The role of earth observation in achieving sustainable agricultural production in arid and semi-arid regions of the world
The role of earth observation in achieving sustainable agricultural production in arid and semi-arid regions of the world
Crop production is a major source of food and livelihood for many people in arid and semi-arid (ASA) regions across the world. However, due to irregular climatic events, ASA regions are affected commonly by frequent droughts that can impact food production. In addition, ASA regions in the Middle East and Africa are often characterised by political instability, which can increase population vulnerability to hunger and ill health. Remote sensing (RS) provides a platform to improve the spatial prediction of crop production and food availability, with the potential to positively impact populations. This paper, firstly, describes some of the important characteristics of agriculture in ASA regions that require monitoring to improve their management. Secondly, it demonstrates how freely available RS data can support decision-making through a cost-effective monitoring system that complements traditional approaches for collecting agricultural data. Thirdly, it illustrates the challenges of employing freely available RS data for mapping and monitoring crop area, crop status and forecasting crop yield in these regions. Finally, existing approaches used in these applications are evaluated, and the challenges associated with their use and possible future improvements are discussed. We demonstrate that agricultural activities can be monitored effectively and both crop area and crop yield can be predicted in advance using RS data. We also discuss the future challenges associated with maintaining food security in ASA regions and explore some recent advances in RS that can be used to monitor cropland and forecast crop production and yield.
Agriculture, Arid and semi-arid regions, Crop monitoring, Crop yield, Remote sensing
Qader, Sarchil
b1afb647-aeff-4bb8-84f2-56865c4eb9e4
Dash, Jadunandan
51468afb-3d56-4d3a-aace-736b63e9fac8
Alegana, Victor
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Khwarahm, Nabaz
2e1dea22-1f7f-41d6-b007-ed5bcc95f6ec
Tatem, Andrew
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Atkinson, Peter
96e96579-56fe-424d-a21c-17b6eed13b0b
1 September 2021
Qader, Sarchil
b1afb647-aeff-4bb8-84f2-56865c4eb9e4
Dash, Jadunandan
51468afb-3d56-4d3a-aace-736b63e9fac8
Alegana, Victor
f5bd6ab7-459e-4122-984f-2bdb5f906d82
Khwarahm, Nabaz
2e1dea22-1f7f-41d6-b007-ed5bcc95f6ec
Tatem, Andrew
6c6de104-a5f9-46e0-bb93-a1a7c980513e
Atkinson, Peter
96e96579-56fe-424d-a21c-17b6eed13b0b
Qader, Sarchil, Dash, Jadunandan, Alegana, Victor, Khwarahm, Nabaz, Tatem, Andrew and Atkinson, Peter
(2021)
The role of earth observation in achieving sustainable agricultural production in arid and semi-arid regions of the world.
Remote Sensing, 13 (17), [3382].
(doi:10.3390/rs13173382).
Abstract
Crop production is a major source of food and livelihood for many people in arid and semi-arid (ASA) regions across the world. However, due to irregular climatic events, ASA regions are affected commonly by frequent droughts that can impact food production. In addition, ASA regions in the Middle East and Africa are often characterised by political instability, which can increase population vulnerability to hunger and ill health. Remote sensing (RS) provides a platform to improve the spatial prediction of crop production and food availability, with the potential to positively impact populations. This paper, firstly, describes some of the important characteristics of agriculture in ASA regions that require monitoring to improve their management. Secondly, it demonstrates how freely available RS data can support decision-making through a cost-effective monitoring system that complements traditional approaches for collecting agricultural data. Thirdly, it illustrates the challenges of employing freely available RS data for mapping and monitoring crop area, crop status and forecasting crop yield in these regions. Finally, existing approaches used in these applications are evaluated, and the challenges associated with their use and possible future improvements are discussed. We demonstrate that agricultural activities can be monitored effectively and both crop area and crop yield can be predicted in advance using RS data. We also discuss the future challenges associated with maintaining food security in ASA regions and explore some recent advances in RS that can be used to monitor cropland and forecast crop production and yield.
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Accepted/In Press date: 17 August 2021
Published date: 1 September 2021
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This research was funded by UK Research and Innovation GCRF 323036/ARCP011217. V.A.A. is funded through a Wellcome Trust Training Fellowship (# 211208).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Keywords:
Agriculture, Arid and semi-arid regions, Crop monitoring, Crop yield, Remote sensing
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 451122
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/451122
ISSN: 2072-4292
PURE UUID: c43c339a-341c-4a35-b4fa-2259e5b0549b
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Date deposited: 08 Sep 2021 16:40
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 01:50
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Author:
Nabaz Khwarahm
Author:
Peter Atkinson
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