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Reflectance Differences Between Crop Residues and Bare Soils
Author(s) -
Gausman H. W.,
Gerbermann A. H.,
Wiegand C. L.,
Leamer R. W.,
Rodriguez R. R.,
Noriega J. R.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1975.03615995003900040043x
Subject(s) - crop residue , soil water , crop , environmental science , reflectivity , standing crop , residue (chemistry) , multispectral scanner , remote sensing , agronomy , soil science , chemistry , geology , biology , ecology , agriculture , biomass (ecology) , biochemistry , physics , optics
To find the best spectral waveband for identifying crop residues by remote sensing, reflectance spectra of standing and littered crop residues were compared, and the utility of ERTS‐1 Multispectral Scanner (MSS) data for distinguishing soils with crop residues from bare soils was tested. Field spectroradiometric investigations were conducted using the 0.5‐ to 1.8‐µm waveband. Crop residue littered on the soil had higher reflectance than bare soil, but standing crop residue had lower reflectance than bare soil. The ERTS‐1 MSS digital counts (signal strengths) were statistically different between soils with and without crop residues more times (8 out of 12) for band 4 (0.5 to 0.6 µm) than for bands 5 (0.6 to 0.7 µm), 6 (0.7 to 0.8 µm), and 7 (0.8 to 1.1 µ), or for band ratios 4/7, 5/7, 4/6, and 5/6. Statistically, for band 4, soils with crop residues had lower reflectance than bare soils five out of eight times. Present reflectance techniques are unable to distinguish quantities of crop residue on the soil, and better parameters are needed to describe crop residues. Additional study of ERTS‐1 MSS data relating crop residues to wind and water erosion susceptibility of the soil is merited.