Remote Sensing techniques for Agriculture suvey
S. Balaselvakumar Research Scholar, Department of Geography, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli- 620 024, India S. Saravanan Department of Zoology, Annamalai University, Chidambaram -608 002, India
Introduction
Agriculture resources are among the most important renewable, dynamic natural resources. Comprehensive, reliable and timely information on agricultural resources is very much necessary for a country like India whose mainstay of the economy is agriculture. Agriculture survey are presently conducted throughtout the nation in order to gather information and associated statistics on crops, rangeland, livestock and other related agricultural resources. These information of data are most importance for the implementation of effective management decisions at local, panchayat and district levels. In fact, agricultural survey is a backbone of planning and allocation of the limited resources to different sectors of the economy. With increasing population pressure throughout the nation and the concomitant need for increased agricultural production (food and fiber crops as well as livestock) there is a definite need for improved management of the nation agricultural resources. In order to accomplish this, it is first necessary to obtain reliable data on not only the types, but also the quality, quantity and location of these resources. The remote sensing techniques has been and it will continue to, a very important factor in the improvement of the present systems of acquiring and generating agricultural data. Remote sensing and its Importance in Agricultural survey Remote sensing is nothing but a means to get the reliable information about an object without being in physical contact with the object. It is on the observation of an object by a device separated from it by some distance utilizing the characteristics response of different objects to emissions in the electromagnetic energy is measured in a number of spectral bands for the purpose of identification of the object. In such study single tabular form of data or map data is not sufficient enough which can provide can be, combined with information's obtained from existing maps and tabular data.
Present system of Generating agricultural data and its Problems The present system of agricultural data is collected throughout the nation. The main responsibility of collection agricultural survey lies on the Director of Land Records, Director of agriculture and District Statistical Office under the Ministry of Agriculture. These data are collected not only on a local but also some extent of district and state level. The associate of agricultural survey on crops (crop production, type of crop and crop yield), range land (condition of range, forest type, water quality, types of irrigation system and soil characteristics) and livestock (livestock population, sex of animal, types of farm and distribution of animals). The basic problems in this survey are;
Remote Sensing techniques for Agricultural survey The given factors influenced the use of remote sensing in agricultural surveys; via 1. Characteristics of the agricultural landscape 2. Characteristic of EMR on Agricultural survey. Detection, identification, measurement and monitoring of agricultural phenomena are predicated on the assumption that agricultural landscape features (e.g. crops, livestock, crop infestations and soil anomalies) have consistently identifiable signatures on the type of remote sensing data. Some of the parameters which may cause these identifiable signatures include crop type, state of maturity, crop density, crop geometry, crop vigor, crop moisture, crop temperature, soil moisture, soil temperature. An image analysis can correlate a certain signature with one of these many characteristics. Remote Sensing techniques in agriculture survey which affect the signature on remote sensing imagery. It is important to consider briefly the significance of choosing the appropriate sensor system, as well as the scale and resolution requirements that will yield optimum benefits for objectives of agricultural survey. Signature in Remote Sensing The knowledge of spectral signatures is essential for exploiting the potential of remote sensing techniques. This knowledge enables one to identify and classify the objects of agricultural resources. It is also required for interpretation of all remotely sensed data, especially in agricultural resource data whether the interpretation is carried out visually or using digital techniques. It also helps us in specifying requirements for any remote sensing mission e.g. which optimal wave length bands to be used or which type of sensor will be best suited for a particular task (agricultural survey). All objects of agricultural resource on the surface of the earth have characteristic spectral signatures. For example, the given fig. 1 shows the average spectral reflectance curves (or) spectral signatures for three typical earth's features; vegetation, soil and water. The spectral reflectance curves for vigorous vegetation manifests the "Peak-and valley" configuration. The valleys in the visible portion of the spectrum are indicative of pigments in plant leaves. Dips in reflectance that can be sent at wavelengths of 0.65 mm, 1.4 mm and 1.9 mm are attributable to absorption of water by leaves. The soil curves show a more regular variation of reflectance. Factors that evidently affect soil reflectance are moisture content, soil texture, surface roughness and presence of organic matter. The water curves shows that from about 0.5 mm, reduction in reflectance with increasing wavelength, so that in the near infrared range, the reflectance of deep clear water is virtually zero (Mather, 1987) However, the spectral reflectance of water is significantly affected by the presence of dissolved and suspended organic and inorganic material and by the depth of the water body. Determinations of spectral signatures implies basic under standing of interaction of electromagnetic radiation with agricultural resources objects. This is also necessary for analyzing and designing sensor systems for agricultural survey. Sensor systems in Remote Sensing In remote sensing the acquisition of data is depending upon the sensor system used. Various remote sensing platforms (Aircraft, Satellite) are equipped with different sensor systems. Sensor is a device that receives electromagnetic radiation, converts it into a signal and presents it in a form suitable of obtaining information about the land or earth resource as used by an information gathering system. Sensor can be grouped, either on the basic of energy source. They are as classified. Active sensor An active sensor operates by emitting its own energy, which is needed to detect the various phenomena (e.g. RADAR, camera with a flash gun) Passive sensor The operation of passive sensor is dependent of the existing sources of energy, like sun (e.g. photographic systems, multispectral scanners). The given sensor system of camera are in agricultural survey.
