Comparison of Ground-Based, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Satellite Remote Sensing Technologies for Monitoring Pasture Biomass on Dairy Farms

Systematic measurement of pasture biomass (kg DM/ha) is crucial for optimising pasture utilisation and increasing dairy farm profitability. On-farm pasture monitoring can be conducted using various sensors, but calibrations are necessary to convert the measured variable into pasture biomass. In this...

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Main Authors: Gargiulo, Juan, Lyons, Nicolas, Masia, Fernando, Beale, Peter, Insua, Juan Ramón, Correa Luna, Martín, Garcia, Sergio
Format: info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo
Language:Inglés
Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, MDPI 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/17645
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/11/2752
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15112752
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author Gargiulo, Juan
Lyons, Nicolas
Masia, Fernando
Beale, Peter
Insua, Juan Ramón
Correa Luna, Martín
Garcia, Sergio
author_browse Beale, Peter
Correa Luna, Martín
Garcia, Sergio
Gargiulo, Juan
Insua, Juan Ramón
Lyons, Nicolas
Masia, Fernando
author_facet Gargiulo, Juan
Lyons, Nicolas
Masia, Fernando
Beale, Peter
Insua, Juan Ramón
Correa Luna, Martín
Garcia, Sergio
author_sort Gargiulo, Juan
collection INTA Digital
description Systematic measurement of pasture biomass (kg DM/ha) is crucial for optimising pasture utilisation and increasing dairy farm profitability. On-farm pasture monitoring can be conducted using various sensors, but calibrations are necessary to convert the measured variable into pasture biomass. In this study, we conducted three experiments in New South Wales (Australia) to evaluate the use of the rising plate meter (RPM), pasture reader (PR), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and satellites as pasture monitoring tools. We tested various calibration methods that can improve the accuracy of the estimations and be implemented more easily on-farm. The results indicate that UAV and satellite-derived reflectance indices (e.g., Normalised Difference Vegetation Index) can be indirectly calibrated with height measurements obtained from an RPM or PR. Height measurements can be then converted into pasture biomass ideally by conducting site-specific sporadic calibrations cuts. For satellites, using the average of the entire paddock, root mean square error (RMSE) = 226 kg DM/ha for kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum Hochst. ex Chiov) and 347 kg DM/ha for ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.) is as effective as but easier than matching NDVI pixels with height measurement using a Global Navigation Satellite System (RMSE = 227 kg DM/ha for kikuyu and 406 kg DM/ha for ryegrass). For situations where no satellite images are available for the same date, the average of all images available within a range of up to four days from the day ground measurements were taken could be used (RMSE = 225 kg DM/ha for kikuyu and 402 kg DM/ha for ryegrass). These methodologies aim to develop more practical and easier-to-implement calibrations to improve the accuracy of the predictive models in commercial farms. However, more research is still needed to test these hypotheses under extended periods, locations, and pasture species.
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institution Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina)
language Inglés
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spelling INTA176452024-05-07T10:37:46Z Comparison of Ground-Based, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Satellite Remote Sensing Technologies for Monitoring Pasture Biomass on Dairy Farms Gargiulo, Juan Lyons, Nicolas Masia, Fernando Beale, Peter Insua, Juan Ramón Correa Luna, Martín Garcia, Sergio Automatización Productividad Calibración Australia Automation Productivity Calibration Remote Sensing Teledetección Systematic measurement of pasture biomass (kg DM/ha) is crucial for optimising pasture utilisation and increasing dairy farm profitability. On-farm pasture monitoring can be conducted using various sensors, but calibrations are necessary to convert the measured variable into pasture biomass. In this study, we conducted three experiments in New South Wales (Australia) to evaluate the use of the rising plate meter (RPM), pasture reader (PR), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and satellites as pasture monitoring tools. We tested various calibration methods that can improve the accuracy of the estimations and be implemented more easily on-farm. The results indicate that UAV and satellite-derived reflectance indices (e.g., Normalised Difference Vegetation Index) can be indirectly calibrated with height measurements obtained from an RPM or PR. Height measurements can be then converted into pasture biomass ideally by conducting site-specific sporadic calibrations cuts. For satellites, using the average of the entire paddock, root mean square error (RMSE) = 226 kg DM/ha for kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum Hochst. ex Chiov) and 347 kg DM/ha for ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.) is as effective as but easier than matching NDVI pixels with height measurement using a Global Navigation Satellite System (RMSE = 227 kg DM/ha for kikuyu and 406 kg DM/ha for ryegrass). For situations where no satellite images are available for the same date, the average of all images available within a range of up to four days from the day ground measurements were taken could be used (RMSE = 225 kg DM/ha for kikuyu and 402 kg DM/ha for ryegrass). These methodologies aim to develop more practical and easier-to-implement calibrations to improve the accuracy of the predictive models in commercial farms. However, more research is still needed to test these hypotheses under extended periods, locations, and pasture species. EEA Balcarce Fil: Gargiulo, Juan. NSW Department of Primary Industries; Australia Fil: Gargiulo, Juan. University Of Sidney. Faculty of Science; Australia Fil: Lyons, Nicolas. NSW Department of Primary Industries; Australia Fil: Masia, Fernando. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina Fil: Masia, Fernando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Beale, Peter. Local Land Services Hunter; Australia Fil: Insua, Juan Ramón. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y el Desarrollo Sostenible; Argentina Fil: Insua, Juan Ramón. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de ciencias Agrarias; Argentina Fil: Correa Luna, Martín. University Of Sidney. Faculty of Science; Australia Fil: Garcia, Sergio. University Of Sidney. Faculty of Science; Australia 2024-05-07T10:29:02Z 2024-05-07T10:29:02Z 2023-05-25 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/17645 https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/11/2752 2072-4292 https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15112752 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) application/pdf Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, MDPI Remote Sensing 15 (11) : 2752. (May 2023)
spellingShingle Automatización
Productividad
Calibración
Australia
Automation
Productivity
Calibration
Remote Sensing
Teledetección
Gargiulo, Juan
Lyons, Nicolas
Masia, Fernando
Beale, Peter
Insua, Juan Ramón
Correa Luna, Martín
Garcia, Sergio
Comparison of Ground-Based, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Satellite Remote Sensing Technologies for Monitoring Pasture Biomass on Dairy Farms
title Comparison of Ground-Based, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Satellite Remote Sensing Technologies for Monitoring Pasture Biomass on Dairy Farms
title_full Comparison of Ground-Based, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Satellite Remote Sensing Technologies for Monitoring Pasture Biomass on Dairy Farms
title_fullStr Comparison of Ground-Based, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Satellite Remote Sensing Technologies for Monitoring Pasture Biomass on Dairy Farms
title_full_unstemmed Comparison of Ground-Based, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Satellite Remote Sensing Technologies for Monitoring Pasture Biomass on Dairy Farms
title_short Comparison of Ground-Based, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Satellite Remote Sensing Technologies for Monitoring Pasture Biomass on Dairy Farms
title_sort comparison of ground based unmanned aerial vehicles and satellite remote sensing technologies for monitoring pasture biomass on dairy farms
topic Automatización
Productividad
Calibración
Australia
Automation
Productivity
Calibration
Remote Sensing
Teledetección
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/17645
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/11/2752
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15112752
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