LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging) is a powerful remote sensing tool that hat provides high resolution, three dimensional, spatial information about the land. So, it can be used to focus on applications requiring position or location, including agriculture. Unfortunately, the LiDar expected to revolutionize the way has seen little use in agriculture due to the current cost structure. Some developed countries have to commence a programme to cover the entire mainland states with LIDAR and provide free access to the data for the public via the internet.
LIDAR is a an accurate surveying system that incorporates:
Other attributes can be calculated (height above ground) and RGB colours for every point can be merged from aerial photography using drones.
LiDAR technology is one of the most advanced and most accurate technologies that measures distance to a target by illuminating the target with pulsed laser light and measuring the reflected pulses with a sensor. LiDAR technology applies to various industries that professionals rely on this new technology to produce results. One such industry is agriculture. LiDAR is used extensively for various reasons in the agricultural sector. There are a wide variety of LiDAR usage for agriculture listed below.
1. 3D modeling
LiDAR technology is instrumental in developing 3D models of a farm land and forestry in 3D vegetation models. It helps come up with crop planning and incredible accurate maps of the natural resources. With this data, the farmer can then be able map the water flow, discern the exact terrain of the farm, locate all the trees in an orchard, and define the water catchment area and the flow of erosion.
2. Determination of soil type
Capabilities of LiDAR technology give farmers new ways to collect and analyze data about soil type and soil content that a certain farmland has. This information is important to the farmer because it helps them to determine the suitability of crop production that can be grown on that farm and what fertilizer should be applied. In several cases, they have been able to understand why certain types of soil do not lead to much crop yield and then they use this data to do the best possible farming practice.
3. Agricultural planning and management
LiDAR technology can be used for planning and management of agriculture. Using the output of LiDAR survey, the farmer can be able to know the suitability of land for a particular farm site and the best time to plant. So they can pay attention the extent crops to increase the productivity of this site.
4. Land mapping
LiDAR data can also be used to map large areas and come up with the exact design and map of the land more efficiently. This data provides an up-to-date shape and terrain of the farmland. With this data, farmers will be able to know what to plant, how to plant crops on that farmland, and how healthy the plants are.
5. Crop yield forecasting
Another important use of LiDAR in agriculture is crop yield forecasting. This data generated by this LiDAR technology helps farmers know the suitability of a particular crop on a given land based on the expected equity returns of the yields at the end of the season.
6. Land segmentation
LiDAR technology can also been used to interpret land segmentation. Through LiDAR technology, experts have been able to analyze the data to show the land patterns and use the information to segment the land for different uses.
7. Crop analysis
LiDAR can also be used to provide general crop analysis and determine the suitability of the crop to thrive in a particular farmland. This analysis is important to the farmer to estimate the crop quality and measure this against the ideal standards.
8. Determines where to apply fertilizers
LiDAR can help determine where to apply costly fertilizer. It can create a topographical map of the fields and reveal slopes and sun exposure of the farmland. Researchers at the Agricultural Research Service used this topographical data with the farmland yield results from previous years, to categorize land into zones of high, medium, or low yield. This indicates where to apply fertilizer to maximize yield.
9. Field Management
Another advantage usage of LiDAR is field management services. These may include services like water flow mapping and the amount of water management required to irrigate or how many times in a year a crop should be planted on a given farm area.
10. Crop Controlling
Another application of LiDAR technology can also be used to control the overall crop yield in orchards and vineyards. It helps to detect foliage growth and the need for pruning or other maintenance. This can be done through precision agriculture where farmers can detect variations in fruit production, or count plants. And then, they can implement measures to increase the overall yield.
11. Production Zones
LiDAR can also help experts in identifying potential production zones in an area. The data collected through this technology can help select an area in your farm land where production is likely to be higher than the rest of the land.
12. Plant species classification
Knowing how to identify and control weeds requires identifying plant species. This can be done by using 3-D LiDAR and Machine Learning (ML). LiDAR produces plant contours as a "point cloud" with a number of attributes such as classification, intensity, scan angle, return number, etc. This data is transformed, and features are extracted from it. If the species is known, the features are added as new data. The species is labelled and its features are initially stored as an example to identify the species in the real environment. This method is efficient because it uses a low-resolution LiDAR and supervised learning. It includes an easy-to-compute feature set with common statistical features which are independent of the plant size.
13. Detection of damaged crops
LiDAR technology can be used to detect the extent to which crops in farming area have been damaged and the cause of the damage. This early detection can help farmers come up with mechanisms to prevent the damage and give farmers new ways to increase yields.
14. Monitoring erosion and soil loss
Soil erosion is a widespread environmental problem due to landscape features facing many farmers today. Maps of soil erosion risk can be generated using LIDAR and the RUSLE (The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation). LiDAR technology has been instrumental in minimizing the impact of soil erosion through 3D mapping and modeling of a given farmland. By getting the exact terrain of the farm and knowing the contours of a farm and the variations in slope, farmers are able to come up with preventive measures to reduce or eliminate soil erosion that causes both on-farm and off-farm problems.
Thus, there is a clear benefit in using LIDAR for agriculture. There are a wide variety of benefits in having accurate digital farm maps including crop planning and management. LiDAR is useful in GPS-denied situations, such as vineyards and fruit orchards, where foliage blocks GPS signals to precision agriculture equipment or a driverless tractor. LiDAR sensors can detect the edges of rows, so that farm machinery can continue moving until GPS signal is reestablished.
