Comparative evaluation of five biomass quantification methods in bermudagrass

Abstract

Accurate estimation of pasture biomass is essential for determining cattle stocking rates and grazing durations. The objective of this study was to comparatively evaluate five sensor-based systems for estimating aboveground Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) biomass and identify the leading sensing approach for continued development and broader validation. The five systems included Structure-from-Motion (SfM), Ultrasound Sensor and Ski (US-Ski), Inertial Measurement Unit and Ski (IMU-Ski), Inertial Measurement Unit and Roller (IMU-Roller), and Depth Camera (DC). These systems were deployed on unmanned aerial and ground vehicles to measure crop height under identical field conditions. Regression models relating measured crop height to wet biomass yield (WBY) were developed as a common calibration framework for statistically comparing sensor performance. These empirical allometric equations were intended to support comparative benchmarking of the sensing systems and were not developed as final operational biomass prediction models for immediate field deployment. The influence of vegetation coverage on yield predictions generated by the crop height-based equations was also examined. The results indicated that the IMU-Ski system demonstrated the strongest overall comparative performance (R2 = 0.97; SeY = 1112 kg-wet/ha), followed by the DC system (R2 = 0.97; SeY = 1132 kg-wet/ha). Based on its overall benchmarking performance, including calibration accuracy, residual error and simplicity, the IMU-Ski system was identified as the leading sensing approach for continued development and broader validation among the five evaluated methods. The results also indicated that addition of vegetation coverage into the crop height-based regression models did not significantly improve prediction accuracy under the experimental conditions evaluated.

Plant phenotyping relevance

複数のセンサーシステムによる牧草バイオマス推定を比較・校正・ベンチマークしており、植物形質の取得法と技術性能の評価が研究の中心です。

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