Abstract
Mapping of the with-in field variability of crop vigor has a long tradition with a success rate ranging from medium to high depending on the local conditions of the study. Information about the development of agronomical relevant crop parameters, such as above-ground biomass and crop nutritional status, provides high reliability for yield estimation and recommendation for variable rate application of fertilizers. The aim of this study was to utilize unmanned and satellite multispectral imaging for estimation of basic crop parameters during the growing season. The experimental part of work was carried out in 2014 at the winter wheat field with an area of 69 ha located in the South Moravia region of the Czech Republic. An UAV imaging was done in April 2014 using Sensefly eBee, which was equipped by visible and near infrared (red edge) multispectral cameras. For ground truth calibration the spectral signatures were measured on 20 sites using portable spectroradiometer ASD Handheld 2 and simultaneously plant samples were taken at BBCH 32 (April 2014) and BBCH 59 (Mai 2014) for estimation of above-ground biomass and nitrogen content. The UAV survey was later extended by selected cloud-free Landsat 8 OLI satellite imagery, downloaded from USGS web application Earth Explorer. After standard pre-processing procedures, a set of vegetation indices was calculated from remotely and ground sensed data. As the next step, a correlation analysis was computed among crop vigor parameters and vegetation indices. Both, amount of above-ground biomass and nitrogen content were highly correlated (r > 0.85) with ground spectrometric measurement by ASD Handheld 2 in BBCH 32, especially for narrow band vegetation indices (e.g. Red Edge Inflection Point). UAV and Landsat broadband vegetation indices varied in range of r = 0.5 – 0.7, highest values of the correlation coefficients were obtained for crop biomass by using GNDVI. In all cases results from BBCH 59 vegetation stage showed lower relationship to vegetation indices. Total amount of aboveground biomass was identified as the most important factor influencing the values of vegetation indices. Based on the results can be assumed that UAV and satellite monitoring provide reliable information about crop parameters for site specific crop management. The main difference of their utilization is coming from their specification and technical limits. Satellite survey can be used for periodic monitoring of crops as the indicator of their spatial heterogeneity within fields, but with low resolution (30 m per pixel for OLI). On the other hand UAV represents a special campaign aimed on the mapping of high-detailed spatial inputs for site specific crop management and variable rate application of fertilizers.
Highlights
Site specific management, known as precision agriculture, is an internationally unified term for directions of land management using new technologies that began to be developed in the eighties and early nineties of the twentieth century
For quantification of crop biophysical parameters, which are related to nutrient and healthy status of plants and important for yield formation, various vegetation indices are recommended as described by many research studies (for cereals e.g. (Fu et al, 2014; Li et al, 2014)
Plant samples were taken during vegetation period in BBCH 32 (15th April 2014) and BBCH 59 (13th Mai 2014) at 20 control points for estimation of aboveground biomass and nitrogen content
Summary
Known as precision agriculture, is an internationally unified term for directions of land management using new technologies that began to be developed in the eighties and early nineties of the twentieth century. The aim of precision agriculture is an optimization of production inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, fuel, etc.) based on the local crop requirements and soil condition. Crop management in this way can lead to economically efficient use of agrochemicals and minimization of environmental risks. Site specific management takes into consideration spatial variability within fields and optimizes the production inputs, fulfilling the objectives of sustainable agriculture (Corwin & Plant 2005). For quantification of crop biophysical parameters, which are related to nutrient and healthy status of plants and important for yield formation, various vegetation indices are recommended as described by many research studies For quantification of crop biophysical parameters, which are related to nutrient and healthy status of plants and important for yield formation, various vegetation indices are recommended as described by many research studies (for cereals e.g. (Fu et al, 2014; Li et al, 2014)
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