Monitoring of variability in crop growth on reconstructed agriculutural Land after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake

Abstract

High-resolution optical satellite images of the reconstructed agricultural fields in Sendai Plain damaged by tsunami caused by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake were analyzed to observe variability in crop growth. The main crop of the target area is paddy rice obtained through transplantation, and dry and wet direct seeding. Soybean is the second main crop, with some other vegetables being planted. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was computed from the images captured in early July in 2014, and early July, late July, and middle August in 2015. Growth variability in the same type of crops was recognized. The differences in the growth statuses resulting from the differences in crop types and cultivation methods appeared on the NDVI images. In a comparison of the three images acquired in 2015, the early July image showed the most obvious variability in crop growth.