The Role of Remote Sensing in

Precision Agriculture

Source: http://www.rapideye.de/home/differentiation/

Precision Agriculture
• Decision uncertainty in agriculture are caused by spatial and
temporal variability of soil and crop conditions (Dobermann et
al., 2004).
• To improve farm productivity, soil and environmental quality, the
field of precision agriculture has been emerged.
• It is a system approach which attempts to reduce decision
uncertainty through incorporating information about spatial and
temporal variability into the decision making process.

ÆVariability

Plant Available Water

1
 Weeds

Nutrients

2
Disease

Source: http://www.montana.edu/wwwpb/pubs/mt8602.html

Weather

Source: http://ohioline.osu.edu/aex-fact/0550.html

3
 Base map

Source: www.nue.okstate.edu/Precision_Ag_Equipment.htm

How to get information about

spatial and temporal variablity?

Sourced: http://ewr.cee.vt.edu/environmental/teach/smprimer/design/sample.html

Source: http://www.specmeters.com/Chlorophyll_Meters/Minolta_SPAD_502_Meter.html

Source: http://www.montana.edu/wwwpb/pubs/mt8602.html

4
…This Is Where Remote Sensing Comes In

Thermal Remote Sensing

Optical Remote Sensing

Imagery provided by remote sensors provide spectral response

curves for each pixel of the imagery
50
Reflectance (%)

40

30

20

10

0
350 600 850 1100 1350 1600 1850 2100 2350

Wavelength (nm)

Source: http://www.technion.ac.il/ASRI/projects/hyper/

5
 Optical Remote Sensing
Incoming Radiant Flux

50
Reflectance (%)

40 Vegetation
Soil
30

20

10

0
350 600 850 1100 1350 1600 1850 2100 2350

Wavelength (nm)

Chemical/Structural Properties

Optical Remote Sensing – Water Stress

60 Water
WaterStress
Stress
Control
Control
50
Reflectance (%)

40

30

20

10

0
350 600 850 1100 1350 1600 1850 2100 2350
Wavelength (nm)

Water Indices

• Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI)

Æ (R860 – R1241)/ (R860 + R1241)

• Water Index (WI)

Æ R900 / R970

6
 Nutrients/Disease

Same Chlorophyll/Nutrient Status

7
http://www.rapideye.de/home/differentiation/

8
 Field Spectra

Model Output

What you should know

1) What is the major objective of precision
agriculture?
2) Why is remote sensing considered an important
tool in precision agriculture?
3) Two spectral response curves obtained from
different areas within a wheat field differ
considerably from each other although the crop
nitrogen and water status of the wheat crop is
exactly the same. How could this be?