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Evapotranspiration Estimation with Small UAVs in Precision Agriculture
Haoyu Niu1, Derek Hollenbeck2, Tiebiao Zhao2
1Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, University of California, Merced, CA 95340, USA.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|November 13, 2020
Summary
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) offer high-resolution, on-demand data for estimating evapotranspiration (ET), overcoming limitations of traditional and satellite methods. This research explores UAV-based approaches for accurate agricultural water management.
Area of Science:
- Agricultural Science
- Remote Sensing
- Environmental Science
Background:
- Accurate evapotranspiration (ET) estimation is crucial for agricultural water management, especially facing water scarcity and climate change.
- Traditional ET estimation methods are often point-specific or limited in scale, while satellite imagery may lack sufficient spatial resolution.
- Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) provide a solution with high-resolution, on-demand imagery, overcoming spatial and temporal limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine and discuss various UAV-based approaches for estimating evapotranspiration (ET).
- To analyze the challenges and opportunities associated with using UAVs for ET estimation in agriculture.
- To provide insights into future research directions for UAV-based ET estimation.
Main Methods:
- Review and analysis of UAV-based ET estimation models, including Mapping Evapotranspiration at High Resolution with Internalized Calibration (METRIC) and the Two-Source Energy Balance (TSEB) model.
- Discussion of machine learning (ML) algorithms applied to UAV data for ET estimation.
- Exploration of practical challenges such as uncooled thermal camera calibration, UAV image acquisition, and processing techniques.
Main Results:
- UAVs enable centimeter-level spatial resolution and high temporal frequency data, significantly enhancing ET estimation accuracy.
- Analysis of different UAV-based models (METRIC, TSEB, ML) highlights their potential for detailed crop water monitoring.
- Identification of key challenges in calibration, data collection, and processing for operational UAV-based ET estimation.
Conclusions:
- UAV technology presents a significant advancement for precise and scalable evapotranspiration estimation in agriculture.
- Addressing challenges in calibration and data processing is essential for unlocking the full potential of UAVs in water resource management.
- Future research should focus on refining UAV-based methodologies for robust and widespread application in precision agriculture.
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