correlations with other body segments, likely due to insulation effects of the carried backpack. During lifting, weak correlations were primarily observed in the upper and lower limbs, which were more actively engaged. Time-series analysis further showed that skin temperatures in the head, chest, shoulders, armpits, forearms, thighs, and feet remained relatively stable, while the back, pelvis, hands, and calves displayed consistent declines, indicating insufficient insulation in these areas. Thermal perception results aligned with objective measurements. Hiking under severe-cold conditions was perceived as more thermally comfortable, whereas lifting induced colder sensations in the extremities and a warmer feeling in the torso. These findings provide an important reference for the targeted design of cold-protective equipment and offer practical insights for improving thermal safet in high-altitude, low-temperature environments.

Extreme summertime heat is an increasing challenge for cities, highlighting the need to measure and map temperature in ways that reflect human thermal experiences and inform land management decisions. Mean radiant temperature (({T}_{mrt})) is a key metric for assessing urban heat at hyper-local scales, yet its measurement remains technically challenging. In this study, we apply the six-directional gold standard method for measuring ({T}_{mrt}) alongside globe thermometer-based approaches across multiple levels of spatial aggregation and develop a novel machine learning model trained on field data. Data were collected in a semi-arid city in Colorado, USA, over two summers. Using measurements from residential parcels, we show that aggregated globe thermometer data—collected using a low-cost, accessible sensor—can capture thermal patterns across landscapes with reasonable accuracy. Our findings also indicate that machine learning, combining six-directional and globe thermometer data, has potential to improve both measurement accuracy and efficiency. This work advances practical methods using both low and high-cost micrometeorology instruments to address socio-ecological questions in cities.

In the context of current and future climate change, determination of the agro-climatic requirements of fruit tree species represents a central issue in horticulture and are essential to highlight the potential effect of temperature variation on the tree phenology and the dormancy process. To reach this purpose, forcing tests were performed on 11 peach and 6 nectarine cultivars in Meknes region, Morocco over two years (2020/2021 and 2021/2022) in order to determine the potential date of the endodormancy release, as well as the endodormancy and ecodormancy phases. The objective was to estimate the chill and heat requirements for each cultivar. We also identified the effects of temperature variation on the flowering rate, the rate of fruit set and the rate of fruit drop in some cultivars. The results showed considerable differences in dormancy release date, floral phenology and agro-climatic requirements among all the studied cultivars, since these requirements have ranged around 225–578 Chill Hours (CH), 396–728 Chill Units (CU), 21.9–39.7 Chill Portions (CP) and 4 680 − 10 629 Growing Degree Hours (GDH) for peach, and around 269–482 CH, 375–710 CU, 22.1–37.8 CP and 6 172 -9 325 GDH for nectarine according to Chill Hours, Utah, Dynamic and GDH models respectively. The peach and nectarine cultivars were classified into three groups, ranged from early flowering cultivars (mid-February) that exhibited early dormancy release (end of December) and low chill requirements to late flowering cultivars (mid-March), requiring a longer dormancy period (until the first week of February) and high chill requirements. Unlike Honey Cascade, Summer Lady is less sensitive to bud and fruit drop during warm autumns and winter chill deficits, making it a promising genetic resource for breeding programs. In the face of climate change, opting for peach and nectarine cultivars with low to medium chill requirements is essential. This adaptation is crucial to ensure the sustainability of fruit production in the context of climate change.

Dynamic shifts in plant phenology significantly influence global carbon cycles, biodiversity, and ecosystem resilience. While conventional phenological methods primarily focus on discrete events such as the start or end of growing seasons, they often fail to capture the continuous and interconnected nature of plant growth. In this study, we address these challenges by employing the phase method——dynamic time warping, a novel framework inspired by the concept of phase in physics, to characterize phenological dynamics as a continuous process. Leveraging satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data and model simulated leaf area index (LAI) datasets, we extracted the global phenological phase shifts from 1982 to 2016. Our results revealed well-simulated spring phenological phase advances and subtle autumn phenological phase shifts in mid-to-high latitudes. However, models exhibited limited accuracy in capturing the delayed phases of the growing season in tropical regions and the advanced growing season phases in arid regions. Therefore, these findings provide new insights into vegetation dynamic responses to climate change, underscoring the long-term and global ecological impacts. They also highlight the necessity of integrating phenological phase responses into climate models to enhance predictive accuracy.

