Summary
This systematic review synthesises 46 peer-reviewed articles on Earth Observation technology for cropland soil monitoring (2019–2021), evaluating spaceborne and aerial remote sensing approaches across multiple scales and resolutions. The authors identify four key limitation categories constraining adoption and propose best practices including artificial intelligence integration, harmonised dataset sharing, in situ sensor fusion, and improved sensor resolution. The findings support a roadmap for interdisciplinary coordination to deliver policy and economic benefits from EO-based soil monitoring.
UK applicability
The review's recommendations for EO-based soil monitoring are applicable to UK agricultural monitoring and precision farming contexts, particularly regarding policy frameworks for sustainable soil management and environmental monitoring. UK agricultural policy (e.g. Environmental Land Management schemes) may benefit from adopting harmonised EO datasets and AI-driven soil mapping where infrastructure and funding barriers—identified as key limitations—can be addressed.
Key measures
Inventory of EO data-driven soil monitoring research; classification of limitations in (i) area coverage and data sharing, (ii) bare soil detection thresholds, (iii) soil surface conditions, and (iv) infrastructure capabilities; assessment of sensor resolution, modelling approaches, and artificial intelligence techniques
Outcomes reported
The review systematized recent achievements in spaceborne and aerial Earth Observation data-driven soil monitoring across 46 peer-reviewed articles (2019–2021), identifying four categories of limitations hindering wider adoption and recommending best practices for advancement. Key outcomes include analysis of scaling, resolution, data characteristics, modelling approaches, and technological barriers in EO-based topsoil monitoring.
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