Estimating Black Oat Biomass Using Digital Surface Models and a Vegetation Index Derived from RGB-Based Aerial Images

Responsible for food production and industry inputs, agriculture needs to adapt to worldwide increasing demands and environmental requirements. In this scenario, black oat has gained environmental and economic importance since it can be used in no-tillage systems, green manure, or animal feed supple...

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Main Authors: Lucas Renato Trevisan, Lisiane Brichi, Tamara Maria Gomes, Fabrício Rossi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-02-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/5/1363
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author Lucas Renato Trevisan
Lisiane Brichi
Tamara Maria Gomes
Fabrício Rossi
author_facet Lucas Renato Trevisan
Lisiane Brichi
Tamara Maria Gomes
Fabrício Rossi
author_sort Lucas Renato Trevisan
collection DOAJ
description Responsible for food production and industry inputs, agriculture needs to adapt to worldwide increasing demands and environmental requirements. In this scenario, black oat has gained environmental and economic importance since it can be used in no-tillage systems, green manure, or animal feed supplementation. Despite its importance, few studies have been conducted to introduce more accurate and technological applications. Plant height (H) correlates with biomass production, which is related to yield. Similarly, productivity status can be estimated from vegetation indices (VIs). The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for imaging enables greater spatial and temporal resolutions from which to derive information such as H and VI. However, faster and more accurate methodologies are necessary for the application of this technology. This study intended to obtain high-quality digital surface models (DSMs) and orthoimages from UAV-based RGB images via a direct-to-process means; that is, without the use of ground control points or image pre-processing. DSMs and orthoimages were used to derive H (H<sub>DSM</sub>) and VIs (VI<sub>RGB</sub>), which were used for H and dry biomass (DB) modeling. Results showed that H<sub>DSM</sub> presented a strong correlation with actual plant height (H<sub>REF</sub>) (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.85). Modeling biomass based on H<sub>DSM</sub> demonstrated better performance for data collected up until and including the grain filling (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.84) and flowering (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.82) stages. Biomass modeling based on VI<sub>RGB</sub> performed better for data collected up until and including the booting stage (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.80). The best results for biomass estimation were obtained by combining H<sub>DSM</sub> and VI<sub>RGB</sub>, with data collected up until and including the grain filling stage (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.86). Therefore, the presented methodology has permitted the generation of trustworthy models for estimating the H and DB of black oats.
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spelling doaj.art-02a0d1dc67b448ee95161ba1689fa9612023-11-17T08:32:02ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922023-02-01155136310.3390/rs15051363Estimating Black Oat Biomass Using Digital Surface Models and a Vegetation Index Derived from RGB-Based Aerial ImagesLucas Renato Trevisan0Lisiane Brichi1Tamara Maria Gomes2Fabrício Rossi3“Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, 11 Pádua Dias Avenue, São Paulo 13418-900, Brazil“Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, 11 Pádua Dias Avenue, São Paulo 13418-900, Brazil“Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, 11 Pádua Dias Avenue, São Paulo 13418-900, Brazil“Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, 11 Pádua Dias Avenue, São Paulo 13418-900, BrazilResponsible for food production and industry inputs, agriculture needs to adapt to worldwide increasing demands and environmental requirements. In this scenario, black oat has gained environmental and economic importance since it can be used in no-tillage systems, green manure, or animal feed supplementation. Despite its importance, few studies have been conducted to introduce more accurate and technological applications. Plant height (H) correlates with biomass production, which is related to yield. Similarly, productivity status can be estimated from vegetation indices (VIs). The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for imaging enables greater spatial and temporal resolutions from which to derive information such as H and VI. However, faster and more accurate methodologies are necessary for the application of this technology. This study intended to obtain high-quality digital surface models (DSMs) and orthoimages from UAV-based RGB images via a direct-to-process means; that is, without the use of ground control points or image pre-processing. DSMs and orthoimages were used to derive H (H<sub>DSM</sub>) and VIs (VI<sub>RGB</sub>), which were used for H and dry biomass (DB) modeling. Results showed that H<sub>DSM</sub> presented a strong correlation with actual plant height (H<sub>REF</sub>) (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.85). Modeling biomass based on H<sub>DSM</sub> demonstrated better performance for data collected up until and including the grain filling (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.84) and flowering (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.82) stages. Biomass modeling based on VI<sub>RGB</sub> performed better for data collected up until and including the booting stage (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.80). The best results for biomass estimation were obtained by combining H<sub>DSM</sub> and VI<sub>RGB</sub>, with data collected up until and including the grain filling stage (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.86). Therefore, the presented methodology has permitted the generation of trustworthy models for estimating the H and DB of black oats.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/5/1363image analysisplant growthcomputer visionremote sensingvisible spectrumunmanned aerial vehicle
spellingShingle Lucas Renato Trevisan
Lisiane Brichi
Tamara Maria Gomes
Fabrício Rossi
Estimating Black Oat Biomass Using Digital Surface Models and a Vegetation Index Derived from RGB-Based Aerial Images
Remote Sensing
image analysis
plant growth
computer vision
remote sensing
visible spectrum
unmanned aerial vehicle
title Estimating Black Oat Biomass Using Digital Surface Models and a Vegetation Index Derived from RGB-Based Aerial Images
title_full Estimating Black Oat Biomass Using Digital Surface Models and a Vegetation Index Derived from RGB-Based Aerial Images
title_fullStr Estimating Black Oat Biomass Using Digital Surface Models and a Vegetation Index Derived from RGB-Based Aerial Images
title_full_unstemmed Estimating Black Oat Biomass Using Digital Surface Models and a Vegetation Index Derived from RGB-Based Aerial Images
title_short Estimating Black Oat Biomass Using Digital Surface Models and a Vegetation Index Derived from RGB-Based Aerial Images
title_sort estimating black oat biomass using digital surface models and a vegetation index derived from rgb based aerial images
topic image analysis
plant growth
computer vision
remote sensing
visible spectrum
unmanned aerial vehicle
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/5/1363
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AT tamaramariagomes estimatingblackoatbiomassusingdigitalsurfacemodelsandavegetationindexderivedfromrgbbasedaerialimages
AT fabriciorossi estimatingblackoatbiomassusingdigitalsurfacemodelsandavegetationindexderivedfromrgbbasedaerialimages