Remote Sensing as a Management and Monitoring Tool for Agriculture: Potential Applications

Abstract

Remote sensing technology has revolutionized agriculture management and monitoring by providing valuable information on crop health, soil conditions, weather patterns, and overall land management. The reflectance data are progressively being exploited in agriculture with the momenta gained in ground-based, airborne, and satellite remote sensing. The agriculture systems when managed conventionally don’t facilitate the proper utilization of resources and productivity potential of the soil. However, taking the aid of remote sensing techniques helps in boosting the productivity potential of the soil and optimizing the inputs.  This paper aims to review the potential applications of remote sensing in agriculture and its role in improving productivity, resource efficiency, and sustainability. The paper discusses various remote sensing techniques, including satellite imagery, aerial photography, and sensor-based data collection, and their integration with advanced data analysis methods. The applications explored include biomass estimation, yield estimation, global food demand, salinity stress detection, drought monitoring, soil moisture content assessment, and change detection. The paper highlights the benefits and challenges associated with each application and provides insights into future research directions and technology advancements in the field of remote sensing for agriculture.