Abstract
Correct estimation of above-ground biomass (AGB) is necessary for accurate crop growth monitoring and yield prediction. We estimated AGB based on images obtained with a snapshot hyperspectral sensor (UHD 185 firefly, Cubert GmbH, Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany) mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The UHD 185 images were used to calculate the crop height and hyperspectral reflectance of winter wheat canopies from hyperspectral and panchromatic images. We constructed several single-parameter models for AGB estimation based on spectral parameters, such as specific bands, spectral indices (e.g., Ratio Vegetation Index (RVI), NDVI, Greenness Index (GI) and Wide Dynamic Range VI (WDRVI)) and crop height and several models combined with spectral parameters and crop height. Comparison with experimental results indicated that incorporating crop height into the models improved the accuracy of AGB estimations (the average AGB is 6.45 t/ha). The estimation accuracy of single-parameter models was low (crop height only: R2 = 0.50, RMSE = 1.62 t/ha, MAE = 1.24 t/ha; R670 only: R2 = 0.54, RMSE = 1.55 t/ha, MAE = 1.23 t/ha; NDVI only: R2 = 0.37, RMSE = 1.81 t/ha, MAE = 1.47 t/ha; partial least squares regression R2 = 0.53, RMSE = 1.69, MAE = 1.20), but accuracy increased when crop height and spectral parameters were combined (partial least squares regression modeling: R2 = 0.78, RMSE = 1.08 t/ha, MAE = 0.83 t/ha; verification: R2 = 0.74, RMSE = 1.20 t/ha, MAE = 0.96 t/ha). Our results suggest that crop height determined from the new UAV-based snapshot hyperspectral sensor can improve AGB estimation and is advantageous for mapping applications. This new method can be used to guide agricultural management.
Highlights
Above-ground biomass (AGB) [1] reflects the status of crop growth and is related to solar energy utilization, yield and grain quality [2,3]
Estimation of AGB is important for ecological research at regional and global scales [8] and has been employed in global carbon cycle [9,10,11] and climate change [12,13,14] studies
Our method is to provide three-dimensional information combining crop height and hyperspectral information to overcome the shortcoming caused by the use of canopy hyperspectral information only
Summary
Above-ground biomass (AGB) [1] reflects the status of crop growth and is related to solar energy utilization, yield and grain quality [2,3]. AGB is considered one of the most important biochemical crop parameters [4,5,6], and correct estimation of AGB can help improve crop monitoring and yield prediction [7]. Estimation of AGB is important for ecological research at regional and global scales [8] and has been employed in global carbon cycle [9,10,11] and climate change [12,13,14] studies. Hyperspectral technology has shown great potential for monitoring of crop parameters [15,16] Prior to the emergence of remote sensing technology, large AGB surveys were limited by labor and resources [4,5,6].
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