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Monitoring and Mapping a Decade of Regenerative Agricultural Practices Across the Contiguous United States

Author

Listed:
  • Matthew O. Jones

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Gleyce Figueiredo

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Stephanie Howson

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Ana Toro

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Soren Rundquist

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Gregory Garner

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Facundo Della Nave

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Grace Delgado

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Zhuang-Fang Yi

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Priscilla Ahn

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Samuel Jonathan Barrett

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Marie Bader

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Derek Rollend

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Thaïs Bendixen

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Jeff Albrecht

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Kangogo Sogomo

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Zam Zam Musse

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • John Shriver

    (Regrow Agriculture, Inc., 87 Packers Falls Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

Abstract

Satellite remote sensing enables monitoring of regenerative agriculture practices, such as crop rotation, cover cropping, and conservation tillage to allow tracking and quantification at unprecedented scales. The Monitor system presented here capitalizes on the scope and scale of these data by integrating crop identification, cover cropping, and tillage intensity estimations annually at field scales across the contiguous United States (CONUS) from 2014 to 2023. The results provide the first ever mapping of these practices at this temporal fidelity and spatial scale, unlocking valuable insights for sustainable agricultural management. Monitor incorporates three datasets: CropID, a deep learning transformer model using Sentinel-2 and USDA Cropland Data Layer (CDL) data from 2018 to 2023 to predict annual crop types; the living root data, which use Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data to determine cover crop presence through regional parameterization; and residue cover (RC) data, which uses the Normalized Difference Tillage Index (NDTI) and crop residue cover (CRC) index to assess tillage intensity. The system calculates field-scale statistics and integrates these components to compile a comprehensive field management history. Results are validated with 35,184 ground-truth data points from 19 U.S. states, showing an overall accuracy of 80% for crop identification, 78% for cover crop detection, and 63% for tillage intensity. Also, comparisons with USDA NASS Ag Census data indicate that cover crop adoption rates were within 20% of estimates for 90% of states in 2017 and 81% in 2022, while for conventional tillage, 52% and 25% of states were within 20% of estimates, increasing to 75% and 67% for conservation tillage. Monitor provides a comprehensive view of regenerative practices by crop season for all of CONUS across a decade, supporting decision-making for sustainable agricultural management including associated outcomes such as reductions in emissions, long term yield resiliency, and supply chain stability.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew O. Jones & Gleyce Figueiredo & Stephanie Howson & Ana Toro & Soren Rundquist & Gregory Garner & Facundo Della Nave & Grace Delgado & Zhuang-Fang Yi & Priscilla Ahn & Samuel Jonathan Barrett & , 2024. "Monitoring and Mapping a Decade of Regenerative Agricultural Practices Across the Contiguous United States," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-26, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:12:p:2246-:d:1549561
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Stephen C. Hagen & Grace Delgado & Peter Ingraham & Ian Cooke & Richard Emery & Justin P. Fisk & Lindsay Melendy & Thomas Olson & Shawn Patti & Nathanael Rubin & Beth Ziniti & Haixin Chen & William Sa, 2020. "Mapping Conservation Management Practices and Outcomes in the Corn Belt Using the Operational Tillage Information System (OpTIS) and the Denitrification–Decomposition (DNDC) Model," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-23, October.
    2. Ravjit Khangura & David Ferris & Cameron Wagg & Jamie Bowyer, 2023. "Regenerative Agriculture—A Literature Review on the Practices and Mechanisms Used to Improve Soil Health," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-41, January.
    3. Fritz, Steffen & See, Linda & Bayas, Juan Carlos Laso & Waldner, François & Jacques, Damien & Becker-Reshef, Inbal & Whitcraft, Alyssa & Baruth, Bettina & Bonifacio, Rogerio & Crutchfield, Jim & Rembo, 2019. "A comparison of global agricultural monitoring systems and current gaps," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 258-272.
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