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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Tifton, Georgia » Southeast Watershed Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #409232
Research Project: Shifting the Balance of Water Resources and Interacting Agroecosystem Services Toward Sustainable Outcomes in Watersheds of the Southern Coastal Plain

Location: Southeast Watershed Research

Title: Two Years of Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Data from the Georgia Coastal Plain, USA

Author
item Coffin, Alisa
item Cosh, Michael
item Pisarello, Kathryn

Submitted to: Scientific Data
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/29/2024
Publication Date: 9/27/2024
Citation: Coffin, A.W., Cosh, M.H., Pisarello, K. 2024. Two Years of Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Data from the Georgia Coastal Plain, USA. Scientific Data. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03716-z.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03716-z

Interpretive Summary: Effective stewardship of Earth's agricultural systems requires the use of satellite remote sensing to provide crucial data about crop production. To ensure the accuracy of results provided by studies using satellite imagery, "ground truth" data are needed. This is a critical step in the verification of important datasets that provide key information to agricultural producers and decision makers. To address this need, the USDA-ARS in Tifton, Georgia, carried out field campaigns to collect detailed measurements of cotton, including the plants and soil. The field collections were timed to coincide with satellite overpasses to maximize their utility. Data collected include several measurements related to soil, plants, and field management practices. Altogether there were 881 records collected in 2018 and 2019. The data are archived in the National Agricultural Library Ag Data Commons repository and are available for use by anyone seeking data about cotton cropping systems.

Technical Abstract: The sustainable management of Earth’s complex ecosystems requires an abundance of field data to support long term stewardship. Remotely sensed satellite data provide crucial supplements to field measurements and are essential for deriving key operational products for monitoring Earth systems. However, to accurately calibrate and validate the models used to develop monitoring datasets, coincident field measurements are required. In 2018 and 2019, data related to cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) crops were collected from five fields in two farms located in Georgia, USA. Collections were timed to coincide with the satellite overpasses to support the development of remote sensing-based crop and soil data products. Data collected include soil moisture, plant water content, above ground biomass, crop height, plant phenology, and field management practices (row direction, row spacing, and plant density). The datasets include 512 records collected in 2018 and 313 records collected in 2019. The data are archived in the National Agricultural Library Ag Data Commons repository and are available for use by researchers seeking crop and soil validation data.