Research Project: Enhancing Agricultural Management and Conservation Practices by Advancing Measurement Techniques and Improving Modeling Across Scales

Location: Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory

Publications (Clicking on the reprint icon will take you to the publication reprint.)

Remote sensing for crop mapping: A perspective on present and future crop-specific land cover data products - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Zhang, C., Kerner, H., Wang, S., Hao, P., Li, Z., Hunt, K., Abernethy, J., Zhao, H., Gao, F.N., Di, L., Guo, C., Liu, Z., Yang, Z., Mueller, R., Boryan, C., Chen, Q., Beeson, P., Zhang, H., Shen, Y. 2025. Remote sensing for crop mapping: a perspective on present and future crop-specific land cover data products. Remote Sensing of Environment. 330. Article e114995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2025.114995.

Satellite assessment of winter cover crop and conservation tillage outcomes to support adaptive management in working landscapes - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Hively, W.D., Gao, F.N., Mccarty, G.W., Daughtry, C.S., Zhang, X., Jennewein, J.S., Thieme, A.N., Lamb, B.T., Keppler, J., Hapeman, C.J., Cosh, M.H., Mirsky, S.B. 2025. Satellite assessment of winter cover crop and conservation tillage outcomes to support adaptive management in working landscapes. Journal of Environmental Quality. 54(6):1548-1571. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.70082.

Regionalization analysis of environmental drivers of CONUS grazing land biomass - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Chang, J., Gao, F.N., Anderson, M.C., Cirone, R.J., Zhao, H. 2025. Regionalization analysis of environmental drivers of CONUS grazing land biomass. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing. 18:12634-12644. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2025.3568771.

Soil erosion and lateral carbon fluxes from corn stover-derived biofuel - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Zhang, X., Leduc, S.D., Kim, S., Dale, B.E., Zhao, K., Zhou, Y., Mccarty, G.W., Moglen, G.E. 2025. Soil erosion and lateral carbon fluxes from corn stover-derived biofuel. Scientific Reports. 15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99218-y.

Improving crop condition monitoring using phenologically aligned vegetation index anomalies – A case study in central Iowa - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Zhao, H., Gao, F.N., Anderson, M.C., Cirone, R.J., Chang, J. 2025. Improving crop condition monitoring using phenologically aligned vegetation index anomalies – A case study in central Iowa. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation. 139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2025.104526.

Morphometric and soil chemical properties govern spatiotemporal variations of porewater carbon in coastal mangroves - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Li, X., Shi, K., Fang, L., Peng, Y., Yang, Q., Su, G., Zhang, C., Wang, J., Du, L., Mccarty, G.W. 2025. Morphometric and soil chemical properties govern spatiotemporal variations of porewater carbon in coastal mangroves. Journal of Hydrology. 657. Article e133159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.133159.

Management strategies for dissolved organic carbon reduction from forested watersheds using the SWAT-C model - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Lee, D., Karki, R., Kalin, L., Srivastava, P.K., Zhang, X. 2025. Management strategies for dissolved organic carbon reduction from forested watersheds using the SWAT-C model. Environmental Management. 75:1181–1200. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-025-02128-y.

Impacts of spatial and temporal resolution on remotely sensed corn and soybean emergence detection - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Gao, F.N., Anderson, M.C., Houborg, R. 2024. Impacts of spatial and temporal resolution on remotely sensed corn and soybean emergence detection. Remote Sensing. 16(22). Article e4145. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16224145.

Native bee pollination ecosystem services in agricultural wetlands and riparian protected lands - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Hinson, A., Mccarty, G.W., Du, L., Sichko, C., Maguire, K. 2024. Native bee pollination ecosystem services in agricultural wetlands and riparian protected lands. Wetlands. 44. Article e116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-024-01872-x.

Spatially explicit life cycle global warming and eutrophication potential of confined dairy production in the Contiguous U.S - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Romeiko, X.X., Zhang, W., Zhang, X. 2024. Spatially explicit life cycle global warming and eutrophication potential of confined dairy production in the Contiguous U.S. Environments. 11(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11110230.

