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Spatio-temporal monitoring of cotton cultivation using ground-based and airborne multispectral sensors in GIS environment

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Abstract

Multispectral sensor capability of capturing reflectance data at several spectral channels, together with the inherent reflectance responses of various soils and especially plant surfaces, has gained major interest in crop production. In present study, two multispectral sensing systems, a ground-based and an aerial-based, were applied for the multispatial and temporal monitoring of two cotton fields in central Greece. The ground-based system was Crop Circle ACS-430, while the aerial consisted of a consumer-level quadcopter (Phantom 2) and a modified Hero3+ Black digital camera. The purpose of the research was to monitor crop growth with the two systems and investigate possible interrelations between the derived well-known normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Five data collection campaigns were conducted during the cultivation period and concerned scanning soil and plants with the ground-based sensor and taking aerial photographs of the fields with the unmanned aerial system. According to the results, both systems successfully monitored cotton growth stages in terms of space and time. The mean values of NDVI changes through time as retrieved by the ground-based system were satisfactorily modelled by a second-order polynomial equation (R 2 0.96 in Field 1 and 0.99 in Field 2). Further, they were highly correlated (r 0.90 in Field 1 and 0.74 in Field 2) with the according values calculated via the aerial-based system. The unmanned aerial system (UAS) can potentially substitute crop scouting as it concerns a time-effective, non-destructive and reliable way of soil and plant monitoring.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the two cotton producers and the local agronomist Charalampos Diamantis for their help. The research project was funded under the Action “Research & Technology Development Innovation projects (AgroETAK)”, MIS 453350, in the framework of the Operational Program “Human Resources Development”. It was co-funded by the European Social Fund and by national resources through the National Strategic Reference Framework 2007–2013 (NSRF 2007–2013) coordinated by the Hellenic Agricultural Organisation “DEMETER”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Phytopathology, Laboratory of Non-Parasitic Diseases, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta Str., 14561, Kifissia, Athens, Greece

    Antonis Papadopoulos

  2. Department of Natural Resource Management & Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, 75 Iera Odos Str., 11855, Athens, Greece

    Dionissios Kalivas

  3. Institute of Soil and Water Resources, Department of Soil Science of Athens, Hellenic Agricultural Organization—DEMETER, 1 S. Venizelou Str., 14123, Lykovrissi, Athens, Greece

    Sid Theocharopoulos

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  1. Antonis Papadopoulos
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Correspondence to Antonis Papadopoulos.

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Papadopoulos, A., Kalivas, D. & Theocharopoulos, S. Spatio-temporal monitoring of cotton cultivation using ground-based and airborne multispectral sensors in GIS environment. Environ Monit Assess 189, 323 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-6042-z

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