Estimating Crop Residue

Estimating Crop Residue Cover by Remote Sensing
Hydrology and Remote Sensing Lab

Crop residues, the portion of the crop left in the field after harvest, can be an important management factor in controlling soil erosion and have an effect on surface energy balance and hydrologic processes. Current methods for quanitifying crop residue cover are tedious and somewhat subjective. Rapid, accurate and objective methods for estimating the amount of residue on fields are needed. ARS researchers are experimenting with analysis of sensor measurements of near infrared and blue fluorescence as a possible method of quantifying residue cover.

Crop Residue This is a video image of the blue fluorescence (452-488 nm) image of a 46.5% soybean residue cover on wet Houston Black Clay.
This is a classification of the fluorescence image of soybean residue on the wet Houston Black Clay soil. Crop residue is shown as white and the soil as black. Residue cover estimated from fluorescence is 47.1% compared to the measured value of 46.5%.
This is a video image of the blue fluorescence (452-488 nm) image of a 26.2% soybean residue cover on dry Othello soil.
This is a classification of the fluorescence image of soybean residue on the dry Othello soil. Crop residue is shown as white and the soil as black. Residue cover estimated from fluorescence is 26.7% compared to the measured value of 26.2% from traditional methods.

Contact: Dr. C.S.T. Daughtry, Remote Sensing and Modeling Laboratory, cdaughtry@asrr.arsusda.gov

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	This is a video image of the blue fluorescence (452-488 nm) image of a 46.5% soybean residue cover on wet Houston Black Clay.
	This is a classification of the fluorescence image of soybean residue on the wet Houston Black Clay soil. Crop residue is shown as white and the soil as black. Residue cover estimated from fluorescence is 47.1% compared to the measured value of 46.5%.
	This is a video image of the blue fluorescence (452-488 nm) image of a 26.2% soybean residue cover on dry Othello soil.
	This is a classification of the fluorescence image of soybean residue on the dry Othello soil. Crop residue is shown as white and the soil as black. Residue cover estimated from fluorescence is 26.7% compared to the measured value of 26.2% from traditional methods.

Estimating Crop Residue Cover by Remote SensingHydrology and Remote Sensing Lab

Estimating Crop Residue Cover by Remote Sensing
Hydrology and Remote Sensing Lab