Satellite remote sensing of agricultural land for monitoring of soil health
(2024) FMIM01 20241Environmental and Energy Systems Studies
- Abstract
- Favouring good soil health is pivotal for ensuring long term agricultural production by minimizing erosion, increasing soil carbon content, increasing the soil water holding capacity and decreasing the soil bulk density. Certain land management practices can disfavour factors for soil health and in-extent lead to soil degradation which can threaten food production and natural habitats. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a key indicator of soil health, influencing water-holding capacity, nutrient storage, and overall soil stability. Practices like diverse crop rotations, cover cropping, and reduced chemical inputs can enhance SOC and improve soil health. A company that works towards halting soil degradation and fostering soil health is Svensk... (More)
- Favouring good soil health is pivotal for ensuring long term agricultural production by minimizing erosion, increasing soil carbon content, increasing the soil water holding capacity and decreasing the soil bulk density. Certain land management practices can disfavour factors for soil health and in-extent lead to soil degradation which can threaten food production and natural habitats. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a key indicator of soil health, influencing water-holding capacity, nutrient storage, and overall soil stability. Practices like diverse crop rotations, cover cropping, and reduced chemical inputs can enhance SOC and improve soil health. A company that works towards halting soil degradation and fostering soil health is Svensk Kolinlagring AB. They present four land management criteria for farmers to implement, which in turn foster soil health. This study investigates the feasibility of monitoring agricultural fields through satellite remote sensing applications. More specifically, three research questions were addressed. Firstly, investigating what soil health is and its parameters for quantification. Secondly, investigating the feasibility of monitoring soil health parameters and the four criteria by Svensk Kolinlagring through satellite remote sensing. Lastly, addressing the drawbacks and challenges of the satellite remote sensing methods. The report consists of a literature study, investigating the state-of-the-art findings concerning the previously mentioned research questions. The study found that soil health as a concept is ambiguous, but with common denominators between assessments schemes. Some of the most common soil health parameters can be measured through satellite remote sensing, such as soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil texture, though with evident limitations. Furthermore, three out of four criteria proposed by Svensk Kolinlagring can be monitored through remote sensing. However, field experiments are suggested for applicability in Swedish conditions. Drawbacks with remote sensing can be categorized as spatial (resolution), spectral (band wavelength distribution), temporal (cloud cover) limitations, and methodological (choice of statistical or machine learning method). In conclusion, satellite remote sensing can be applied for monitoring certain soil health parameters and for monitoring criteria presented by Svensk Kolinlagring. The field of satellite remote sensing for agricultural applications is a future technique to count on. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9166112
- author
- Sparf, Johan LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- FMIM01 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- Satellite remote sensing, soil health, soil organic carbon, agriculture, monitoring, statistical verification, machine learning
- report number
- LUTFD2/TFEM—24/5210--SE + (1-53)
- ISSN
- 1102-3651
- language
- English
- id
- 9166112
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-20 06:51:48
- date last changed
- 2024-06-20 06:51:48
@misc{9166112,
abstract = {{Favouring good soil health is pivotal for ensuring long term agricultural production by minimizing erosion, increasing soil carbon content, increasing the soil water holding capacity and decreasing the soil bulk density. Certain land management practices can disfavour factors for soil health and in-extent lead to soil degradation which can threaten food production and natural habitats. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a key indicator of soil health, influencing water-holding capacity, nutrient storage, and overall soil stability. Practices like diverse crop rotations, cover cropping, and reduced chemical inputs can enhance SOC and improve soil health. A company that works towards halting soil degradation and fostering soil health is Svensk Kolinlagring AB. They present four land management criteria for farmers to implement, which in turn foster soil health. This study investigates the feasibility of monitoring agricultural fields through satellite remote sensing applications. More specifically, three research questions were addressed. Firstly, investigating what soil health is and its parameters for quantification. Secondly, investigating the feasibility of monitoring soil health parameters and the four criteria by Svensk Kolinlagring through satellite remote sensing. Lastly, addressing the drawbacks and challenges of the satellite remote sensing methods. The report consists of a literature study, investigating the state-of-the-art findings concerning the previously mentioned research questions. The study found that soil health as a concept is ambiguous, but with common denominators between assessments schemes. Some of the most common soil health parameters can be measured through satellite remote sensing, such as soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil texture, though with evident limitations. Furthermore, three out of four criteria proposed by Svensk Kolinlagring can be monitored through remote sensing. However, field experiments are suggested for applicability in Swedish conditions. Drawbacks with remote sensing can be categorized as spatial (resolution), spectral (band wavelength distribution), temporal (cloud cover) limitations, and methodological (choice of statistical or machine learning method). In conclusion, satellite remote sensing can be applied for monitoring certain soil health parameters and for monitoring criteria presented by Svensk Kolinlagring. The field of satellite remote sensing for agricultural applications is a future technique to count on.}},
author = {{Sparf, Johan}},
issn = {{1102-3651}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Satellite remote sensing of agricultural land for monitoring of soil health}},
year = {{2024}},
}