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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Tifton, Georgia » Southeast Watershed Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #417715
Research Project: Shifting the Balance of Water Resources and Interacting Agroecosystem Services Toward Sustainable Outcomes in Watersheds of the Southern Coastal Plain

Location: Southeast Watershed Research

Title: Remote sensing advances with small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) in the USDA Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network

Author
item Coffin, Alisa
item ALBRIGHT, ANDREA - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
item FLYNN, COLTON - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
item Heintzman, Lucas

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The USDA Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) Network is a collection of sites across the conterminous USA, conducting long term agricultural research oriented toward improving outcomes for farmers, ranchers and producers across the country. This coordinated network of sites has established a common framework for testing responses to alternative production systems, i.e., the Common Experiment. An essential component of this research is the coordinated measurement and monitoring of metrics and indicators within the context of diverse agricultural systems, including cropping, grazing and integrated systems. Remote sensing of agricultural systems is well established using small, unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), and LTAR Network sites are implementing sUAS remote sensing research in support of long-term agricultural research. Research in this area has grown substantially since 2016, with sUAS related research programs now established at all 19 sites within the LTAR network. Some initial advances include coordination of mission planning, data collection and management of sUAS metadata, successfully managing a sUAS research fleet in a government setting, developing workflows using authorized cloud computing platforms and, most importantly, the production of high-quality data to support research applications. Applications across the LTAR Network include sensing of vegetation and soil optical and structural characteristics, water quality, soil water content, insect and pest damage, effects of fire, and snowpack. However, while remote sensing research is actively occurring at each site, the LTAR Network is still grappling with how to best coordinate sUAS research in support of the Network’s Strategic Plan to inform regional and continental scale agricultural practices. The cross-site coordination of remote sensing research using sUAS is the focus of next steps for the LTAR Network’s remote sensing community of practice.