Leveraging remote sensing for sustainable agricultural intensification

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The Crop Production Ecology Seminars is a free and online platform for scientific debate about agricultural production and sustainability between academics, stakeholders, and the general public.

In this seminar, we will discuss leveraging remote sensing for sustainable agricultural intensification with recent insights from three leading researchers in the field.

Renovation of agricultural monitoring with remote sensing: Cases from the U.S. Midwest

Remote sensing has a great potential in filling up the data gaps to support sustainable agriculture under climate change and land use intensification. Besides acreage and production in traditional agricultural monitoring with remote sensing, new advances have been made in monitoring crop traits, management practices, and environmental conditions, enabling quantifying multi-facet outcomes of agroecosystems. This talk will show some typical cases on this topic in the U.S. Midwest.

Bin Peng
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois

Adapting to global environmental change: How can we ensure food security in a time of uncertainty?

In India, climate change is expected to reduce yields and groundwater critical for irrigation is becoming depleted at unprecedented rates, leading to negative feedbacks on food security, livelihoods, and welfare. Meha Jain’s research uses remote sensing to examine how environmental change is currently impacting agricultural production in India. This talk will present research examining the impacts of warming temperatures and groundwater depletion on agricultural production, the adaptive strategies farmers adopt to reduce those impacts, and the potential for different policy interventions to enhance mitigation efforts in this globally important agricultural region.

Meha Jain
School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan

Remotely Sensing Plant Physiological Traits: Opportunities for Optimising Crop Yields

An increasing global demand for food is intensifying the need for sustainably enhanced agricultural productivity. Ensuring crops receive the optimal amount of fertiliser, at the right time, is crucial to maximise crop yields and minimise the environmental and climate impacts of excess nitrogen application. Remotely monitoring crop physiological traits using drones or satellites offers the possibility of guiding both the timing and precise location of fertiliser application. This talk will present results from a variable nutrient application field trial to investigate crop physiological response to nutrient treatment, and if this response can be detected using remote sensing techniques.

   

Holly Croft
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield