We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Normalized difference vegetation index analysis reveals increase of biomass production and stability during the conversion from conventional to organic farming.
- Authors
Serrano‐Grijalva, Lilia; Ochoa‐Hueso, Raúl; Veen, G. F.; Repeto‐Deudero, Irene; Van Rijssel, Sophie Q.; Koorneef, Guusje J.; Van der Putten, Wim H.
- Abstract
Monitoring agriculture by remote sensing enables large‐scale evaluation of biomass production across space and time. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is used as a proxy for green biomass. Here, we used satellite‐derived NDVI of arable farms in the Netherlands to evaluate changes in biomass following conversion from conventional to organic farming. We compared NDVI and the stability of NDVI across 72 fields on sand and marine clay soils. Thirty‐six of these fields had been converted into organic agriculture between 0 and 50 years ago (with 2017 as reference year), while the other 36 were paired control fields where conventional farming continued. We used high‐resolution images from the Sentinel‐2 satellite to obtain NDVI estimates across 5 years (January 2016–October 2020). Overall, NDVI did not differ between conventional and organic management during the time series, but NDVI stability was significantly higher under organic management. NDVI was lower under organic management in sandy, but not in clay, soils. Organic farms that had been converted less than ~19 years ago had lower NDVI than conventional farms. However, the difference diminished over time and eventually turned positive after ~19 years since the conversion. NDVI, averaged across the 5 years of study, was positively correlated to soil Olsen‐P measured from soil samples collected in 2017. We conclude that NDVI in organic fields was more stable than in conventional fields, and that the lower biomass in the early years since the transition to organic agriculture can be overcome with time. Our study also indicates the role of soil P bioavailability for plant biomass production across the examined fields, and the benefit of combining remote sensing with on‐site soil measurements to develop a more mechanistic understanding that may help us navigate the transition to a more sustainable type of agriculture.
- Subjects
AGRICULTURAL remote sensing; NORMALIZED difference vegetation index; SUSTAINABLE agriculture; ORGANIC farming; AGRICULTURE
- Publication
Global Change Biology, 2024, Vol 30, Issue 8, p1
- ISSN
1354-1013
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/gcb.17461