Sugarcane Phenology Retrieval in Heterogeneous Agricultural Landscapes Based on Spatiotemporal Fusion Remote Sensing Data

Accurate phenological information on sugarcane is crucial for guiding precise cultivation management and enhancing sugar production. Remote sensing offers an efficient approach for large-scale phenology retrieval, but most studies have primarily focused on staple crops. The methods for retrieving th...

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Main Authors: Yingpin Yang, Zhifeng Wu, Dakang Wang, Cong Wang, Xiankun Yang, Yibo Wang, Jinnian Wang, Qiting Huang, Lu Hou, Zongbin Wang, Xu Chang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Agriculture
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/15/1578
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author Yingpin Yang
Zhifeng Wu
Dakang Wang
Cong Wang
Xiankun Yang
Yibo Wang
Jinnian Wang
Qiting Huang
Lu Hou
Zongbin Wang
Xu Chang
author_facet Yingpin Yang
Zhifeng Wu
Dakang Wang
Cong Wang
Xiankun Yang
Yibo Wang
Jinnian Wang
Qiting Huang
Lu Hou
Zongbin Wang
Xu Chang
author_sort Yingpin Yang
collection DOAJ
description Accurate phenological information on sugarcane is crucial for guiding precise cultivation management and enhancing sugar production. Remote sensing offers an efficient approach for large-scale phenology retrieval, but most studies have primarily focused on staple crops. The methods for retrieving the sugarcane phenology—the germination, tillering, elongation, and maturity stages—remain underexplored. This study addresses the challenge of accurately monitoring the sugarcane phenology in complex terrains by proposing an optimized strategy integrating spatiotemporal fusion data. Ground-based validation showed that the change detection method based on the Double-Logistic curve significantly outperformed the threshold-based approach, with the highest accuracy for the elongation and maturity stages achieved at the maximum slope points of the ascending and descending phases, respectively. For the germination and tillering stages with low canopy cover, a novel time-windowed change detection method was introduced, using the first local maximum of the third derivative curve (denoted as Point A) to establish a temporal buffer. The optimal retrieval models were identified as 25 days before and 20 days after Point A for germination and tillering, respectively. Among the six commonly used vegetation indices, the NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) performed the best across all the phenological stages. Spatiotemporal fusion using the ESTARFM (Enhanced Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model) significantly improved the monitoring accuracy in heterogeneous agricultural landscapes, reducing the RMSE (root-mean-squared error) by 21–46%, with retrieval errors decreasing from 18.25 to 12.97 days for germination, from 8.19 to 4.41 days for tillering, from 19.17 to 10.78 days for elongation, and from 19.02 to 15.04 days for maturity, highlighting its superior accuracy. The findings provide a reliable technical solution for precision sugarcane management in heterogeneous landscapes.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2077-0472
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher MDPI AG
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series Agriculture
spelling doaj-art-3f266da5e66b469b93aa9e643ae7c8102025-08-20T04:00:54ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722025-07-011515157810.3390/agriculture15151578Sugarcane Phenology Retrieval in Heterogeneous Agricultural Landscapes Based on Spatiotemporal Fusion Remote Sensing DataYingpin Yang0Zhifeng Wu1Dakang Wang2Cong Wang3Xiankun Yang4Yibo Wang5Jinnian Wang6Qiting Huang7Lu Hou8Zongbin Wang9Xu Chang10Institute of Aerospace Remote Sensing Innovations, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaInstitute of Aerospace Remote Sensing Innovations, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaInstitute of Aerospace Remote Sensing Innovations, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, ChinaInstitute of Aerospace Remote Sensing Innovations, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaInstitute of Aerospace Remote Sensing Innovations, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaInstitute of Aerospace Remote Sensing Innovations, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaAgricultural Science and Technology Information Research Institute, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning 530007, ChinaInstitute of Aerospace Remote Sensing Innovations, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaInstitute of Aerospace Remote Sensing Innovations, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaInstitute of Aerospace Remote Sensing Innovations, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaAccurate phenological information on sugarcane is crucial for guiding precise cultivation management and enhancing sugar production. Remote sensing offers an efficient approach for large-scale phenology retrieval, but most studies have primarily focused on staple crops. The methods for retrieving the sugarcane phenology—the germination, tillering, elongation, and maturity stages—remain underexplored. This study addresses the challenge of accurately monitoring the sugarcane phenology in complex terrains by proposing an optimized strategy integrating spatiotemporal fusion data. Ground-based validation showed that the change detection method based on the Double-Logistic curve significantly outperformed the threshold-based approach, with the highest accuracy for the elongation and maturity stages achieved at the maximum slope points of the ascending and descending phases, respectively. For the germination and tillering stages with low canopy cover, a novel time-windowed change detection method was introduced, using the first local maximum of the third derivative curve (denoted as Point A) to establish a temporal buffer. The optimal retrieval models were identified as 25 days before and 20 days after Point A for germination and tillering, respectively. Among the six commonly used vegetation indices, the NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) performed the best across all the phenological stages. Spatiotemporal fusion using the ESTARFM (Enhanced Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model) significantly improved the monitoring accuracy in heterogeneous agricultural landscapes, reducing the RMSE (root-mean-squared error) by 21–46%, with retrieval errors decreasing from 18.25 to 12.97 days for germination, from 8.19 to 4.41 days for tillering, from 19.17 to 10.78 days for elongation, and from 19.02 to 15.04 days for maturity, highlighting its superior accuracy. The findings provide a reliable technical solution for precision sugarcane management in heterogeneous landscapes.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/15/1578sugarcanephenology retrievaltime seriesremote sensingspatiotemporal fusionNDVI
spellingShingle Yingpin Yang
Zhifeng Wu
Dakang Wang
Cong Wang
Xiankun Yang
Yibo Wang
Jinnian Wang
Qiting Huang
Lu Hou
Zongbin Wang
Xu Chang
Sugarcane Phenology Retrieval in Heterogeneous Agricultural Landscapes Based on Spatiotemporal Fusion Remote Sensing Data
Agriculture
sugarcane
phenology retrieval
time series
remote sensing
spatiotemporal fusion
NDVI
title Sugarcane Phenology Retrieval in Heterogeneous Agricultural Landscapes Based on Spatiotemporal Fusion Remote Sensing Data
title_full Sugarcane Phenology Retrieval in Heterogeneous Agricultural Landscapes Based on Spatiotemporal Fusion Remote Sensing Data
title_fullStr Sugarcane Phenology Retrieval in Heterogeneous Agricultural Landscapes Based on Spatiotemporal Fusion Remote Sensing Data
title_full_unstemmed Sugarcane Phenology Retrieval in Heterogeneous Agricultural Landscapes Based on Spatiotemporal Fusion Remote Sensing Data
title_short Sugarcane Phenology Retrieval in Heterogeneous Agricultural Landscapes Based on Spatiotemporal Fusion Remote Sensing Data
title_sort sugarcane phenology retrieval in heterogeneous agricultural landscapes based on spatiotemporal fusion remote sensing data
topic sugarcane
phenology retrieval
time series
remote sensing
spatiotemporal fusion
NDVI
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/15/1578
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