scholarly journals Integration of Soil Electrical Conductivity and Indices Obtained through Satellite Imagery for Differential Management of Pasture Fertilization

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 567-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Serrano ◽  
Shakib Shahidian ◽  
José Marques da Silva ◽  
Luís Paixão ◽  
José Calado ◽  
...  

Dryland pastures in the Alentejo region, located in the south of Portugal, normally occupy soils that have low fertility but, simultaneously, important spatial variability. Rational application of fertilizers requires knowledge of spatial variability of soil characteristics and crop response, which reinforces the interest of technologies that facilitates the identification of homogeneous management zones (HMZ). In this work, a pasture field of about 25 ha, integrated in the Montado mixed ecosystem (agro-silvo-pastoral), was monitored. Surveys of apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) were carried out in November 2017 and October 2018 with a Veris 2000 XA contact sensor. A total of 24 sampling points (30 × 30 m) were established in tree-free zones to allow readings of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized difference water index (NDWI). Historical time series of these indices were obtained from satellite imagery (Sentinel-2) in winter and spring 2017 and 2018. Three zones with different potential productivity were defined based on the results obtained in terms of spatial variability and temporal stability of the measured parameters. These are the basis for the elaboration of differentiated prescription maps of fertilizers with variable application rate technology, taking into account the variability of soil characteristics and pasture development, contributing to the sustainability of this ecosystem.

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 817
Author(s):  
Jesús Julio Camarero ◽  
Michele Colangelo ◽  
Antonio Gazol ◽  
Manuel Pizarro ◽  
Cristina Valeriano ◽  
...  

Windstorms are forest disturbances which generate canopy gaps. However, their effects on Mediterranean forests are understudied. To fill that research gap, changes in tree, cover, growth and soil features in Pinus halepensis and Pinus sylvestris plantations affected by windthrows were quantified. In each plantation, trees and soils in closed-canopy stands and gaps created by the windthrow were sampled. Changes in tree cover and radial growth were assessed by using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and dendrochronology, respectively. Soil features including texture, nutrients concentration and soil microbial community structure were also analyzed. Windthrows reduced tree cover and enhanced growth, particularly in the P. halepensis site, which was probably more severely impacted. Soil characteristics were also more altered by the windthrow in this site: the clay percentage increased in gaps, whereas K and Mg concentrations decreased. The biomass of Gram positive bacteria and actinomycetes increased in gaps, but the biomass of Gram negative bacteria and fungi decreased. Soil gaps became less fertile and dominated by bacteria after the windthrow in the P. halepensis site. We emphasize the relevance of considering post-disturbance time recovery and disturbance intensity to assess forest resilience within a multi-scale approach.


2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aura Pedrera-Parrilla ◽  
Eric C. Brevik ◽  
Juan V. Giráldez ◽  
Karl Vanderlinden

Abstract Understanding of soil spatial variability is needed to delimit areas for precision agriculture. Electromagnetic induction sensors which measure the soil apparent electrical conductivity reflect soil spatial variability. The objectives of this work were to see if a temporally stable component could be found in electrical conductivity, and to see if temporal stability information acquired from several electrical conductivity surveys could be used to better interpret the results of concurrent surveys of electrical conductivity and soil water content. The experimental work was performed in a commercial rainfed olive grove of 6.7 ha in the ‘La Manga’ catchment in SW Spain. Several soil surveys provided gravimetric soil water content and electrical conductivity data. Soil electrical conductivity values were used to spatially delimit three areas in the grove, based on the first principal component, which represented the time-stable dominant spatial electrical conductivity pattern and explained 86% of the total electrical conductivity variance. Significant differences in clay, stone and soil water contents were detected between the three areas. Relationships between electrical conductivity and soil water content were modelled with an exponential model. Parameters from the model showed a strong effect of the first principal component on the relationship between soil water content and electrical conductivity. Overall temporal stability of electrical conductivity reflects soil properties and manifests itself in spatial patterns of soil water content.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brianna Pagán ◽  
Adekunle Ajayi ◽  
Mamadou Krouma ◽  
Jyotsna Budideti ◽  
Omar Tafsi

<p>The value of satellite imagery to monitor crop health in near-real time continues to exponentially grow as more missions are launched making data available at higher spatial and temporal scales. Yet cloud cover remains an issue for utilizing vegetation indexes (VIs) solely based on optic imagery, especially in certain regions and climates. Previous research has proven the ability to reconstruct VIs like the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Leaf Area Index (LAI) by leveraging synthetic aperture radar (SAR) datasets, which are not inhibited by cloud cover. Publicly available data from SAR missions like Sentinel-1 at relatively decent spatial resolutions present the opportunity for more affordable options for agriculture users to integrate satellite imagery in their day to day operations. Previous research has successfully reconstructed optic VIs (i.e. from Sentinel-2) with SAR data (i.e. from Sentinel-1) leveraging various machine learning approaches for a limited number of crop types. However, these efforts normally train on individual pixels rather than leveraging information at a field level. </p><p>Here we present Beyond Cloud, a product which is the first to leverage computer vision and machine learning approaches in order to provide fused optic and SAR based crop health information. Field level learning is especially well-suited for inherently noisy SAR datasets. Several use cases are presented over agriculture fields located throughout the United Kingdom, France and Belgium, where cloud cover limits optic based solutions to as little as 2-3 images per growing season. Preliminary efforts for additional features to the product including automated crop and soil type detection are also discussed. Beyond Cloud can be accessed via a simple API which makes integration of the results easy for existing dashboards and smart-ag tools. Overall, these efforts promote the accessibility of satellite imagery for real agriculture end users.</p><p> </p>


