GiESCO 2019 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 GiESCO 9 Evaluation of intra-vineyard spatial and temporal variability of leaf area index using multispectral images obtained by satellite (Landsat 8, Sentinel-2) and unmanned aerial vehicle platforms

Evaluation of intra-vineyard spatial and temporal variability of leaf area index using multispectral images obtained by satellite (Landsat 8, Sentinel-2) and unmanned aerial vehicle platforms

Abstract

Context and purpose of the study – Estimation of vineyard leaf area index (LAI) is an important aspect for the winegrowers. However, tracking and monitoring are difficult tasks due to time constraints. Satellite and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imaging have become a practical monitoring method for LAI. Nevertheless, for a proper LAI determination, the image’s spatial resolution is a key factor, since low-resolution images are incapable of distinguishing between adjacent vines due to the large area covered in each pixel, this leads to misinterpretation or generalisation of vineyard information. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of spatial resolution on the accuracy of LAI estimation using different spatial resolutions: Landsat8 (30 m), Sentinel-2 (10 m) and UAV Multispectral images (0.05 m).

Material and methods – This study was carried out in a dryland vineyard cv. Pinotage situated in Stellenbosch, at the Welgevallen experimental farm (33°57’8” S, 18°52’26” E). The block (1.9 ha) has a North-South orientation and was planted on a West-South-West slope. The vines are trained on a sevenwire (moveable) hedge trellis, VSP (vertical shoot positioning) system. Three sources of remote sensing data, with different spatial resolutions, were chosen: i) Multispectral images acquired by a multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (spatial resolution 0.052 m); ii) Landsat 8 images (spatial resolution of 30 m) and iii) Sentinel-2A images (spatial resolution of 30 m). Images from these three sources were used to calculate the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) from the experimental site, and these values were compared with field measurements (empirical LAI model).

Results – Results obtained from low-resolution satellite images show a poor accuracy in the estimation of LAI on a plant scale. The image resolution of Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 was not high enough to differentiate between adjacent groups of vines. The UAV multispectral images obtained the best agreement with the field LAI measurements, due to the high resolution (0.052 m pixel size). It is evident with the results obtained that UAV imaging is the most appropriate and accurate monitoring methodology since this technology providing enough information to estimate LAI per plant.

DOI:

Publication date: September 27, 2023

Issue: GiESCO 2019

Type: Poster

Authors

Yolandi BARNARD1, Guillermo OLMEDO2, Albert STREVER1, Carlos POBLETE-ECHEVERRÍA1*

1 Department of Viticulture and Oenology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa
2 EEA Mendoza, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Mendoza M5507EVY, Argentina

Contact the author

Keywords

Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), grid analysis, spatial variability

Tags

GiESCO | GiESCO 2019 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

Permanent cover cropping with reduced tillage increased resiliency of wine grape vineyards to climate change

Majority of California’s vineyards rely on supplemental irrigation to overcome abiotic stressors. In the context of climate change, increases in growing season temperatures and crop evapotranspiration pose a risk to adaptation of viticulture to climate change. Vineyard cover crops may mitigate soil erosion and preserve water resources; but there is a lack of information on how they contribute to vineyard resiliency under tillage systems. The aim of this study was to identify the optimum combination of cover crop sand tillage without adversely affecting productivity while preserving plant water status. Two experiments in two contrasting climatic regions were conducted with two cover crops, including a permanent short stature grass (P. bulbosa hybrid), barley (Hordeum spp), and resident vegetation under till vs. no-till systems in a Ruby Cabernet (V. vinifera spp.) (Fresno) and a Cabernet Sauvingon (Napa) vineyard. Results indicated that permanent grass under no-till preserved plant available water until E-L stage 17. Consequently, net carbon assimilation of the permanent grass under no-till system was enhanced compared to those with barley and resident vegetation. On the other hand, the barley under no-till system reduced grapevine net carbon assimilation during berry ripening that led to lower content of nonstructural carbohydrates in shoots at dormancy. Components of yield and berry composition including flavonoid profile at either site were not adversely affected by factors studied. Switching to a permanent cover crop under a no-till system also provided a 9% and 3% benefit in cultural practices costs in Fresno and Napa, respectively. The results of this work provides fundamental information to growers in preserving resiliency of vineyard systems in hot and warm climate regions under context of climate change.

