CONCEPT of GIS FOR PRECISION AGRICULTURE

K. Charvát, P. Faltejsek, F. Pivnička, P. Přidal, M. Říha
Help Service Mapping
Brdičkova 1916, CZ-15500 Praha 5, Czech Republic
e-mail: charvat@topol.cz, http://www.topol.cz

INTRODUCTION

Real development of precision agriculture applications started in Europe in mid-1990’s. This development was done mostly by agricultural machines or board computer manufacturers. We should consider that plants are grown in Europe on smaller fields and ecology is more exposed than in America. So that ecological aspects have higher influence than economical ones. That is way the precision farming applications are mostly subject of scientific research. Regardless of this fact there are several new commercial systems in Europe.

Typical scenario of such applications is based on following approach. Harvesters are equipped with GPS, yield sensors and a board computer. Data are stored on a chip card and then downloaded into a personal computer for processing. The first software applications are usually based on proprietary technologies and able to create yield maps and after analyses calculate fertilisation automatically. Results are loaded into a fertilisation machine board computer. Many scientific studies examined this technology in the past, but systems are used this year in real practice for the first time.

This article summarises the basic aspects of our approach to development of software for precision farming applications. The paper describes in greater detail our TopoL - AGROGIS technology, which is based on full-featured common GIS system and provides several applications for special purposes. The use of special GIS technologies (such as the interpretation of satellite images and aerial photographs, GPS tracking) for agriculture production is shown, common tasks in spatial data analyses and presentation are identified and our experience from Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic is demonstrated.

PRECISION AGRICULTURE SOFTWARE

Changes in EC grant policy encourage demands for agriculture information systems. New agriculture machines are routinely equipped with board computers, GPS station, digital sensors and recording devices necessary for data capture. This situation provides necessary conditions for rapid adopting of precision agriculture systems in the European context.

Because of smaller field sizes, farm data management is divided between service companies and single farmers. Service companies were mostly focused on agricultural machine services in the past. Now they start to offer services for precision farming and use GIS technology for data capture and management. They are expected to prepare field maps for each farm and create yield maps (based on harvester data). They will provide optionally more sophisticated services, such as processing of aerial photographs and satellite images, GPS surveying etc. Single farmers are expected to observe current situation in simple map viewers and plan production in specialised precision farming tools. This scenario decreases instrument expenses and knowledge demands for a typical (small and mid-size) farmer.

COMMON TASKS FOR PRECISION AGRICULTURE

The first group of tasks includes parcel and field identification as well as parcel and field boundary definition. Such data should be typically collected by service companies and general GIS systems should be used for spatial data capture. These systems include wide range of necessary functionality - map digitising, GPS data capture, digital photogrammetry, non-spatial attribute annotation. Created data can help in the most of precision agriculture tasks.

Farm management forms another group of necessary tasks, which consists of ownership and renting plan management, monitoring of seeding plans and plant production for each field. Such analyses are typically made by farmers. Specialised add-on module accompanying a general farm management software can demonstrate various aspects using map presentation. In European context, one of the most important result of such module seems to be reports for grant applications.

Precision farming requires the most advanced precision agriculture software. Such systems are designed to monitor, analyse and control plant production with the aim to optimise expenses and ecological effects. Fields are typically divided into grid cells and influence of plant factors are analysed for each cell. Seeding, fertilising, irrigation and other agronomic procedures can optimised for each cell of fields and GPS systems help in correct application of all calculated processes. Farmers or service companies use specialised applications, which should be based on GIS system to accomplish such complicated demands.

DATA SOURCES FOR PRECISION AGRICULTURE

The most important data sources for precision agriculture are field and yield maps. These maps are typically accompanied by soil maps, parcel maps etc. Such data are digitised from existing paper maps or captured in fields using GPS devices.

Remote sensing images are usually difficult to use in Europe. Small image resolution and cloudy weather are the most important reasons for that. High resolution data are also affected by cloudy weather, so that radar data seems to be the most interesting remote senisng data.

Aerial photographs can be used more effectively than RS data. Colour infrared materials are mostly used in agriculture, because plant production can be easily identified on these images. Geometry measurements can be also made on panchromatic photos.

OUR APPROACH TO PRECISON AGRICULTURE SOFTWARE

Previous paragraphs demonstrated that expected scale of tasks requires full functionality of a general GIS system. On the other hand users demand specialised applications devoted to their tasks. Common problem of the first proprietary software solutions for precision agriculture is their low flexibility and difficulty to transfer data from one to another system (e.g. farm management data to a precision farming tool).

