Estimation of Bale Grazing and Sacrificed Pasture Biomass through the Integration of Sentinel Satellite Images and Machine Learning Techniques

Autor: Milad Vahidi, Sanaz Shafian, Summer Thomas, Rory Maguire
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Remote Sensing, Vol 15, Iss 20, p 5014 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2072-4292
DOI: 10.3390/rs15205014
Popis: Quantifying the forage biomass in pastoral systems can be used for enhancing farmers’ decision-making in precision management and optimizing livestock feeding systems. In this study, we assessed the feasibility of integrating Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery with machine learning techniques to estimate the aboveground biomass and forage quality of bale grazing and sacrificed grassland areas in Virginia. The workflow comprised two steps, each addressing specific objectives. Firstly, we analyzed the temporal variation in spectral and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) variables derived from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 time series images. Subsequently, we evaluated the contribution of these variables with the estimation of grassland biomass using three machine learning algorithms, as follows: support vector regression (SVR), random forest (RF), and artificial neural network (ANN). The quantitative assessment of the models demonstrates that the ANN algorithm outperforms the other approaches when estimating pasture biomass. The developed ANN model achieved an R2 of 0.83 and RMSE of 6.68 kg/100 sq. meter. The evaluation of feature importance revealed that VV and VH polarizations play a significant role in the model, indicating the SAR sensor’s ability to perceive changes in plant structure during the growth period. Additionally, the blue, green, and NIR bands were identified as the most influential spectral variables in the model, underscoring the alterations in the spectrum of the pasture over time.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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