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Title Remote Sensing Based Global Crop Monitoring: Experiences with China's CropWatch System
Year 2014
Authors Bingfang Wu, Jihua Meng, Qiangzi Li, Nana Yana, Xin Du, Miao Zhang
English Authors Bingfang Wu, Jihua Meng, Qiangzi Li, Nana Yana, Xin Du, Miao Zhang
Keywords CropWatch; crop monitoring; remote sensing; crop production
English Keywords CropWatch; crop monitoring; remote sensing; crop production
Journal Link http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tjde20/current#.UxP_O_lSiON
PDF 20142312436992.pdf
Abstract Monitoring the production of main agricultural crops is important to predict and prepare for disruptions in food supply and fluctuations in global crop market prices. China’s global crop-monitoring system (CropWatch) uses remote sensing data combined with selected field data to determine key crop production indicators: crop acreage, yield and production, crop condition, cropping intensity, crop-planting proportion, total food availability, and the status and severity of droughts. Results are combined to analyze the balance between supply and demand for various food crops and if needed provide early warning about possible food shortages. CropWatch data processing is highly automated and the resulting products provide new kinds of inputs for food security assessments. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of CropWatch as a remote sensing based system, describing its structure, components, and monitoring approaches. The paper also presents examples of monitoring results and discusses the strengths and limitations of the CropWatch approach, as well as a comparison with other global crop-monitoring systems.
English Abstract Monitoring the production of main agricultural crops is important to predict and prepare for disruptions in food supply and fluctuations in global crop market prices. China’s global crop-monitoring system (CropWatch) uses remote sensing data combined with selected field data to determine key crop production indicators: crop acreage, yield and production, crop condition, cropping intensity, crop-planting proportion, total food availability, and the status and severity of droughts. Results are combined to analyze the balance between supply and demand for various food crops and if needed provide early warning about possible food shortages. CropWatch data processing is highly automated and the resulting products provide new kinds of inputs for food security assessments. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of CropWatch as a remote sensing based system, describing its structure, components, and monitoring approaches. The paper also presents examples of monitoring results and discusses the strengths and limitations of the CropWatch approach, as well as a comparison with other global crop-monitoring systems.