Pasture Productivity Assessment under Mob Grazing and Fertility Management Using Satellite and UAS Imagery

Pasture management approaches can determine the productivity, sustainability, and ecological balance of livestock production. Sensing techniques potentially provide methods to assess the performance of different grazing practices that are more labor and time efficient than traditional methods (e.g.,...

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Main Authors: Worasit Sangjan, Lynne A. Carpenter-Boggs, Tipton D. Hudson, Sindhuja Sankaran
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-09-01
Series:Drones
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/6/9/232
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author Worasit Sangjan
Lynne A. Carpenter-Boggs
Tipton D. Hudson
Sindhuja Sankaran
author_facet Worasit Sangjan
Lynne A. Carpenter-Boggs
Tipton D. Hudson
Sindhuja Sankaran
author_sort Worasit Sangjan
collection DOAJ
description Pasture management approaches can determine the productivity, sustainability, and ecological balance of livestock production. Sensing techniques potentially provide methods to assess the performance of different grazing practices that are more labor and time efficient than traditional methods (e.g., soil and crop sampling). This study utilized high-resolution satellite and unmanned aerial system (UAS) imagery to evaluate vegetation characteristics of a pasture field location with two grazing densities (low and high, applied in the years 2015–2019) and four fertility treatments (control, manure, mineral, and compost tea, applied annually in the years 2015–2019). The pasture productivity was assessed through satellite imagery annually from the years 2017 to 2019. The relation and variation within and between the years were evaluated using vegetation indices extracted from satellite and UAS imagery. The data from the two sensing systems (satellite and UAS) demonstrated that grazing density showed a significant effect (<i>p</i> < 0.05) on pasture crop status in 2019. Furthermore, the mean vegetation index data extracted from satellite and UAS imagery (2019) had a high correlation (<i>r</i> ≥ 0.78, <i>p</i> < 0.001). These results show the potential of utilizing satellite and UAS imagery for crop productivity assessment applications in small to medium pasture research and management.
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spelling doaj.art-c38bdae3185b4d9597214b9311612d292023-11-23T15:53:37ZengMDPI AGDrones2504-446X2022-09-016923210.3390/drones6090232Pasture Productivity Assessment under Mob Grazing and Fertility Management Using Satellite and UAS ImageryWorasit Sangjan0Lynne A. Carpenter-Boggs1Tipton D. Hudson2Sindhuja Sankaran3Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USADepartment of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USADepartment of Animal Science, Washington State University Extension, Kittitas County, Ellensburg, WA 98926, USADepartment of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USAPasture management approaches can determine the productivity, sustainability, and ecological balance of livestock production. Sensing techniques potentially provide methods to assess the performance of different grazing practices that are more labor and time efficient than traditional methods (e.g., soil and crop sampling). This study utilized high-resolution satellite and unmanned aerial system (UAS) imagery to evaluate vegetation characteristics of a pasture field location with two grazing densities (low and high, applied in the years 2015–2019) and four fertility treatments (control, manure, mineral, and compost tea, applied annually in the years 2015–2019). The pasture productivity was assessed through satellite imagery annually from the years 2017 to 2019. The relation and variation within and between the years were evaluated using vegetation indices extracted from satellite and UAS imagery. The data from the two sensing systems (satellite and UAS) demonstrated that grazing density showed a significant effect (<i>p</i> < 0.05) on pasture crop status in 2019. Furthermore, the mean vegetation index data extracted from satellite and UAS imagery (2019) had a high correlation (<i>r</i> ≥ 0.78, <i>p</i> < 0.001). These results show the potential of utilizing satellite and UAS imagery for crop productivity assessment applications in small to medium pasture research and management.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/6/9/232grazing densitynutrientpasture managementforage grassremote sensing
spellingShingle Worasit Sangjan
Lynne A. Carpenter-Boggs
Tipton D. Hudson
Sindhuja Sankaran
Pasture Productivity Assessment under Mob Grazing and Fertility Management Using Satellite and UAS Imagery
Drones
grazing density
nutrient
pasture management
forage grass
remote sensing
title Pasture Productivity Assessment under Mob Grazing and Fertility Management Using Satellite and UAS Imagery
title_full Pasture Productivity Assessment under Mob Grazing and Fertility Management Using Satellite and UAS Imagery
title_fullStr Pasture Productivity Assessment under Mob Grazing and Fertility Management Using Satellite and UAS Imagery
title_full_unstemmed Pasture Productivity Assessment under Mob Grazing and Fertility Management Using Satellite and UAS Imagery
title_short Pasture Productivity Assessment under Mob Grazing and Fertility Management Using Satellite and UAS Imagery
title_sort pasture productivity assessment under mob grazing and fertility management using satellite and uas imagery
topic grazing density
nutrient
pasture management
forage grass
remote sensing
url https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/6/9/232
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AT tiptondhudson pastureproductivityassessmentundermobgrazingandfertilitymanagementusingsatelliteanduasimagery
AT sindhujasankaran pastureproductivityassessmentundermobgrazingandfertilitymanagementusingsatelliteanduasimagery