Remote Sensing, Geophysics, and Modeling to Support Precision Agriculture—Part 1: Soil Applications
Arya Pradipta,
Pantelis Soupios,
Nektarios Kourgialas,
Maria Doula,
Zoi Dokou,
Mohammad Makkawi,
Mohammed Alfarhan,
Bassam Tawabini,
Panagiotis Kirmizakis,
Mohamed Yassin
Affiliations
Arya Pradipta
Department of Geosciences, College of Petroleum Engineering & Geosciences, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Pantelis Soupios
Department of Geosciences, College of Petroleum Engineering & Geosciences, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Nektarios Kourgialas
Lab. of Water Resources, Irrigation & Env. Geoinformatics, Institute of Olive Tree, Subtropical Plants and Viticulture, Hellenic Agricultural Organization (ELGO Dimitra), 73100 Chania, Greece
Maria Doula
Laboratory of Non-Parasitic Diseases, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 14561 Athens, Greece
Zoi Dokou
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, California State University, Sacramento, CA 90032, USA
Mohammad Makkawi
Department of Geosciences, College of Petroleum Engineering & Geosciences, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Alfarhan
Remote Sensing Lab, College of Petroleum Engineering & Geosciences, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Bassam Tawabini
Department of Geosciences, College of Petroleum Engineering & Geosciences, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Panagiotis Kirmizakis
Department of Geosciences, College of Petroleum Engineering & Geosciences, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Mohamed Yassin
Interdisciplinary Research Center for Membranes and Water Security, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Sustainable agriculture management typically requires detailed characterization of physical, chemical, and biological aspects of soil properties. These properties are essential for agriculture and should be determined before any decision for crop type selection and cultivation practices. Moreover, the implementation of soil characterization at the beginning could avoid unsustainable soil management that might lead to gradual soil degradation. This is the only way to develop appropriate agricultural practices that will ensure the necessary soil treatment in an accurate and targeted way. Remote sensing and geophysical surveys have great opportunities to characterize agronomic soil attributes non-invasively and efficiently from point to field scale. Remote sensing can provide information about the soil surface (or even a few centimeters below), while near-surface geophysics can characterize the subsoil. Results from the methods mentioned above can be used as an input model for soil and/or soil/water interaction modeling. The soil modeling can offer a better explanation of complex physicochemical processes in the vadose zone. Considering their potential to support sustainable agriculture in the future, this paper aims to explore different methods and approaches, such as the applications of remote sensing, geophysics, and modeling in soil studies.
