Yield estimation of winter wheat in North China Plain by using crop growth monitoring system (CGMS)

Abstract

Crop Growth Monitoring System (CGMS) was originally developed by European Union based on a crop growth model (WOFOST) with the goal of regional yield estimations for major crops. The CGMS, driven by the geographic information system and the crop growth model, is composed of three main components: weather monitoring, crop monitoring and crop yield forecasting. In this study, the CGMS is introduced into China Agriculture Remote Sensing Monitoring System (CHARMS) to improve its ability of crop yield estimation. To do that, Hebei Province in North China Plain is selected as the study area. The CGMS is localized and the important parameters are verified by using local ground truth data. Its input datasets is divided into two parts, i.e., static and dynamic data. The former includes soil, crop distribution, phenology, administrative maps, the later includes the weather data, time-series remotely sensed data, and crop statistics. After that, the CGMS is used to estimate the crop yield for winter wheat in Hebei province. The historical crop yield data is used to validate the model estimations. The results show that the localized CGMS can monitor well the crop growth processes and is able to estimate the crop yield at regional scale. The CGMS can serve the agricultural macro-economic regulation and control, the management of agricultural production, as well as the food warning system of China.