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| LiDar View of Precision Agriculture |
LIDAR is a an accurate surveying system that incorporates:
- airborne scanning laser rangefinder;
- differential GPS, and
- Inertial Navigation System.
 |
| Application of LiDAR Technology for Agriculture |
Other attributes can be calculated (height above ground) and RGB colours for every point can be merged from aerial photography using drones.
LiDAR technology is one of the most advanced and most accurate technologies that measures distance to a target by illuminating the target with pulsed laser light and measuring the reflected pulses with a sensor. LiDAR technology applies to various industries that professionals rely on this new technology to produce results. One such industry is agriculture. LiDAR is used extensively for various reasons in the agricultural sector. There are a wide variety of LiDAR usage for agriculture listed below.
 |
| LiDAR Uses for Forestry |
LiDAR technology is instrumental in developing 3D models of a farm land and forestry in 3D vegetation models. It helps come up with crop planning and incredible accurate maps of the natural resources. With this data, the farmer can then be able map the water flow, discern the exact terrain of the farm, locate all the trees in an orchard, and define the water catchment area and the flow of erosion.
2. Determination of soil type
Capabilities of LiDAR technology give farmers new ways to collect and analyze data about soil type and soil content that a certain farmland has. This information is important to the farmer because it helps them to determine the suitability of crop production that can be grown on that farm and what fertilizer should be applied. In several cases, they have been able to understand why certain types of soil do not lead to much crop yield and then they use this data to do the best possible farming practice.
3. Agricultural planning and management
LiDAR technology can be used for planning and management of agriculture. Using the output of LiDAR survey, the farmer can be able to know the suitability of land for a particular farm site and the best time to plant. So they can pay attention the extent crops to increase the productivity of this site.
4. Land mapping
LiDAR data can also be used to map large areas and come up with the exact design and map of the land more efficiently. This data provides an up-to-date shape and terrain of the farmland. With this data, farmers will be able to know what to plant, how to plant crops on that farmland, and how healthy the plants are.
5. Crop yield forecasting
Another important use of LiDAR in agriculture is crop yield forecasting. This data generated by this LiDAR technology helps farmers know the suitability of a particular crop on a given land based on the expected equity returns of the yields at the end of the season.
6. Land segmentation
LiDAR technology can also been used to interpret land segmentation. Through LiDAR technology, experts have been able to analyze the data to show the land patterns and use the information to segment the land for different uses.
LiDAR can also be used to provide general crop analysis and determine the suitability of the crop to thrive in a particular farmland. This analysis is important to the farmer to estimate the crop quality and measure this against the ideal standards.
8. Determines where to apply fertilizers
LiDAR can help determine where to apply costly fertilizer. It can create a topographical map of the fields and reveal slopes and sun exposure of the farmland. Researchers at the Agricultural Research Service used this topographical data with the farmland yield results from previous years, to categorize land into zones of high, medium, or low yield. This indicates where to apply fertilizer to maximize yield.
9. Field Management
Another advantage usage of LiDAR is field management services. These may include services like water flow mapping and the amount of water management required to irrigate or how many times in a year a crop should be planted on a given farm area.
10. Crop Controlling
Another application of LiDAR technology can also be used to control the overall crop yield in orchards and vineyards. It helps to detect foliage growth and the need for pruning or other maintenance. This can be done through precision agriculture where farmers can detect variations in fruit production, or count plants. And then, they can implement measures to increase the overall yield.
11. Production Zones
LiDAR can also help experts in identifying potential production zones in an area. The data collected through this technology can help select an area in your farm land where production is likely to be higher than the rest of the land.
12. Plant species classification
Knowing how to identify and control weeds requires identifying plant species. This can be done by using 3-D LiDAR and Machine Learning (ML). LiDAR produces plant contours as a "point cloud" with a number of attributes such as classification, intensity, scan angle, return number, etc. This data is transformed, and features are extracted from it. If the species is known, the features are added as new data. The species is labelled and its features are initially stored as an example to identify the species in the real environment. This method is efficient because it uses a low-resolution LiDAR and supervised learning. It includes an easy-to-compute feature set with common statistical features which are independent of the plant size.
LiDAR technology can be used to detect the extent to which crops in farming area have been damaged and the cause of the damage. This early detection can help farmers come up with mechanisms to prevent the damage and give farmers new ways to increase yields.
14. Monitoring erosion and soil loss
Soil erosion is a widespread environmental problem due to landscape features facing many farmers today. Maps of soil erosion risk can be generated using LIDAR and the RUSLE (The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation). LiDAR technology has been instrumental in minimizing the impact of soil erosion through 3D mapping and modeling of a given farmland. By getting the exact terrain of the farm and knowing the contours of a farm and the variations in slope, farmers are able to come up with preventive measures to reduce or eliminate soil erosion that causes both on-farm and off-farm problems.
 |
| Map of Soil Erosion Risk |
Thus, there is a clear benefit in using LIDAR for agriculture. There are a wide variety of benefits in having accurate digital farm maps including crop planning and management. LiDAR is useful in GPS-denied situations, such as vineyards and fruit orchards, where foliage blocks GPS signals to precision agriculture equipment or a driverless tractor. LiDAR sensors can detect the edges of rows, so that farm machinery can continue moving until GPS signal is reestablished.