Satellite data for agriculture 1 August 2017

Securing crop production on our planet in a "Being affiliated to JECAM, we have access to a sustainable way is one of the big challenges of our multitude of other measuring data surveyed at time, also with regard to climate change. On the various locations around the planet," Professor one hand, sustainable farming means to guarantee Conrad explains. "This provides optimal the production of food, textiles and energy in the opportunities to develop new methods to determine long run. On the other hand, it involves the plant growth, biomass and soil moisture from protection of natural resources and ecosystems. satellite data and validate them in different agricultural regions worldwide." Satellite data can be useful in this respect: They deliver information about the growth performance Facts about of field crops, for example. This knowledge allows optimizing the use of fertilizer to protect the ground The DEMMIN (Durable Environmental water more efficiently since too much mineral Multidisciplinary Monitoring Information Network) fertilizer can result in excessive nitrate content in soil measurement and validation site is located east our drinking water. of the small of Demmin in -West . It was kicked off in 1999 as a large- The data from space also allow drought-related scale test site by the DLR. Since 2011, it has been crop failures to be assessed at an early stage. This equipped with further measuring instruments by the is particularly important for farmers in poorer GFZ. countries. Covering more than 30,000 hectares, the site Worldwide network of measuring stations entertains an environmental monitoring network that is unique in . Near-realtime To be able to use satellite data for this purpose, information about climate and soil are collected via innovative methods are developed in the a radio network in high time resolution: The GLAM.DE research venture headed by Professor environmental sensing network comprises 43 Christopher Conrad from the Julius-Maximilians- stations. It measures among others air Universität (JMU) Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany. temperature, precipitation, wind and radiation Moreover, the project aims to incorporate the parameters in 15-minute intervals. Additionally, 63 German expertise in satellite remote sensing in an soil moisture gauging stations are installed below international network. The Federal Ministry for the agricultural fields. Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) funds the project with around 400,000 euros. "DEMMIN delivers a wealth of data which allows us to continuously improve the monitoring of A first milestone has already been reached: The agricultural areas based on satellite data," says Erik soil assessment and validation site DEMMIN in Borg from the DLR; he is the co-initiator of the test Mecklenburg-West Pomerania joined the site. "Key elements include upholding standards international initiative "Joint Experiment of Crop and data quality as well as providing the data e.g. Assessment and Monitoring" (JECAM) within the via the TERENO data portal TEODOOR," Daniel scope of GLAM.DE. It is the first German site to be Spengler from the GFZ adds. represented in the initiative. DEMMIN is a collaborative large-scale test site operated by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the German Provided by Julius-Maximilians-Universität Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam Würzburg (GFZ).

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APA citation: Satellite data for agriculture (2017, August 1) retrieved 26 September 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2017-08-satellite-agriculture.html

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