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. 2022 May 4;22(9):3503.
doi: 10.3390/s22093503.

Inversion of Nitrogen Concentration in Apple Canopy Based on UAV Hyperspectral Images

Wei Li  1 , Xicun Zhu  1   2 , Xinyang Yu  1 , Meixuan Li  1 , Xiaoying Tang  1 , Jie Zhang  1 , Yuliang Xue  1 , Canting Zhang  1 , Yuanmao Jiang  3
Affiliations

Inversion of Nitrogen Concentration in Apple Canopy Based on UAV Hyperspectral Images

Wei Li et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

As the major nutrient affecting crop growth, accurate assessing of nitrogen (N) is crucial to precise agricultural management. Although improvements based on ground and satellite data nitrogen in monitoring crops have been made, the application of these technologies is limited by expensive costs, covering small spatial scales and low spatiotemporal resolution. This study strived to explore an effective approach for inversing and mapping the distributions of the canopy nitrogen concentration (CNC) based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) hyperspectral image data in a typical apple orchard area of China. A Cubert UHD185 imaging spectrometer mounted on a UAV was used to obtain the hyperspectral images of the apple canopy. The range of the apple canopy was determined by the threshold method to eliminate the effect of the background spectrum from bare soil and shadow. We analyzed and screened out the spectral parameters sensitive to CNC, including vegetation indices (VIs), random two-band spectral indices, and red-edge parameters. The partial least squares regression (PLSR) and backpropagation neural network (BPNN) were constructed to inverse CNC based on a single spectral parameter or a combination of multiple spectral parameters. The results show that when the thresholds of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized difference canopy shadow index (NDCSI) were set to 0.65 and 0.45, respectively, the canopy's CNC range could be effectively identified and extracted, which was more refined than random forest classifier (RFC); the correlation between random two-band spectral indices and nitrogen concentration was stronger than that of other spectral parameters; and the BPNN model based on the combination of random two-band spectral indices and red-edge parameters was the optimal model for accurately retrieving CNC. Its modeling determination coefficient (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE) were 0.77 and 0.16, respectively; and the validation R2 and residual predictive deviation (RPD) were 0.75 and 1.92. The findings of this study can provide a theoretical basis and technical support for the large-scale, rapid, and non-destructive monitoring of apple nutritional status.

Keywords: UAV; backpropagation neural network; canopy extraction; hyperspectral image data; nitrogen inversion; remote sensing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study area and distribution of sample areas orchards (a,b). The images of experimental orchards were captured by a UAV and displayed in true color (R650, R562, R482).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Canopy extraction map of apple: (a) Original image standard false color synthesis (R768,R688,R628); (b) NDVI 0.65; (c) NDCSI 0.45; (d) Canopy extraction via RFC.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Extraction of VIs threshold. Lines indicate the number of pixels for canopy, bare soil, and shadow in the quadrat, respectively.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The relationship between CNC measured value and BPNN predicted value based on different variable combinations: (a) Random two-band spectral indices; (b) Combination of random two-band spectral indices and red-edge parameters.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Distribution map of CNC in apple canopy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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