Calibration of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Prediction of Herbage Mass in Temperate Pasture
Accurate estimation of herbage mass is crucial for managing pastoral livestock systems. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) sensors shows promise for high-resolution estimations of pasture herbage mass, but it is still unknown how this method differs...
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| Format: | Artículo |
| Language: | Inglés |
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MDPI
2025
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/21566 https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/5/492 https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15050492 |
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| author | Laplacette, Celina María Berone, German Dario Utsumi, Santiago A. Insua, Juan Ramón |
| author_browse | Berone, German Dario Insua, Juan Ramón Laplacette, Celina María Utsumi, Santiago A. |
| author_facet | Laplacette, Celina María Berone, German Dario Utsumi, Santiago A. Insua, Juan Ramón |
| author_sort | Laplacette, Celina María |
| collection | INTA Digital |
| description | Accurate estimation of herbage mass is crucial for managing pastoral livestock systems. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) sensors shows promise for high-resolution estimations of pasture herbage mass, but it is still unknown how this method differs among forage species, seasons, and pasture management practices. A commercial sensor was calibrated to predict herbage mass using NDVI. Additionally, the effect of different forage species, days of regrowth, and nitrogen (N) status on the relationship between NDVI and herbage mass was evaluated. Two pastures of tall wheatgrass (Thinopyrum ponticum) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea), divided into 30 and 72 plots, respectively, were assessed during spring and autumn regrowth over two years in Balcarce, Argentina. Doses of 0, 50, and 100 kg N ha−1 were applied to tall wheatgrass, and 0, 50, 100, 200, 400, and 600 kg N ha−1 were applied to tall fescue to create variability in herbage mass and N status. Exponential regression models of herbage mass (y) fitted against NDVI (x) showed an average R2 of 0.83 ± 0.04 and a mean absolute error of 170 ± 60 kg DM ha−1. The relationship between NDVI and herbage mass differed (p ≤ 0.05) between species, seasons, and regrowth stage, but was not influenced by N status (p > 0.05). Results suggest that accurate predictions of herbage mass using NDVI measurements by an UAV require frequent model recalibrations to account for observed differences among forage species, days of regrowth, and years. |
| format | Artículo |
| id | INTA21566 |
| institution | Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | MDPI |
| publisherStr | MDPI |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | INTA215662025-03-06T13:56:24Z Calibration of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Prediction of Herbage Mass in Temperate Pasture Laplacette, Celina María Berone, German Dario Utsumi, Santiago A. Insua, Juan Ramón Teledetección Vehículos Aéreos no Tripulados Calibración Pastizales Índice Normalizado Diferencial de la Vegetación Remote Sensing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Calibration Pastures Normalized Difference Vegetation Index NDVI Accurate estimation of herbage mass is crucial for managing pastoral livestock systems. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) sensors shows promise for high-resolution estimations of pasture herbage mass, but it is still unknown how this method differs among forage species, seasons, and pasture management practices. A commercial sensor was calibrated to predict herbage mass using NDVI. Additionally, the effect of different forage species, days of regrowth, and nitrogen (N) status on the relationship between NDVI and herbage mass was evaluated. Two pastures of tall wheatgrass (Thinopyrum ponticum) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea), divided into 30 and 72 plots, respectively, were assessed during spring and autumn regrowth over two years in Balcarce, Argentina. Doses of 0, 50, and 100 kg N ha−1 were applied to tall wheatgrass, and 0, 50, 100, 200, 400, and 600 kg N ha−1 were applied to tall fescue to create variability in herbage mass and N status. Exponential regression models of herbage mass (y) fitted against NDVI (x) showed an average R2 of 0.83 ± 0.04 and a mean absolute error of 170 ± 60 kg DM ha−1. The relationship between NDVI and herbage mass differed (p ≤ 0.05) between species, seasons, and regrowth stage, but was not influenced by N status (p > 0.05). Results suggest that accurate predictions of herbage mass using NDVI measurements by an UAV require frequent model recalibrations to account for observed differences among forage species, days of regrowth, and years. EEA Balcarce Fil: Laplacette, Celina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Laplacette, Celina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina Fil: Berone, Germán Dario. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina Fil: Berone, Germán Dario. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina Fil: Utsumi, Santiago. New Mexico State University. Department of Animal and Range Sciences; Estados Unidos Fil: Insúa, Juan. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Insúa, Juan. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina 2025-03-06T13:53:28Z 2025-03-06T13:53:28Z 2025-03 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/21566 https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/5/492 2077-0472 https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15050492 eng info:eu-repograntAgreement/INTA/2019-PE-E1-I007-001, Incremento sostenible de la producción y utilización de pasturas y forrajes conservados 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 MDPI Agriculture 15 (5) : 492. (March 2025) |
| spellingShingle | Teledetección Vehículos Aéreos no Tripulados Calibración Pastizales Índice Normalizado Diferencial de la Vegetación Remote Sensing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Calibration Pastures Normalized Difference Vegetation Index NDVI Laplacette, Celina María Berone, German Dario Utsumi, Santiago A. Insua, Juan Ramón Calibration of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Prediction of Herbage Mass in Temperate Pasture |
| title | Calibration of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Prediction of Herbage Mass in Temperate Pasture |
| title_full | Calibration of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Prediction of Herbage Mass in Temperate Pasture |
| title_fullStr | Calibration of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Prediction of Herbage Mass in Temperate Pasture |
| title_full_unstemmed | Calibration of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Prediction of Herbage Mass in Temperate Pasture |
| title_short | Calibration of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Prediction of Herbage Mass in Temperate Pasture |
| title_sort | calibration of an unmanned aerial vehicle for prediction of herbage mass in temperate pasture |
| topic | Teledetección Vehículos Aéreos no Tripulados Calibración Pastizales Índice Normalizado Diferencial de la Vegetación Remote Sensing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Calibration Pastures Normalized Difference Vegetation Index NDVI |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/21566 https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/5/492 https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15050492 |
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