Our approach to development of software for precision agriculture is based on the use of a common general GIS technology. This technology provides required scale of functionality including spatial data capture, management, analyses and presentation. This technology serves as a universal ground for development of customised tools for precision agriculture working on common datasets. Following paragraphs will describe our TopoL - AGROGIS technology, which based on described principles.

TopoL - AGROGIS TECHNOLOGY

Our approach to development of software for precision farming applications is based on the use of our TopoL GIS technology. This general system serves as a basis for full-scale set of software tools need for precision agriculture including spatial data capture, management, analyses and presentation. TopoL GIS and its precision farming software applications are described in following paragraphs.

TopoL GIS

TopoL GIS is a general LIS/GIS software, which is running on a standard PC computers in Windows environment. It allows creation, maintenance, analyses and presentation of geographical data. TopoL integrates classical vector-based GIS approach with image processing tools. It is able to handle vector and raster data equally well and its functionality includes vector data overlays, database analyses as well as image processing and raster classification. Extensive care was focused on topology and support for topographic structures of vector data. Digitising capabilities of TopoL are easy to use and the system is able to solve topologic relations in real-time while data are digitised. TopoL can import and export data in many industry-standard formats.

TopoL can be adjusted for applications in many areas. There are several variants of general system with different scale of functionality for different purposes (e.g. data capture, analyses, image processing). It can be customised through its internal programming language Topas, which provides access to spatial data internal attributes as well as to databases attached to data using user-defined database model. TopoL is also open for development of specialised applications, because wide scale of TopoL functionality is available through standard DDE software communication mechanism. Applications can control and extend TopoL by special purpose commands and tools as well as can use TopoL functionality in a map server mode (without user access to TopoL menus).

PhoTopoL

PhoTopoL is a low-cost, yet powerful, software solution for digital photogrammetry, which is suitable for the production of precise maps from aerial photographs. Its functionality includes orthorectification, digital elevation model creation and software stereo plotting. Orthorectification functions facilitates removal of geometric distortions and effects of terrain relief displacements from aerial photos. PhoTopoL also produces digital elevation models (DEM) using stereo pair correlation algorithms. Its software stereo plotting capabilities provide easy-to-use tools for digital map and DEM capture and updating. Two monitor configuration is used and active superimposition of all vector data is performed on both of them. StereoGraphics Crystal Eyes active shuttering glasses are used for stereo viewing. PhoTopoL extends TopoL GIS and includes, of course, its full functionality.

TopoL Track

TopoL Track is our general software technology for tracking moveable objects based on GPS technology. It is suitable for development of customised modules and applications. In case of precision agriculture, TopoL Track serves as basis for machine tracking module or applications (e.g. Labis Track module of Labis Map application).

To allow tracking, agriculture machine (harvester, fertiliser etc.) should be equipped with following devices:

TopoL Track software enables users to download data from recording device to PC (using MARS-M protocol through serial port). During downloading data are converted from WGS84 into user-defined co-ordinate system and stored as points in TopoL GIS format. Captured data are divided into single trips, which are defined by starts and stops of the tracked mobile object. Time and other informative attributes are stored for each point into an attached database.

Captured data can be evaluated after download phase. TopoL Track functionality includes identification of relations between mobile object positions and other spatial objects on a map (e.g. field or parcel) using general point in area or point in point surrounding functions. System is able to create various statistical reports based on downloaded information (e.g. speed, profile of trace) as well as detected relations. Technology also provides simple graphical display of data, but it is able to use TopoL GIS for full-featured map display as well.

Labis Map

Labis is a general farm management system developed by LandData EuroSoft (Germany). Labis Map application is an add-on module for Labis system designed in co-operation with LandData EuroSoft and Compact Bohemia. It extends Labis with farm management map display and analyses and includes also Labis Track module.

Labis Map functionality is aimed to following tasks:

FertiTopoL

FertiTopoL is a general precision farming software application based on TopoL GIS technology. It is aimed to optimisation of plant production. Users are able to monitor agronomic and environmental quantities (e.g. yield, humidity, soil pH), evaluate them and analyse their influence on the plant production. Results serves as a basis for planning of seeding, fertilisation, irrigation etc. Cultivation procedures can be analysed after harvest as well. All input data (maps, aerial photos, satellite images) and results can be graphically presented in maps and charts.

FertiTopoL is able to use following data sources:

FertiTopoL includes following functionality:

CONCLUSION

This paper summarises basic aspects of precision agriculture in Europe and identifies common tasks in data analyses and presentation. It describes the concept of TopoL – AGROGIS technology and our experience from its use in Germany.

REFERENCES

  1. Charvát et al., 1998: Precision Agriculture - European Approach. Proceedings of the First International Conference on Geospatial Information in Agriculture and Forestry, Lake Buena Vista, Florida.