A Review: Potential of Earth Observation (EO) for Mapping Small-Scale Agriculture and Cropping Systems in West Africa
West Africa faces a complex range of challenges arising from climatic, social, economic, and ecological factors, which pose significant risks. The rapidly growing population, coupled with persistently low agricultural yield, further exacerbates these risks. A state-of-the-art monitoring and data der...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Land |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/1/171 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832588168894873600 |
|---|---|
| author | Niklas Heiss Jonas Meier Ursula Gessner Claudia Kuenzer |
| author_facet | Niklas Heiss Jonas Meier Ursula Gessner Claudia Kuenzer |
| author_sort | Niklas Heiss |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | West Africa faces a complex range of challenges arising from climatic, social, economic, and ecological factors, which pose significant risks. The rapidly growing population, coupled with persistently low agricultural yield, further exacerbates these risks. A state-of-the-art monitoring and data derivation of agricultural systems are crucial for improving livelihoods and enhancing food security. Despite smallholder farming systems accounting for 80% of cultivated cropland area and providing about 42% of the total employment in West Africa, there exists a lack of a comprehensive overview of Remote Sensing (RS) products and studies specifically tailored to smallholder farming systems, which this review aims to address. Through a systematic literature review comprising 163 SCI papers sourced from the Web of Science database (Filter I), followed by a full-text review (Filter II), we analyze the RS sensors, spatiotemporal distribution, temporal scales, the crop types examined, and thematic foci employed in existing research. Our findings highlight the predominance of high to very high-resolution, multispectral sensors as the primary data source and we observe that a wide array of available sensors and datasets, along with increasing computing capacities, have shaped the field over the last years. By highlighting existing knowledge, this study identifies the potential of RS and pinpoints the key research gaps. This sets the stage for future investigations aimed at addressing critical challenges in West African smallholder agricultural systems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e46d5e9907ef4f99bd12cc02640236cd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj-art-e46d5e9907ef4f99bd12cc02640236cd2025-01-24T13:38:11ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2025-01-0114117110.3390/land14010171A Review: Potential of Earth Observation (EO) for Mapping Small-Scale Agriculture and Cropping Systems in West AfricaNiklas Heiss0Jonas Meier1Ursula Gessner2Claudia Kuenzer3German Remote Sensing Data Center, Earth Observation Center, EOC of the German Aerospace Center, DLR, 82234 Weßling, GermanyGerman Remote Sensing Data Center, Earth Observation Center, EOC of the German Aerospace Center, DLR, 82234 Weßling, GermanyGerman Remote Sensing Data Center, Earth Observation Center, EOC of the German Aerospace Center, DLR, 82234 Weßling, GermanyGerman Remote Sensing Data Center, Earth Observation Center, EOC of the German Aerospace Center, DLR, 82234 Weßling, GermanyWest Africa faces a complex range of challenges arising from climatic, social, economic, and ecological factors, which pose significant risks. The rapidly growing population, coupled with persistently low agricultural yield, further exacerbates these risks. A state-of-the-art monitoring and data derivation of agricultural systems are crucial for improving livelihoods and enhancing food security. Despite smallholder farming systems accounting for 80% of cultivated cropland area and providing about 42% of the total employment in West Africa, there exists a lack of a comprehensive overview of Remote Sensing (RS) products and studies specifically tailored to smallholder farming systems, which this review aims to address. Through a systematic literature review comprising 163 SCI papers sourced from the Web of Science database (Filter I), followed by a full-text review (Filter II), we analyze the RS sensors, spatiotemporal distribution, temporal scales, the crop types examined, and thematic foci employed in existing research. Our findings highlight the predominance of high to very high-resolution, multispectral sensors as the primary data source and we observe that a wide array of available sensors and datasets, along with increasing computing capacities, have shaped the field over the last years. By highlighting existing knowledge, this study identifies the potential of RS and pinpoints the key research gaps. This sets the stage for future investigations aimed at addressing critical challenges in West African smallholder agricultural systems.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/1/171AfricaWest Africareviewremote sensingearth observationagriculture |
| spellingShingle | Niklas Heiss Jonas Meier Ursula Gessner Claudia Kuenzer A Review: Potential of Earth Observation (EO) for Mapping Small-Scale Agriculture and Cropping Systems in West Africa Land Africa West Africa review remote sensing earth observation agriculture |
| title | A Review: Potential of Earth Observation (EO) for Mapping Small-Scale Agriculture and Cropping Systems in West Africa |
| title_full | A Review: Potential of Earth Observation (EO) for Mapping Small-Scale Agriculture and Cropping Systems in West Africa |
| title_fullStr | A Review: Potential of Earth Observation (EO) for Mapping Small-Scale Agriculture and Cropping Systems in West Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Review: Potential of Earth Observation (EO) for Mapping Small-Scale Agriculture and Cropping Systems in West Africa |
| title_short | A Review: Potential of Earth Observation (EO) for Mapping Small-Scale Agriculture and Cropping Systems in West Africa |
| title_sort | review potential of earth observation eo for mapping small scale agriculture and cropping systems in west africa |
| topic | Africa West Africa review remote sensing earth observation agriculture |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/1/171 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT niklasheiss areviewpotentialofearthobservationeoformappingsmallscaleagricultureandcroppingsystemsinwestafrica AT jonasmeier areviewpotentialofearthobservationeoformappingsmallscaleagricultureandcroppingsystemsinwestafrica AT ursulagessner areviewpotentialofearthobservationeoformappingsmallscaleagricultureandcroppingsystemsinwestafrica AT claudiakuenzer areviewpotentialofearthobservationeoformappingsmallscaleagricultureandcroppingsystemsinwestafrica AT niklasheiss reviewpotentialofearthobservationeoformappingsmallscaleagricultureandcroppingsystemsinwestafrica AT jonasmeier reviewpotentialofearthobservationeoformappingsmallscaleagricultureandcroppingsystemsinwestafrica AT ursulagessner reviewpotentialofearthobservationeoformappingsmallscaleagricultureandcroppingsystemsinwestafrica AT claudiakuenzer reviewpotentialofearthobservationeoformappingsmallscaleagricultureandcroppingsystemsinwestafrica |