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…

Current climate change in the Oplenac wine-growing district (Serbia)

Serbian autochthonous vine varieties Smederevka (for white wines) and Prokupac (for rosé and red wines) are the primary representatives of typical characteristics of wines and terroir of numerous wine-growing areas in Serbia. In the past, these varieties were the leading vine varieties, however, as the result of globalization of winemaking and the trend of consumption of wines from widely prevalent vine varieties, they were replaced by introduced international varieties. Smederevka and Prokupac vine varieties are characterized by later time of grape ripening, and relative sensitivity to low temperatures. Climate conditions can be a restrictive factor for production of high-quality grapes and wine and for the spatial spreading of these varieties in hilly continental wine-growing areas.
This paper focuses on the spatial analysis of changes of main climate parameters, in particular, analysis of viticultural bioclimatic indices that were determined for the purposes of viticulture zoning of wine-growing areas in the period 1961-2010, and those same parameters determined for the current, that is, referential climate period (1988-2017). Results of the research, that is, analysis of climate changes indicate that the majority of examined climate parameters in the Oplenac wine-growing district improved from the perspective of Smederevka and Prokupac vine varieties. These studies of climate conditions indicate that changes of analyzed climate parameters, that is, bioclimatic indices will be favorable for cultivation of varieties with later grape ripening times and those more sensitive to low temperatures, such as the autochthonous vine varieties Smederevka and Prokupac, therefore, it is recommended to producers to more actively plant vineyards with these varieties in the territory of the Oplenac wine-growing district.

Effects of organic mulches on the soil environment and yield of grapevine

Farming management practices aiming at conserving soil moisture have been developed in arid and semiarid-areas facing water scarcity problems. Organic mulching is an effective method to manipulate the crop-growing microclimate increasing crop yield by controlling soil temperature, and retaining soil moisture by reducing soil evaporation. In this sense, the effectiveness of different organic mulching materials (straw mulch and grapevine pruning debris) applied within the row of a vineyard was evaluated on the soil and on the vine in a Tempranillo vineyard located in La Rioja (Spain). Organic mulches were compared with a traditional bare soil management technique (based on the use of herbicides to avoid weed incidence). Mulching coverages favourably influenced the soil water retention throughout all the grapevine vegetative cycle. However, the soil-moisture variation was not the same under different mulching materials, being the straw mulch (SM) the one that retained more water in comparison with grapevine pruning debris (GPD) based-cover. The changes of soil moisture in the upper surface layer (0–10 cm) were highly dynamic, probably due to water vapour fluxes across the soil-atmospheric interface. However, both, SM and GPD reduced these fluctuations as compared with bare soils. A similar trend occurred with soil temperature. Both organic mulches altered soil temperature in comparison with bare soil by reducing soil temperature in summer and raising it in winter. Moreover, the same buffering effect for the temperature on the covered soil also remains in the deeper layers. To conclude, we could see that organic mulching had a positive impact on soil-moisture storage and soil temperature and the extent of this effect depends on the type of mulching materials. These changes led to higher rates of photosynthesis and stomatal conductivity compared to bare soils, also favouring crop growth and grape yields.

A predictive model of spatial Eca variability in the vineyard to support the monitoring of plant status

[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"...

The rootstock, the neglected player in the scion transpiration even during the night

Water is the main limiting factor for yield in viticulture. Improving drought adaptation in viticulture will be an increasingly important issue under climate change. Genetic variability of water deficit responses in grapevine partly results from the rootstocks, making them an attractive and relevant mean to achieve adaptation without changing the scion genotype. The objective of this work was to characterize the rootstock effect on the diurnal regulation of scion transpiration. A large panel of 55 commercial genotypes were grafted onto Cabernet Sauvignon. Three biological repetitions per genotype were analyzed. Potted plants were phenotyped on a greenhouse balance platform capable of assessing real-time water use and maintaining a targeted water deficit intensity. After a 10 days well-watered baseline period, an increasing water deficit was applied for 10 days, followed by a stable water deficit stress for 7 days. Pruning weight, root and aerial dry weight and transpiration were recorded and the experiment was repeated during two years. Transpiration efficiency (ratio between aerial biomass and transpiration) was calculated and δ13C was measured in leaves for the baseline and stable water deficit periods. A large genetic variability was observed within the panel. The rootstock had a significant impact on nocturnal transpiration which was also strongly and positively correlated with maximum daytime transpiration. The correlations with growth and water use efficiency related traits will be discussed. Transpiration data were also related with VPD and soil water content demonstrating the influence of environmental conditions on transpiration. These results highlighted the role of the rootstock in modulating water deficit responses and give insights for rootstock breeding programs aimed at identifying drought tolerant rootstocks. It was also helpful to better define the mechanisms on which the drought tolerance in grapevine rootstocks is based on.

Phenological characterization of a wide range of Vitis Vinifera varieties

In order to study the impact of climate change on Bordeaux grape varieties and to assess the adaptation capacities of candidates to the grape varieties of this wine region to the new climatic conditions, an experimental block design composed of 52 grape varieties was set up in 2009 at the INRAE Bordeaux Aquitaine center. Among the many parameters studied, the three main phenological stages of the vine (budburst, flowering and veraison) have been closely monitored since 2012. Observations for each year, stage and variety were carried out on four independent replicates. Precocity indices have been calculated from the data obtained over the 2012-2021 period (Barbeau et al. 1998). This work allowed to group the phenological behaviour of the grapevine varieties, not only based on the timing of the subsequent developmental stages, but also on the overall precocity of the cycle and the total length of the cycle between budburst and veraison. Results regarding the variability observed among the different grape varieties for these phenological stages are presented as heat maps.