Short-term relationships between climate and grapevine trunk diseases in southern French vineyards

[lwp_divi_breadcrumbs home_text="IVES" use_before_icon="on" before_icon="||divi||400" module_id="publication-ariane" _builder_version="4.19.4" _module_preset="default" module_text_align="center" module_font_size="16px" text_orientation="center"...

Impact of climate variability and change on grape yield in Italy

Viticulture is entangled with weather and climate. Therefore, areas currently suitable for grape production can be challenged by climate change. Winegrowers in Italy already experiences the effect of climate change, especially in the form of warmer growing season, more frequent drought periods, and increased frequency of weather extremes.
The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of climate variability and change on grape yield in Italy to provide winegrowers the information needed to make their business more sustainable and resilient to climate change. We computed a specific range of bioclimatic indices, selected by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), and correlated them to grape yield data. We have worked in collaboration with some wine consortiums in northern and central Italy, which provided grape yield data for our analysis.
Using climate variables from the E-OBS dataset we investigate how the bioclimatic indices changed in the past, and the impact of this change on grape productivity in the study areas. The climate impact on productivity is also investigated by using high-resolution convection-permitting models (CPMs – 2.2 horizontal resolution), with the purpose of estimating productivity in future emission scenarios. The CPMs are likely the best available option for this kind of impact studies since they allow a better representation of small-scale processes and features, explicitly resolve deep convection, and show an improved representation of extremes. In our study, we also compare CPMs with regional climate models (RCMs – 12 km horizontal resolution) to assess the added value of high-resolution models for impact studies. Further development of our study will lead to assessing the future suitability for vine cultivation and could lead to the construction of a statistical model for future projection of grape yield.

Effect of partial net shading on the temperature and radiation in the grapevine canopy, consequences on the grape quality of cv. Gros Manseng in PDO Pacherenc-du-vic-Bilh

As elsewhere, southwestern France vineyards face more recurrent summer heat waves these last years. Among the possibilities of adaptation to this climate changing parameter, the use of net shading is a technique that allow for limiting canopy exposure to radiations. In this trial, we tested net shading installed on one face of the canopy, on a north-south row-oriented plot of cv. Gros Manseng trained on VSP system in the PDO Pacherenc-du-Vic-Bilh. The purpose was to characterize the effects on the ambient canopy temperatures and radiations during the season and to observe the consequences on the composition of grapes and wines. Two sorts of net were used with two levels of obstruction (50% and 75%) of the photosynthesis active radiation (PAR). They have been installed on the west side of the canopy and compared to a netless control. Temperature and PAR sensors registered hourly data during the season. On specific summer day (hot and sunny) manual measurements took also place on bunches (temperature) and in different spots of the canopy (PAR). The results showed that, on clear days, the radiation is lowered by the shade nets respecting the supplier criteria. The effects on the ambient canopy temperature were inconstant on this plot when we observed the data from the global period of shading between fruit set and harvest. However, during hot days (>30°C), the temperature in the canopy was reduced during afternoon and the temperature of the bunch surface was reduced as well comparing to the control. A decrease of the maturity parameters of the berries, sugar and acidity, was also observed. Concerning the wine aromatic potential, no differences clearly appeared.

Influence of weather and climatic conditions on the viticultural production in Croatia

The research includes an analysis of the impact of weather conditions on phenological development of the vine and grape quality, through monitoring of four experimental cultivars (Chardonnay, Graševina, Merlot and Plavac mali) over two production years. In each experimental vineyard, which were evenly distributed throughout the regions of Slavonia and The Croatian Danube, Croatian Uplands,