Data descriptor

Ground reference data for sugarcane biomass estimation in São Paulo state, Brazil

Journal Article (2018)
Author(s)

Ramses Molijn (TU Delft - Mathematical Geodesy and Positioning)

L. Iannini (TU Delft - Optical and Laser Remote Sensing)

Jansle Rocha (University of Campinas)

Ramon Hanssen (TU Delft - Mathematical Geodesy and Positioning)

Research Group
Mathematical Geodesy and Positioning
Copyright
© 2018 R.A. Molijn, L. Iannini, Jansle Vieira Rocha, R.F. Hanssen
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.150
More Info
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Publication Year
2018
Language
English
Copyright
© 2018 R.A. Molijn, L. Iannini, Jansle Vieira Rocha, R.F. Hanssen
Related content
Research Group
Mathematical Geodesy and Positioning
Volume number
5
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Abstract

In order to make effective decisions on sustainable development, it is essential for sugarcane-producing countries to take into account sugarcane acreage and sugarcane production dynamics. The availability of sugarcane biophysical data along the growth season is key to an effective mapping of such dynamics, especially to tune agronomic models and to cross-validate indirect satellite measurements. Here, we introduce a dataset comprising 3,500 sugarcane observations collected from October 2014 until October 2015 at four fields in the São Paulo state (Brazil). The campaign included both non-destructive measurements of plant biometrics and destructive biomass weighing procedures. The acquisition plan was designed to maximize cost-effectiveness and minimize field-invasiveness, hence the non-destructive measurements outnumber the destructive ones. To compensate for such imbalance, a method to convert the measured biometrics into biomass estimates, based on the empirical adjustment of allometric models, is proposed. In addition, the paper addresses the precisions associated to the ground measurements and derived metrics. The presented growth dynamics and associated precisions can be adopted when designing new sugarcane measurement campaigns.