Remote sensing for crop mapping: A perspective on present and future crop-specific land cover data products

Authors: ZHANG, C - George Mason University; KERNER, H - Arizona State University; WANG, S - Massachusetts Institute Of Technology; HAO, P - Food And Agriculture Organization Of The United Nations-European Commission For The Control Of Foot; LI, Z - National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS, USDA); HUNT, K - National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS, USDA); ABERNETHY, J - National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS, USDA); ZHAO, H - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE); Gao, Feng; DI, L - George Mason University; GUO, C - George Mason University; LIU, Z - George Mason University; YANG, Z - National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS, USDA); MUELLER, RICK - National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS, USDA); BORYAN, CLAIRE - National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS, USDA); CHEN, QI - University Of Hawaii; BEESON, PETER - Economic Research Serivce (ERS, USDA); ZHANG, HANKUI - South Dakota State University; SHEN, YU - Duke University

Submitted to: Remote Sensing of Environment
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/22/2025
Publication Date: 9/2/2025
Citation: 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.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2025.114995

Interpretive Summary: Crop mapping is important for agriculture and environmental management, but a comprehensive review of available data products and their applications has been lacking. This gap limits the effective use of these resources. This study reviewed over 60 crop mapping data products and conducted an analysis of 25 years of Cropland Data Layer (CDL). It also reviewed 129 studies and highlighted how Earth observation data and crop maps address agricultural challenges. The review provides a valuable resource for stakeholders in agriculture and environmental policy, offering insights to better use crop mapping data products in their applications.

Technical Abstract: Crop mapping is an indispensable application in environmental remote sensing. Over the last few decades, the exponential growth of open Earth Observation (EO) data has significantly enhanced crop mapping, enabling the production of detailed crop-specific land cover data at national and regional scales. These data have served multiple purposes across a wide range of applications and research initiatives. However, there is currently no comprehensive summary of the crop mapping data products, nor is there a detailed discussion of their uses in remote sensing studies. This paper is the first in-depth review of remote sensing for crop mapping from the perspective on crop-specific land cover data by evaluating over 60 open-access operational products, archival crop type map datasets, single-crop extent map datasets, cropping pattern datasets, and crop mapping platforms and systems. Using the Cropland Data Layer (CDL) – one of the most widely used products with over 25 years of continuous monitoring of U.S. croplands – as a case study, we also conduct a systematic literature review on the application of crop type maps in remote sensing science. Our analysis synthesizes findings from over 129 research articles through four core research questions: (1) What EO data are used; (2) What scientific problems are explored; (3) What technological approaches are utilized; and (4) What roles crop type maps play. Furthermore, we delve into the implications of our visions for new data products and propose several emerging research topics, ranging from extending the spatiotemporal coverage of current data products to efforts in improving global mapping reliability and developing operational in-season crop monitoring systems. This review paper not only serves as a reference for stakeholders seeking to utilize crop-specific land cover data in their work, but also outlines the directions for future data product development.