How advection affects the surface energy balance and its closure at an irrigated alfalfa field - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Wang, T., Alfieri, J.G., Mallick, K., Ortiz, A., Anderson, M.C., Fisher, J., Girotto, M., Szutu, D., Verfaillie, J., Baldocchi, D. 2024. How advection affects the surface energy balance and its closure at an irrigated alfalfa field. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 357. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2024.110196.

EMET: An emergence-based thermal phenological framework for near real-time crop type mapping - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Yang, Z., Diao, C., Gao, F.N., Li, B. 2024. EMET: An emergence-based thermal phenological framework for near real-time crop type mapping. International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Proc. 215:273-291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2024.07.007.

Spatial riverine loads of nitrogen derived from gauge observations and river network across the Conterminous United States - (Peer Reviewed Journal)

Intercomparison of same-day remote sensing data for measuring winter cover crop biophysical traits - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Perabhakara, K., Thieme, A., Lamb, B., Jennewein, J.S., Mccarty, G.W., Hively, W. 2024. Intercomparison of same-day remote sensing data for measuring winter cover crop biophysical traits. Remote Sensing. 24(7):2339. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24072339.

Large variability of nitrate load estimation from sparse measurements by typical methods in Atlantic Canada - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Liang, K., Jiang, Y., Fuller, K., Cordeiro, M., Zhang, X., Qi, J., Geng, X., Liu, T., Zhang, Q., Azimi, M.A., Meng, F.R. 2024. Large variability of nitrate load estimation from sparse measurements by typical methods in Atlantic Canada. Frontiers in Environmental Science. 13. Article e1557004. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1557004.

Understanding climate change impacts on drought in China: A multi-model assessment from CMIP6 - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Xu, F., Qu, Y., Bento, V.A., Song, H., Qiu, J., Qi, J., Wan, L., Zhang, R., Zhang, X., Wang, Q. 2024. Understanding climate change impacts on drought in China: A multi-model assessment from CMIP6. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. 7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-024-00578-5.

Advancing the SWAT model to simulate perennial bioenergy crops: A case study on switchgrass growth - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Dangol, S., Zhang, X., Liang, X., Blanc-Betes, E. 2023. Advancing the SWAT model to simulate perennial bioenergy crops: A case study on switchgrass growth. Environmental Modelling & Software. 170:105834. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2023.105834.

Comparison of five spectral indices and six imagery classification techniques for assessment of crop residue cover using four years of Landsat imagery - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Stern, A.J., Daughtry, C.S., Hunt Jr, E.R., Gao, F.N., Hively, W.D. 2023. Comparison of five spectral indices and six imagery classification techniques for assessment of crop residue cover using four years of Landsat imagery. Remote Sensing. Remote Sens. 2023, 15(18), 4596. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15184596.

Abiotic and Biotic Factors Impacting Tundra Productivity in Alaska - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Zhang, Q., Zhang, X., Lara, M.J., Li, Z., Xiao, J. 2023. Abiotic and Biotic Factors Impacting Tundra Productivity in Alaska. Environmental Research Letters. 18. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acf7d6.

Ensuring the continued success of a mulch biowall at a trichloroethylene-contaminated superfund site: Lessons learned - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Kjellerup, B.V., Saffari Ghandehari, S., Cheng, S., Hapeman, C.J., Torrents, A. 2023. Ensuring the continued success of a mulch biowall at a trichloroethylene-contaminated superfund site: Lessons learned. Remediation. 33(4):323-337. https://doi.org/10.1002/rem.21764.

Effectiveness and diurnal variations of vegetative environmental buffers (VEBs) for mitigating NH3 and PM emissions from poultry houses - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Yang, Z., Yao, Q., Hapeman, C.J., Li, H., Buser, M.D., Alfieri, J.G., Mcconnell, L.L., Downey, P.M., Torrents, A. 2023. Effectiveness and diurnal variations of vegetative environmental buffers (VEBs) for mitigating NH3 and PM emissions from poultry houses. Environmental Pollution. 334:122154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122154.