Generally the remote sensing devices operate in the green, red and near infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum for agriculture and other allied phenomena. Agricultural resources can be obtained by measuring spectral, spatial and temporal variations of electromagnetic radiation emanating from points of interest and then analyzing these measurements to relate them to specific classes of agricultural phenomena purpose. Spectral variations are changes in the intensity of radiation at a given wavelength i.e. difference in colour. Spatial variations are changes in radiation from one location to another i.e. difference in shape and position. Temporal variations are changes in radiation from one time to another i.e. difference over time. One of the most successful applications of multispectral space imagery (sensor) is monitoring the state of the world's agricultural production. This application includes and differentiation of the agricultural phenomena. Electromagnetic Remote Sensing Process Agricultural resources data are collected y aircraft and satellite-mounted instruments, which receive reflected energy from target in some frequency of the electromagnetic spectrum. The process involved in electromagnetic remote sensing system namely, data acquisition and data analysis are outlined below and a schematic diagram of electromagnetic remote sensing process in shown in the Fig. 2 Data acquisition The data acquisition process comprises of the following distinct elements, which are necessary in agricultural survey
The data analysis process involves examining the data using various viewing instrument to analyze pictorial data, which is called the visual interpretation technique and computer to analyse digital data, a process known as digital analysis. Reference Data Reference data also called ground truth area an essential part of remote sensing data processing. It is used to analyse and interpret remotely sensed data, to calibrate a sensor, and to verify information extracted from remote sensing data. The above given figure-3 shows the part of the spectrum relevant to remote sensing. The most common form of remote sensing was Aerial photography, in which used the visible light section of the electromagnetic spectrum. Newer sensors can acquire data in this and other sections of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as the non-visible infrared and near infrared wavelength, as will as microwaves used for radar. Many of these sensors can acquire several section of the spectrum concurrently and may be termed multispectral scanners. The electromagnetic wavelength bands with their bands with their utility in remote sensing are described in the given table -1 ![]() Table 1 Electromagnetic spectral region Advantages of Remote Sensing techniques in Agricultural survey With the primary aim of improving the present means of generating agricultural data, a number of specific advantages may result form the use of remote sensing techniques.
Application of Remote sensing techniques for Agricultural survey The specific application of remote sensing techniques can be used for i) detection ii) identification iii) measurement iv) monitoring of agricultural phenomena. Area of specific applications
Conclusion The use of remote sensing technology has been rapidly expanded for the development of key sectors. This paper highlights the fact that the remote sensing techniques will continue to be very important factor in the improvement of present system of acquiring agricultural data. The remote sensing provides various platforms for agricultural survey. Satellite imagery has unique ability to provide the actual synoptic vies of large area at a time, which is not possible for conventional survey methods and also the process of data acquisition and analysis are very fast through GIS (Geographic Information System) as compared to the conventional methods. The different features of agriculture are acquired by characteristic, spectral reflectance, spectral signature of agriculture and associated phenomena through EMR. In General the research paper emphasizes the utmost need of timeliness and accuracy of the output generated by remote sensing techniques and its calibration with ground-truth and other information systems like aerial photography and satellite imagery etc. Further, the importance of remote sensing with special reference to agricultural sector involving crop acreage, crop production, rangeland and livestock has been discussed in detail. For the further improvement in the use of remote sensing technology in various fields, we can have interaction with the Dep. of Space that is specialized in this field. Reference books
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