Precision Soil Mapping

为了生产不断增长的人口所需的粮食，农民需要在最大限度地降低投入成本的同时最大限度地提高产量。精准农业——一种基于对农田内空间和时间差异做出反应的概念——已被英国大约四分之一的耕地农民作为一种关键工具采用。据认为，另外25%的人使用了一些精确的技术，但目前并没有管理他们领域内的差异，而只是记录数据。研究表明，根据不同的土壤性质，以不同的方式施用种子和肥料，始终会产生积极的结果。克兰菲尔德大学（Cranfield University）进行的一项为期两年的可变速率氮肥试验证明，用在线土壤传感器收集的土壤肥力详细地图每公顷可以带来50英镑的收益。当与作物生长数据相结合时，农民的净利润。同样，AgSpace的软件客户之一智能精准农业（IPF）的研究表明，可变地施用种子可以提高34%的产量。然而，精准农业的实施传统上是一个劳动密集型的过程，因此对许多种植者来说成本过高。目前的精准农业实践缺乏高分辨率、低成本的土壤地图，这将使农民能够管理田间变化。随着目前近地和遥感技术以及多数据资源建模方面的进展，有可能制作这些地图，以便在更大范围内实施先进的精准农业产品，使更大的市场负担得起这些产品。为了将产量提高到皇家学会讨论的水平（到2050年达到60%），需要一种合作的方式。这个大规模的合作项目旨在将卫星数据与英国最全面的土壤数据集结合起来，以产生一个“精确的土壤地图”。在利用这些现有数据集的同时，生成的地图将为目前的土壤调查方法提供一种经济上可行的替代方案。现有的数据和技术水平为耕地和蔬菜农业提供了一个非常令人兴奋的建议，以拥抱精准农业，使他们能够提高生产效率，减少对环境的影响，降低投入成本。减少对环境的影响将主要通过减少施用于土壤中的农用化学品的数量来实现，从而使地下水和地表径流受益。AgSpace将为该项目提供原始卫星数据，以及从实验农场收集的地面真实数据。克兰菲尔德大学和詹姆斯·赫顿研究所将分别提供访问英格兰、威尔士和苏格兰土壤数据集的途径。该项目的最终产品是一个“精确土壤地图”，农民可以以英国无与伦比的分辨率访问。新的土壤管理区地图将提高农民对自己土壤的了解，并将为实施精准农业提供一条经济途径，该联盟认为这是解决产量短缺的最重要问题之一。

In order to produce the amount of food required for an ever expanding population, farmers need to maximumise yield while minimising input costs. Precision farming - a concept based on responding to spatial and temporal differences within fields - has been adopted as a key tool by approximately one quarter of all arable farmers in the UK. It is thought that another 25% utilise some precision techniques but are not currently managing the differences within their fields, but rather just recording data. Studies have shown that variably applying seed and fertiliser, based on different soil properties, consistently give positive results. A two year experiment of variable rate nitrogen fertilisation at Cranfield University proved that detailed maps of soil fertility collected with an on-line soil sensor can result in £50 per ha. net profit to the farmer when integrated with data on crop growth. Similarly, research from the Intelligent Precision Farming (IPF), one of AgSpace's software customers, has shown variably applying seed can produce 34% more yield. However, implementation of precision farming has traditionally been a labour intensive process thus making it cost prohibitive for many growers. The current practice of precision agriculture lacks high resolution, low cost soil maps that would enable farmers to manage in-field variations. With current advances in proximal and remote sensing technology and modelling of multi-data resources, it is possible to produce these maps to enable the implementation of advanced precision farming products on a wider scale, making them affordable to a larger market. To increase yields to the levels being discussed by the Royal Society (60% by 2050) requires a collaborative approach.This large scale collaborative project aims to integrate satellite data with the UK's most comprehensive soil datasets to produce a 'precision soil map'. The map so produces would present an economically viable alternative to current soil survey methods, while making use of these existing datasets. The level of data and technology available presents a very exciting proposal for arable and vegetable farming to embrace precision farming, enabling them to increase production efficiency, with reduced environmental impacts and at lower input costs. The reduction of environmental impacts will be largely achieved by reducing the amount of agrochemicals applied into the soil, so benefiting ground waters and surface runoff.AgSpace will provide the raw satellite data for this project, and also ground-truthed data gathered from experimental farms. Cranfield University and the James Hutton Institute will provide access to England and Wales and the Scottish soils datasets, respectively. The project final product is a 'precision soil map' accessible to farmers at a resolution unrivaled in the UK. The new soil management zone map will enhance farmers' understanding of their own soil and will provide an economical route into the implementation of precision farming, which this consortium contends is one of the most important issues in combating yield shortages.