Monitoring agricultural field trafficability using Sentinel-1

Summary

This paper demonstrates the feasibility of using Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar satellite data to monitor agricultural field trafficability by relating surface soil moisture to penetration resistance over multiple crops. The authors establish coupled conditions (soil moisture ≥0.19 cm³ cm⁻³) where surface measurements reliably represent subsurface values, enabling practical trafficability assessment. Beyond soil moisture, the study identifies crop maturity and root growth as significant temporal controls on soil mechanical properties, suggesting multi-factor monitoring is necessary for robust trafficability prediction.

UK applicability

The methodology is directly applicable to UK agriculture, where heavy machinery traffic contributes significantly to soil compaction and structural degradation. Sentinel-1 data coverage is continuous over the UK, making this approach feasible for monitoring trafficability across large areas, though crop-specific calibrations and seasonal variation in UK climates would require local validation.

Key measures

Soil moisture (surface and subsurface, cm³ cm⁻³); penetration resistance (measured in situ); trafficability probability estimates; temporal variability of penetration resistance across crop growth stages

Outcomes reported

The study evaluated the feasibility of Sentinel-1 satellite-derived surface soil moisture to monitor field trafficability and predict penetration resistance across multiple crops during 2016–2017. Results demonstrated coupled conditions between surface and subsurface soil moisture above 0.19 cm³ cm⁻³, with root growth and crop maturity identified as additional temporal controls on soil trafficability variability.

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