Abstract
Monocultural land use challenges sustainability of agriculture. Pre-crop value indicates the benefits of a previous crop for a subsequent crop in crop sequencing and facilitates diversification of agricultural systems. Traditional field experiments are resource intensive and evaluate pre-crop values only for a limited number of previous and subsequent crops. We developed a dynamic method based on Sentinel-2 derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values to estimate pre-crop values on a field parcel scale. The NDVI-values were compared to the region specific 90th percentile of each crop and year and thereby, an NDVI-gap was determined. The NDVI-gaps for each subsequent crop in the case of monocultural crop sequencing were compared to that for other previous crops in rotation and thereby, pre-crop values for a high number of previous and subsequent crop combinations were estimated. The pre-crop values ranged from +16% to -16%. Especially grain legumes and rapeseed were valuable as pre-crops, which is well in line with results from field experiments. Such data on pre-crop values can be updated and expanded every year. For the first time, a high number of previous and following crop combinations, originating from farmer's fields, is available to support diversification of currently monocultural crop sequencing patterns in agriculture.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 462 |
Pages (from-to) | 1-13 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE |
Volume | 10 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 9 Apr 2019 |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Keywords
- crop rotation
- crop sequencing
- NDVI
- pre-crop effect
- remote sensing
- Sentinel-2
- CANOPY DEVELOPMENT
- FARMING SYSTEM
- GRAIN LEGUMES
- BREAK CROPS
- ROTATIONS
- YIELDS
- MANAGEMENT
- CULTIVARS
- SEQUENCE
- GROWTH
- Crop sequencing
- Remote sensing
- Pre-crop effect
- Crop rotation