Soil Science ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 171 (8) ◽  
pp. 627-637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay David Jabro ◽  
Robert G. Evans ◽  
Yunseup Kim ◽  
William B. Stevens ◽  
William M. Iversen

Author(s):  
Alberto C. de C. Bernardi ◽  
Célia R. Grego ◽  
Ricardo G. Andrade ◽  
Ladislau M. Rabello ◽  
Ricardo Y. Inamasu

ABSTRACT The knowledge of soil property spatial variability is useful for determining the rational use of inputs, such as the site-specific application of lime and fertilizer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the vegetation index and spatial variability of physical and chemical soil properties in an integrated crop-livestock system (ICLS). Soil samples were taken from a 6.9 ha area in a regular hexagon grid at 0-0.20 m depths. Soil P, K, Ca, Mg, and cation exchange capacity - CEC; base saturation; clay and sand were analyzed. Soil electrical conductivity (ECa) was measured with a contact sensor. The site was evaluated at the end of the corn season (April) and during forage production (October) using Landsat 5 images, remote sensing techniques and a geographic information system (GIS). Results showed that the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was associated with ECa and soil parameters, indicating crop and pasture variations in the ICLS. Geostatistics and GIS were effective tools for collecting data regarding the spatial variability of soil and crop indicators, identifying variation trends in the data, and assisting data interpretation to determine adequate management strategies.


Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 749
Author(s):  
Danielle L. Lacouture ◽  
Eben N. Broadbent ◽  
Raelene M. Crandall

Research Highlights: Fire-frequented savannas are dominated by plant species that regrow quickly following fires that mainly burn through the understory. To detect post-fire vegetation recovery in these ecosystems, particularly during warm, rainy seasons, data are needed on a small, temporal scale. In the past, the measurement of vegetation regrowth in fire-frequented systems has been labor-intensive, but with the availability of daily satellite imagery, it should be possible to easily determine vegetation recovery on a small timescale using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in ecosystems with a sparse overstory. Background and Objectives: We explore whether it is possible to use NDVI calculated from satellite imagery to detect time-to-vegetation recovery. Additionally, we determine the time-to-vegetation recovery after fires in different seasons. This represents one of very few studies that have used satellite imagery to examine vegetation recovery after fire in southeastern U.S.A. pine savannas. We test the efficacy of using this method by examining whether there are detectable differences between time-to-vegetation recovery in subtropical savannas burned during different seasons. Materials and Methods: NDVI was calculated from satellite imagery approximately monthly over two years in a subtropical savanna with units burned during dry, dormant and wet, growing seasons. Results: Despite the availability of daily satellite images, we were unable to precisely determine when vegetation recovered, because clouds frequently obscured our range of interest. We found that, in general, vegetation recovered in less time after fire during the wet, growing, as compared to dry, dormant, season, albeit there were some discrepancies in our results. Although these general patterns were clear, variation in fire heterogeneity and canopy type and cover skewed NDVI in some units. Conclusions: Although there are some challenges to using satellite-derived NDVI, the availability of satellite imagery continues to improve on both temporal and spatial scales, which should allow us to continue finding new and efficient ways to monitor and model forests in the future.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8437
Author(s):  
Enrique Barajas ◽  
Sara Álvarez ◽  
Elena Fernández ◽  
Sergio Vélez ◽  
José Antonio Rubio ◽  
...  

The objective of this work is to evaluate the agronomic, phenological, nutritional quality and organoleptic characteristics of pistachios (Pistacia vera L.) based on the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) calculated in the phenological stage of nut filling from Sentinel satellite imagery. Based on this index, three pistachio tree orchards were studied and classified into two levels of vigour: high and low. The results obtained have discriminated the production per tree, which is strongly related to yield. Regarding the nutritional quality parameters, significant differences were not observed between vigour levels, although the most vigorous trees have shown nuts with a higher percentage of fibre and protein. In terms of phenology, there have not been differences between trees of different vigour, only a slight advance of some phenological stages has been observed in several high-vigour trees. Triangular tests have been made successfully to discriminate the origin of the dry nut and the vigour of the trees. In conclusion, for a given nut quality within a given orchard, the NDVI is a good index to classify different areas according to productive capacity and can be useful to apply variable management, irrigation and fertilization according to vigour.


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