Satellite-Based Frost Damage Detection in Support of Winter Cover Crops Management: A Case Study on White Mustard
Cover crops are grown in order to provide agro-ecological services and must be terminated before planting the subsequent cash crop. Winterkill termination (by frost damage) depends on the interaction between crop frost hardiness, temperatures and the development stage reached at the time of sub-zero...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/9/2025 |
| _version_ | 1797492249303449600 |
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| author | Mara Gabbrielli Martina Corti Marco Perfetto Virginia Fassa Luca Bechini |
| author_facet | Mara Gabbrielli Martina Corti Marco Perfetto Virginia Fassa Luca Bechini |
| author_sort | Mara Gabbrielli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cover crops are grown in order to provide agro-ecological services and must be terminated before planting the subsequent cash crop. Winterkill termination (by frost damage) depends on the interaction between crop frost hardiness, temperatures and the development stage reached at the time of sub-zero temperature exposure. Remotely sensing intensity, timing and spatial variation of cover crop frost damage can be useful for modeling and planning purposes. Therefore, in this study Sentinel-2 vegetation indices were employed in order to detect frost damage in four white mustard (<i>Sinapis alba</i> L.) fields located in Northern Italy. We estimated the starting date of frost events by means of vegetation indices (EVI, NDRE, NDVI, MMSR, and CCCI); we quantified and mapped frost damage at the sub-field level, using ground-based frost damage measurements carried out during the 2021/2022 season. As to frost damage quantification, MMSR outperformed the other VIs followed by CCCI and EVI (R<sup>2</sup> > 0.55). The adopted procedure to detect starting dates of frost events was successful in most cases, with a one-day and a four-day delay in the two best cases (NDRE). Finally, maps of frost damage were consistent with its observed spatial variation. We demonstrated that it is possible to employ vegetation indices in order to detect cover crop frost damage and thus assessing cover crop winterkill termination efficiency in the field. Further research is needed, involving additional field monitoring of white mustard in more diverse conditions, and extension of the calibration, as well as validation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:00:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b7a4e347638c4beead0bbad3ea3ffcb0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:00:55Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-b7a4e347638c4beead0bbad3ea3ffcb02023-11-23T14:36:05ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952022-08-01129202510.3390/agronomy12092025Satellite-Based Frost Damage Detection in Support of Winter Cover Crops Management: A Case Study on White MustardMara Gabbrielli0Martina Corti1Marco Perfetto2Virginia Fassa3Luca Bechini4Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences—Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università Degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences—Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università Degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences—Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università Degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences—Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università Degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences—Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università Degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, ItalyCover crops are grown in order to provide agro-ecological services and must be terminated before planting the subsequent cash crop. Winterkill termination (by frost damage) depends on the interaction between crop frost hardiness, temperatures and the development stage reached at the time of sub-zero temperature exposure. Remotely sensing intensity, timing and spatial variation of cover crop frost damage can be useful for modeling and planning purposes. Therefore, in this study Sentinel-2 vegetation indices were employed in order to detect frost damage in four white mustard (<i>Sinapis alba</i> L.) fields located in Northern Italy. We estimated the starting date of frost events by means of vegetation indices (EVI, NDRE, NDVI, MMSR, and CCCI); we quantified and mapped frost damage at the sub-field level, using ground-based frost damage measurements carried out during the 2021/2022 season. As to frost damage quantification, MMSR outperformed the other VIs followed by CCCI and EVI (R<sup>2</sup> > 0.55). The adopted procedure to detect starting dates of frost events was successful in most cases, with a one-day and a four-day delay in the two best cases (NDRE). Finally, maps of frost damage were consistent with its observed spatial variation. We demonstrated that it is possible to employ vegetation indices in order to detect cover crop frost damage and thus assessing cover crop winterkill termination efficiency in the field. Further research is needed, involving additional field monitoring of white mustard in more diverse conditions, and extension of the calibration, as well as validation.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/9/2025vegetation indexSentinel-2time seriestermination<i>Sinapis alba</i> L. |
| spellingShingle | Mara Gabbrielli Martina Corti Marco Perfetto Virginia Fassa Luca Bechini Satellite-Based Frost Damage Detection in Support of Winter Cover Crops Management: A Case Study on White Mustard Agronomy vegetation index Sentinel-2 time series termination <i>Sinapis alba</i> L. |
| title | Satellite-Based Frost Damage Detection in Support of Winter Cover Crops Management: A Case Study on White Mustard |
| title_full | Satellite-Based Frost Damage Detection in Support of Winter Cover Crops Management: A Case Study on White Mustard |
| title_fullStr | Satellite-Based Frost Damage Detection in Support of Winter Cover Crops Management: A Case Study on White Mustard |
| title_full_unstemmed | Satellite-Based Frost Damage Detection in Support of Winter Cover Crops Management: A Case Study on White Mustard |
| title_short | Satellite-Based Frost Damage Detection in Support of Winter Cover Crops Management: A Case Study on White Mustard |
| title_sort | satellite based frost damage detection in support of winter cover crops management a case study on white mustard |
| topic | vegetation index Sentinel-2 time series termination <i>Sinapis alba</i> L. |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/9/2025 |
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