Evaluating Sentinel-2 for Monitoring Drought-Induced Crop Failure in Winter Cereals
Extreme climate events can threaten food production and disrupt supply chains. For instance, the 2023 drought in Catalonia caused large areas of winter cereals to wilt and die early, yielding no grain. This study examined whether Sentinel-2 can detect total crop losses of winter cereals using ground...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/2/340 |
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| author | Adrià Descals Karen Torres Aleixandre Verger Josep Peñuelas |
| author_facet | Adrià Descals Karen Torres Aleixandre Verger Josep Peñuelas |
| author_sort | Adrià Descals |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Extreme climate events can threaten food production and disrupt supply chains. For instance, the 2023 drought in Catalonia caused large areas of winter cereals to wilt and die early, yielding no grain. This study examined whether Sentinel-2 can detect total crop losses of winter cereals using ground truth data on crop failure. The methodology explored which Sentinel-2 phenological and greenness variables could best predict three drought impact classes: normal growth, moderate impact, and high impact, where the crop failed to produce grain. The results demonstrate that winter cereals affected by drought exhibit a premature decline in several vegetation indices. As a result, the best predictors for detecting total crop losses were metrics associated with the later stages of crop development. Specifically, the mean Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for the first half of May showed the highest correlation with drought impact classes (<i>R</i><sup>2</sup> = 0.66). This study is the first to detect total crop losses at the plantation level using field data combined with Sentinel-2 imagery. It also offers insights into rapid monitoring methods for crop failure, an event likely to become more frequent as the climate warms. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-18b618f3b41c4fabbf7f288da39580d0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj-art-18b618f3b41c4fabbf7f288da39580d02025-01-24T13:48:11ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-01-0117234010.3390/rs17020340Evaluating Sentinel-2 for Monitoring Drought-Induced Crop Failure in Winter CerealsAdrià Descals0Karen Torres1Aleixandre Verger2Josep Peñuelas3Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals, 08193 Barcelona, SpainCentre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals, 08193 Barcelona, SpainCentre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals, 08193 Barcelona, SpainCentre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals, 08193 Barcelona, SpainExtreme climate events can threaten food production and disrupt supply chains. For instance, the 2023 drought in Catalonia caused large areas of winter cereals to wilt and die early, yielding no grain. This study examined whether Sentinel-2 can detect total crop losses of winter cereals using ground truth data on crop failure. The methodology explored which Sentinel-2 phenological and greenness variables could best predict three drought impact classes: normal growth, moderate impact, and high impact, where the crop failed to produce grain. The results demonstrate that winter cereals affected by drought exhibit a premature decline in several vegetation indices. As a result, the best predictors for detecting total crop losses were metrics associated with the later stages of crop development. Specifically, the mean Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for the first half of May showed the highest correlation with drought impact classes (<i>R</i><sup>2</sup> = 0.66). This study is the first to detect total crop losses at the plantation level using field data combined with Sentinel-2 imagery. It also offers insights into rapid monitoring methods for crop failure, an event likely to become more frequent as the climate warms.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/2/340crop failureagricultural droughttotal crop losswinter cerealsSentinel-2 |
| spellingShingle | Adrià Descals Karen Torres Aleixandre Verger Josep Peñuelas Evaluating Sentinel-2 for Monitoring Drought-Induced Crop Failure in Winter Cereals Remote Sensing crop failure agricultural drought total crop loss winter cereals Sentinel-2 |
| title | Evaluating Sentinel-2 for Monitoring Drought-Induced Crop Failure in Winter Cereals |
| title_full | Evaluating Sentinel-2 for Monitoring Drought-Induced Crop Failure in Winter Cereals |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating Sentinel-2 for Monitoring Drought-Induced Crop Failure in Winter Cereals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating Sentinel-2 for Monitoring Drought-Induced Crop Failure in Winter Cereals |
| title_short | Evaluating Sentinel-2 for Monitoring Drought-Induced Crop Failure in Winter Cereals |
| title_sort | evaluating sentinel 2 for monitoring drought induced crop failure in winter cereals |
| topic | crop failure agricultural drought total crop loss winter cereals Sentinel-2 |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/2/340 |
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