Monitoring of damage in sunflower and maize parcels using radar and optical time series data

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to monitor the temporal behaviour of geometrical structural change of cropland affected by four different types of damage: weed infection, Western Corn Rootworm (WCR), storm damage, and drought by time series of different type of optical and quad-pol RADARSAT2 data. Based on our results it is established that ragweed infection in sunflower can be well identified by evaluation of radar (mid-June) and optical (mid-August) satellite images. Effect of drought in sunflower is well recognizable by spectral indices derived from optical as well as "I"-component of Shannon entropy (SEI) from radar satellite images acquired during the first decade of July. Evaluation of radar and optical satellite images acquired between the last decade of July and mid-August proven to be the most efficient for detecting damages in maize fields caused by either by WCR or storm. Components of Shannon entropy are proven to have significant role in identification. Our project demonstrates the potential in integrated usage of polarimetric radar and optical satellite images for monitoring several types of agricultural damage.