ABSTRACT
Track:  Agriculture

Integrating Remote Sensing and Geographic Information for Agriculture

William T. Sharp


The precision agriculture revolution is having a profound effect on the way crops are managed and harvested. It is both a technological and cultural revolution. The increasing use of GPS during soil and crop data collection, variable rate technologies, the availability of satellite and aircraft-based images, and the development of integrated methodologies using geographic information systems as decision support systems are major components of this revolution. Data collected using a GPS are geographic by nature. This makes the data ideal for inclusion in a GIS decision support system. On the other hand there is a great deal of information that is missed when imagery and other ancillary data sources are not included as part of the management strategy. Image data fill in the gaps where other data sources leave off. Geographically based image data are an integral part of any comprehensive growth and yield management strategy. This paper provides an overview of available data sources applicable to agriculture; outlines how to integrate soil data, yield data, and other data with imagery; presents semiautomated and automated information extraction and processing methodologies; and describes the benefits of various integration and visualization methods.

 

William T. Sharp
ERDAS, Inc.
2801 Buford Highway
Atlanta, GA 30329-2137
USA

Telephone: 404-248-9000, ext. 2285
Fax: 404-248-9400
E-mail: bsharp@erdas.com

Author Index Title Index Track Index