Assessing tea plantations biophysical and biochemical characteristics in Northeast India using satellite data
Assessing tea plantations biophysical and biochemical characteristics in Northeast India using satellite data
Despite advancements in using multi-temporal satellite data to assess long-term changes in Northeast India's tea plantations, a research gap exists in understanding the intricate interplay between biophysical and biochemical characteristics. Further exploration is crucial for precise, sustainable monitoring and management. In this study, satellite-derived vegetation indices and near-proximal sensor data were deployed to deduce various physico-chemical characteristics and to evaluate the health conditions of tea plantations in northeast India. The districts, such as Sonitpur, Jorhat, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh, and Tinsukia in Assam were selected, which are the major contributors to the tea industry in India. The Sentinel-2A (2022) data was processed in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud platform and utilized for analyzing tea plantations biochemical and biophysical properties. Leaf chlorophyll (C
ab) and nitrogen contents are determined using the Normalized Area Over Reflectance Curve (NAOC) index and flavanol contents, respectively. Biophysical and biochemical parameters of the tea assessed during the spring season (March-April) 2022 revealed that tea plantations located in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh were much healthier than the other districts in Assam which are evident from satellite-derived Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (MSAVI), Leaf Area Index (LAI), and Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fPAR), including the C
ab and nitrogen contents. The C
ab of healthy tea plants varied from 25 to 35 µg/cm
2. Pearson correlation among satellite-derived C
ab and nitrogen with field measurements showed R
2 of 0.61-0.62 (p-value < 0.001). This study offered vital information about land alternations and tea health conditions, which can be crucial for conservation, monitoring, and management practices.
Camellia sinensis, Environmental Monitoring, India, Nitrogen, Tea, Nitrogen content, Chlorophyll content, Google Earth Engine, LAI, Tea plantations, Remote sensing
Mahato, Trinath
69e8b80e-5049-4abe-b002-5198f0458883
Parida, Bikash Ranjan
21c6f8e7-5d6c-4d46-86e3-4e7160b4d1b5
Bar, Somnath
1e199d14-4020-46ef-9dfa-733fe5fa6082
March 2024
Mahato, Trinath
69e8b80e-5049-4abe-b002-5198f0458883
Parida, Bikash Ranjan
21c6f8e7-5d6c-4d46-86e3-4e7160b4d1b5
Bar, Somnath
1e199d14-4020-46ef-9dfa-733fe5fa6082
Mahato, Trinath, Parida, Bikash Ranjan and Bar, Somnath
(2024)
Assessing tea plantations biophysical and biochemical characteristics in Northeast India using satellite data.
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 196 (3), [327].
(doi:10.1007/s10661-024-12502-8).
Abstract
Despite advancements in using multi-temporal satellite data to assess long-term changes in Northeast India's tea plantations, a research gap exists in understanding the intricate interplay between biophysical and biochemical characteristics. Further exploration is crucial for precise, sustainable monitoring and management. In this study, satellite-derived vegetation indices and near-proximal sensor data were deployed to deduce various physico-chemical characteristics and to evaluate the health conditions of tea plantations in northeast India. The districts, such as Sonitpur, Jorhat, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh, and Tinsukia in Assam were selected, which are the major contributors to the tea industry in India. The Sentinel-2A (2022) data was processed in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud platform and utilized for analyzing tea plantations biochemical and biophysical properties. Leaf chlorophyll (C
ab) and nitrogen contents are determined using the Normalized Area Over Reflectance Curve (NAOC) index and flavanol contents, respectively. Biophysical and biochemical parameters of the tea assessed during the spring season (March-April) 2022 revealed that tea plantations located in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh were much healthier than the other districts in Assam which are evident from satellite-derived Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (MSAVI), Leaf Area Index (LAI), and Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fPAR), including the C
ab and nitrogen contents. The C
ab of healthy tea plants varied from 25 to 35 µg/cm
2. Pearson correlation among satellite-derived C
ab and nitrogen with field measurements showed R
2 of 0.61-0.62 (p-value < 0.001). This study offered vital information about land alternations and tea health conditions, which can be crucial for conservation, monitoring, and management practices.
Text
Assessing Tea plantations biophysical and biochemical characteristics in Northeast India using satellite data
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Accepted/In Press date: 24 February 2024
e-pub ahead of print date: 29 February 2024
Published date: March 2024
Keywords:
Camellia sinensis, Environmental Monitoring, India, Nitrogen, Tea, Nitrogen content, Chlorophyll content, Google Earth Engine, LAI, Tea plantations, Remote sensing
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 490473
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/490473
ISSN: 0167-6369
PURE UUID: 6417a905-388c-4720-aeff-5dfa20c2f6ab
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Date deposited: 28 May 2024 16:59
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 02:18
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Contributors
Author:
Trinath Mahato
Author:
Bikash Ranjan Parida
Author:
Somnath Bar
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