Integration of remote sensing and field observations in evaluating DSSAT model for estimating maize and soybean growth and yield in Maryland, USA - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Akumaga, U., Gao, F.N., Anderson, M.C., Dulaney, W.P., Houborg, R., Russ, A.L., Hively, W. 2023. Integration of remote sensing and field observations in evaluating DSSAT model for estimating maize and soybean growth and yield in Maryland, USA. Agronomy. 13:1540. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13061540.

Crop yield prediction via explainable AI and interpretable machine learning: Dangers of black box models for evaluating climate change impacts on crop yield - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Hu, T., Zhao, K., Zhou, Y., Liu, Y., Bohrer, G., Martin, J., Li, Y., Zhang, X. 2023. Crop yield prediction via explainable AI and interpretable machine learning: Dangers of black box models for evaluating climate change impacts on crop yield. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 336:109458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2023.109458.

Simulating agroecosystem soil inorganic nitrogen dynamics under long-term management with an improved SWAT-C model - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Liang, K., Zhang, X., Liang, X., Jin, V.L., Birru, G.A., Schmer, M.R., Robertson, P.G., McCarty, G.W., Moglen, G.E. 2023. Simulating agroecosystem soil inorganic nitrogen dynamics under long-term management with an improved SWAT-C model. Science of the Total Environment. 879. Article 162906. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162906.

Use of organic amendments derived from biosolids for groundwater remediation of TCE - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Saffari Ghandehari, S., Boyer, J., Ronin, D., White, J., Hapeman, C.J., Jackson, D., Kaya, D., Torrents, A., Kjellerup, B.V. 2023. Use of organic amendments derived from biosolids for groundwater remediation of TCE. Chemosphere. 323. Article 138059. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138059.

Towards scalable within-season crop mapping with phenology normalization and deep learning - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Yang, Z., Diao, C., Gao, F.N. 2023. Towards scalable within-season crop mapping with phenology normalization and deep learning. Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters. 16:1390-1402. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2023.3237500.

Mapping and scaling of in situ above ground biomass to regional extent with SAR in the Great Slave region - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Kraatz, S.G., Bourgeau-Chavez, L., Battaglia, M., Pooley, A., Siqueira, P. 2022. Mapping and scaling of in situ above ground biomass to regional extent with SAR in the Great Slave region. Earth and Space Science. 9:Article e2022EA002431. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022EA002431.

Replicating measured site-scale soil organic carbon dynamics in the U.S. corn belt using the SWAT-C model - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Liang, K., Qi, J., Zhang, X. 2022. Replicating measured site-scale soil organic carbon dynamics in the U.S. corn belt using the SWAT-C model. Environmental Modelling & Software. 158. Article 105553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2022.105553.

Dataset combining diurnal and seasonal measurements of vegetation fluorescence, reflectance and vegetation indices with photosynthetic function and CO2 dynamics for maize - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Campbell, P., Middleton, E., Hummerich, K., Ward, L., Julitta, T., Yang, P., Van Der Tol, C., Daughtry, C.S., Russ, A.L., Alfieri, J.G., Kustas, W.P. 2021. Dataset combining diurnal and seasonal measurements of vegetation fluorescence, reflectance and vegetation indices with photosynthetic function and CO2 dynamics for maize. Data in Brief. 39:107600. https://doi.org/10.17632/b84jk376c3.1.

Conversations about the future of dicamba: the science behind off target movement - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Riter, L., Pai, N., Vieria, B., Macinnes, A., Reiss, R., Hapeman, C.J., Kruger, G. 2021. Conversations about the future of dicamba: the science behind off target movement. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 69:14435-14444. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.1c05589.

On-site evaluation of the effects of carbonaceous amendments on the bioavailability of aged organochlorine pesticide residues in soil - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Anderson, M., Yang, Z., Hapeman, C.J., Mcconnell, L., Green, C.E., Jackson, D., Evans, M., Torrents, A. 2021. On-site evaluation of the effects of carbonaceous amendments on the bioavailability of aged organochlorine pesticide residues in soil. Environmental Pollution. 6:100126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envadv.2021.100126.