Diurnal and Seasonal Mapping of Water Deficit Index and Evapotranspiration by an Unmanned Aerial System: A Case Study for Winter Wheat in Denmark

Precision irrigation is a promising method to mitigate the impacts of drought stress on crop production with the optimal use of water resources. However, the reliable assessment of plant water status has not been adequately demonstrated, and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) offer great potential for sp...

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Main Authors: Vita Antoniuk, Kiril Manevski, Kirsten Kørup, Rene Larsen, Inge Sandholt, Xiying Zhang, Mathias Neumann Andersen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-07-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/15/2998
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author Vita Antoniuk
Kiril Manevski
Kirsten Kørup
Rene Larsen
Inge Sandholt
Xiying Zhang
Mathias Neumann Andersen
author_facet Vita Antoniuk
Kiril Manevski
Kirsten Kørup
Rene Larsen
Inge Sandholt
Xiying Zhang
Mathias Neumann Andersen
author_sort Vita Antoniuk
collection DOAJ
description Precision irrigation is a promising method to mitigate the impacts of drought stress on crop production with the optimal use of water resources. However, the reliable assessment of plant water status has not been adequately demonstrated, and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) offer great potential for spatiotemporal improvements. This study utilized UAS equipped with multispectral and thermal sensors to detect and quantify drought stress in winter wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.) using the Water Deficit Index (<i>WDI</i>). Biennial field experiments were conducted on coarse sand soil in Denmark and analyses were performed at both diurnal and seasonal timescales. The <i>WDI</i> was significantly correlated with leaf stomatal conductance (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.61–0.73), and the correlation was weaker with leaf water potential (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.39–0.56) and topsoil water status (the highest R<sup>2</sup> of 0.68). A semi-physical model depicting the relationship between <i>WDI</i> and fraction of transpirable soil water (<i>FTSW</i>) in the root zone was derived with R<sup>2</sup> = 0.74. Moreover, <i>WDI</i> estimates were improved using an energy balance model with an iterative scheme to estimate the net radiation and land surface temperature, as well as the dual crop coefficient. The diurnal variation in <i>WDI</i> revealed a pattern of the ratio of actual to potential evapotranspiration, being higher in the morning, decreasing at noon hours and ‘recovering’ in the afternoon. Future work should investigate the temporal upscaling of evapotranspiration, which may be used to develop methods for site-specific irrigation recommendations.
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spelling doaj.art-8126daa785d648aa964903cb404611202023-11-22T06:07:31ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922021-07-011315299810.3390/rs13152998Diurnal and Seasonal Mapping of Water Deficit Index and Evapotranspiration by an Unmanned Aerial System: A Case Study for Winter Wheat in DenmarkVita Antoniuk0Kiril Manevski1Kirsten Kørup2Rene Larsen3Inge Sandholt4Xiying Zhang5Mathias Neumann Andersen6Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Nordre Ringgade 1, 8000 Aarhus, DenmarkDepartment of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Nordre Ringgade 1, 8000 Aarhus, DenmarkDepartment of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Nordre Ringgade 1, 8000 Aarhus, DenmarkDepartment of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Nordre Ringgade 1, 8000 Aarhus, DenmarkSandholt ApS, Sankt Nikolaj Vej 8, 2., 1953 Frederiksberg, DenmarkCenter for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021, ChinaDepartment of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Nordre Ringgade 1, 8000 Aarhus, DenmarkPrecision irrigation is a promising method to mitigate the impacts of drought stress on crop production with the optimal use of water resources. However, the reliable assessment of plant water status has not been adequately demonstrated, and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) offer great potential for spatiotemporal improvements. This study utilized UAS equipped with multispectral and thermal sensors to detect and quantify drought stress in winter wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.) using the Water Deficit Index (<i>WDI</i>). Biennial field experiments were conducted on coarse sand soil in Denmark and analyses were performed at both diurnal and seasonal timescales. The <i>WDI</i> was significantly correlated with leaf stomatal conductance (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.61–0.73), and the correlation was weaker with leaf water potential (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.39–0.56) and topsoil water status (the highest R<sup>2</sup> of 0.68). A semi-physical model depicting the relationship between <i>WDI</i> and fraction of transpirable soil water (<i>FTSW</i>) in the root zone was derived with R<sup>2</sup> = 0.74. Moreover, <i>WDI</i> estimates were improved using an energy balance model with an iterative scheme to estimate the net radiation and land surface temperature, as well as the dual crop coefficient. The diurnal variation in <i>WDI</i> revealed a pattern of the ratio of actual to potential evapotranspiration, being higher in the morning, decreasing at noon hours and ‘recovering’ in the afternoon. Future work should investigate the temporal upscaling of evapotranspiration, which may be used to develop methods for site-specific irrigation recommendations.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/15/2998drought stressenergy balancefraction of transpirable soil watertemperature trapezoidthermal imageryvegetation index
spellingShingle Vita Antoniuk
Kiril Manevski
Kirsten Kørup
Rene Larsen
Inge Sandholt
Xiying Zhang
Mathias Neumann Andersen
Diurnal and Seasonal Mapping of Water Deficit Index and Evapotranspiration by an Unmanned Aerial System: A Case Study for Winter Wheat in Denmark
Remote Sensing
drought stress
energy balance
fraction of transpirable soil water
temperature trapezoid
thermal imagery
vegetation index
title Diurnal and Seasonal Mapping of Water Deficit Index and Evapotranspiration by an Unmanned Aerial System: A Case Study for Winter Wheat in Denmark
title_full Diurnal and Seasonal Mapping of Water Deficit Index and Evapotranspiration by an Unmanned Aerial System: A Case Study for Winter Wheat in Denmark
title_fullStr Diurnal and Seasonal Mapping of Water Deficit Index and Evapotranspiration by an Unmanned Aerial System: A Case Study for Winter Wheat in Denmark
title_full_unstemmed Diurnal and Seasonal Mapping of Water Deficit Index and Evapotranspiration by an Unmanned Aerial System: A Case Study for Winter Wheat in Denmark
title_short Diurnal and Seasonal Mapping of Water Deficit Index and Evapotranspiration by an Unmanned Aerial System: A Case Study for Winter Wheat in Denmark
title_sort diurnal and seasonal mapping of water deficit index and evapotranspiration by an unmanned aerial system a case study for winter wheat in denmark
topic drought stress
energy balance
fraction of transpirable soil water
temperature trapezoid
thermal imagery
vegetation index
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/15/2998
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