Developing operational capability of AWiFS for tillage monitoring

Agricultural row crops occupy over 200 m acres of land in the US. Decisions regarding the implementation of tillage practices in these agricultural areas have a significant effect on other environmental outcomes, including soil erosion, water quality, and carbon sequestration. In addition, the effects of tillage practices can vary due to soil type and topographic conditions. There is currently no systematic and cost-effective method for documenting tillage practices, or the resulting effects, over a large region. We believe our tillage practice information system will be of interest to several types of organizations. First, government agencies such as UDSA are tasked with collecting data and information on environmental and agricultural practices. Second, a global market has developed around trading of carbon emissions and carbon sequestration, and watershed level marketplaces trade water quality. When trading the right to emit a pollutant or the service of sequestration, stakeholders have an interest in verifying the service is being provided. The tillage practice information system can be a critical tool for the credit verifier who is responsible for making the trading practice transparent. Currently, tillage practice is mapped via drive-by surveys or site visits, which are expensive and extremely time consuming. Because of this high cost, it is impractical to gather complete tillage practice information for large geographic areas. Third, groups such as CTIC would have interest in maps of tillage practice for watershed water quality estimates and as model inputs.