Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #314489
Title: Remote sensing of tillage status

Author
item ZHENG, B. - University Of Arizona
item CAMPBELL, J. - Virginia Tech
item SERBIN, G. - Collaborator
item Daughtry, Craig
item MCNAIRN, H. - Agriculture And Agri-Food Canada
item PACHECO, A. - Agriculture And Agri-Food Canada

Submitted to: Remote Sensing
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/10/2015
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Crop residues on the soil surface are the first-line of defense against wind and water erosion of soil. After harvest, crop residues often completely cover the soil surface after harvest. However, crop residue cover decreases when the soil is tilled or crop residues are harvested for bio-fuel. Tillage intensity defined by the proportion of the soil surface covered by crop residues shortly after planting. Conservation tillage systems maintain more than 30% residue cover. Thus, accurate assessments of crop residue cover are required to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation tillage practices. The line-point transect is the standard technique for measuring crop residue cover in a field, but it is impractical for monitoring many fields in a timely manner. Various remote sensing approaches have been proposed for assessing soil tillage intensity over large areas in a timely manner. In this chapter, we highlighted recent progress and identified some of the challenges that remain for optical and microwave satellite systems with the potential for routine broad-scale assessments of soil tillage intensity.

Technical Abstract: Crop residues on the soil surface are the first-line of defense against wind and water erosion of soil. After harvest, crop residues often completely cover the soil surface after harvest, but when the soil is tilled crop residue cover decreases. Tillage intensity is often defined by the proportion of the soil surface covered by crop residues shortly after planting. Conservation tillage systems have more than 30% residue cover. Thus, accurate assessments of crop residue cover are required to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation tillage practices. The line-point transect is the standard technique for measuring crop residue cover in a field, but it is impractical for monitoring many fields in a timely manner. Remote sensing approaches potentially can assess soil tillage intensity over large areas in a timely manner. In this chapter, we highlighted recent progress and identified some of the challenges that remain for optical and microwave satellite systems for routine broad-scale assessments of soil tillage intensity.