This study combines the method of climate analogue regions with a bioclimatic approach. Bioclimate analogue regions were determined for the Rhenish lignite mining area in western Germany, which will face a major structural change in the following decades. These analogue regions currently experience a similar number of days with heat stress compared to the projected future (RCP8.5) at the end of the century in the investigation area. The method is based on the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) parameters temperature, solar radiation, wind and relative humidity in 3-h temporal resolution while taking day- and night-time values into account. The analogues were calculated for an ensemble of 15 GCM-RCM model combinations from EURO-CORDEX data. The results suggest that analogue regions of the Rhenish lignite mining area are most likely to be found in southern Europe. The highest similarities for the whole ensemble can be found around the Gulf du Lion in southern France. However, some other regions, e.g. around the Black Sea, north of the Balkan Mountains or south of Bordeaux are good fits in some individual model results. While some of these regions are in accordance with previous studies on climate analogue regions, some others were unexpected. The study further shows advantages of using full-coverage instead of punctual data for climate analogue determination, as the results in this study exhibit a high level of spatial detail. For areas facing major structural changes, knowledge of possible climate futures and their present examples can be key aspects for regional planning.

This study evaluated patient satisfaction and expectation levels in individuals with chronic low back pain (LBP), myofascial pain syndrome (MPS), and knee osteoarthritis (KOA) who received mud pack therapy (MPT). It also investigated the relationship between these conditions and pain levels, global assessment results, and side effects. We assessed 250 patients (n = 74 for LBP, n = 75 for MPS, n = 101 for KOA) who underwent twelve sessions of MPT at 43 °C, lasting 30 min each. Patients continued their routine care and completed surveys on satisfaction and expectations, as well as measures of pain (VAS-pain), global assessment (VAS-PGA), and acceptable symptom state (PASS). Satisfaction levels were reported as “satisfied” or “definitely satisfied” by 93.1% to 96% of patients. Expectations were met by 86.7% to 89.2% of patients. Both VAS-pain and VAS-PGA showed statistically significant improvements after treatment (p < 0.001), though there were no differences between groups (p = 0.794 for VAS-pain, p = 0.234 for VAS-PGA). The PASS evaluation showed no significant group differences (p = 0.274). No serious side effects were reported, except for mild, short-term increases in pain. MPT is an effective treatment providing significant pain relief for LBP, MPS, and KOA patients, with high satisfaction and expectation fulfillment among participants.

Balneotherapy has traditionally been associated with skin health and psychological well-being. However, few studies have assessed its effects during extended use in real-world, community-based settings. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of repeated balneotherapy on skin barrier function and psychological stress regulation in middle-aged women. A 16-week quasi-experimental trial was conducted in Asan, Republic of Korea, involving 58 community-dwelling women aged 40–64 years. Participants were assigned to either an intervention group (n = 29), which received biweekly 20-minute immersion sessions in naturally mineralized hot spring water, or a control group (n = 29) with no spa exposure. Primary outcomes included corneometry-based skin hydration and transepidermal water loss (TEWL). Secondary outcomes were assessed using the Stress Response Inventory (SRI), salivary cortisol, heart rate variability (HRV), and the Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC). Significant in-group improvements were observed in the intervention group for skin hydration (p < 0.001), TEWL (p < 0.001), and SRI scores (p = 0.043). Between-group comparisons at week 16 showed significant differences for skin hydration, TEWL, SRI, and PGIC (all p < 0.05), whereas no significant differences were found for salivary cortisol or HRV. Repeated balneotherapy over 16 weeks improved skin barrier function and reduced psychological stress in middle-aged women. These findings support the feasibility of thermal bathing as a non-pharmacologic, community-based intervention for preventive wellness and highlight the need for larger randomized trials with long-term follow-up.