Determination of crop residue cover using scanning microdensitometry

B. Lowery; T. M. Lillesand; D. H. Mueller; P. Weiler; F. L. Scarpace; T. C. Daniel

ABSTRACT:

Percentage of land covered with corn (Zea mays L.) residue was determined using a scanning microdensitometer. The effectiveness of this densitometric technique was evaluated by comparing the results with those obtained using two conventional approaches, the line-transect (bead-string) method and the photographic method, over a range of cover and topographic conditions. The densitometric method produced results similar to the conventional methods in less time than the bead-string method and with less eye strain than the photographic method. However, the densitometric method underestimated the percent cover with very rough surfaces, such as created by the chisel plow and the till-plant system.

Footnotes

B. Lowery is an assistant professor of soil science, T. M. Lillesand is director of the Environmental Remote Sensing Center (ERSC), D. H. Mueller is a program coordinator in soil science, P. Weiler is a program associate, ERSC, F. L. Scarpace is an associate professor of engineering and environmental studies, and T. C. Daniel is a professor of soil science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, 53706.
Copyright 1984 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society

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