A Cost-Effective Approach to Estimate Quinoa Aboveground Biomass Volume Combining UAV RGB Data with Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 Satellite Imagery

Abstract

This study assessed the integration of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and satellite images (Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2) in advanced machine-learning techniques to monitor the ABV of quinoa crops (Jacha Grano variety) across the Bolivian Altiplano. The proposed method follows a two-step procedure. First, UAV RGB images were used in photogrammetric and deep-learning (Convolutional Neural Networks-CNN) models to estimate reference quinoa ABVs at a 10 m spatial resolution from the crop canopy 3D model and classification, respectively. Secondly, several spectral and polarization/texture indices derived from Sentinel-2 and -1 images were integrated into three decision-tree-based machine-learning models (Random Forest-RF, Gradient Boosting-GB, eXtreme Gradient Boosting-XGB), and one CNN-based machine-learning model to estimate ABV. Additionally, a Stacking Model (STM) build on top of the three decision-tree-based models was considered for comparison. Model evaluation was also performed in a two-step approach. First, a 10-fold cross-validation strategy was used to highlight ABV sensitivity to Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1 alone and in combination. Secondly, a Leave-One-Plot-Out Cross-Validation (LOPOCV) strategy was used to avoid autocorrelation between the training and evaluation dataset and therefore provided more insight into ABV mapping potential. The results showed that the combination of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 features in the CNN model achieved the best predictive performance with R2 and RMSE values of 0.64 and 0.39 m3 ∙ 100 m−2, respectively. These findings highlight the potential of integrating multi-source information in advanced artificial intelligence algorithms for quinoa ABV monitoring, offering new insights toward the identification of sustainable practices across remote regions with complex socio-economic contexts.

Plant phenotyping relevance

UAV画像・衛星センサー・機械学習を統合し、キノアの地上部バイオマス体積という植物形質を推定する手法を開発・比較検証しており、フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

Code and data availability

No paper-specific public assets are available. The article describes UAV RGB photogrammetry, Sentinel-1/2 processing in Google Earth Engine via Google Colab, and ML models (RF, GB, XGB, STM, CNN), but provides no public data or code deposit. The Data Availability Statement only offers contact with the corresponding作者:

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