融合无人机多光谱与纹理特征解析开花期大豆叶片氮浓度的垂直分布

    Integrating UAV-derived multispectral and texture features for vertical distribution of nitrogen concentration in soybean leaves during flowering

    • 摘要: 叶片氮浓度(leaf nitrogen concentration, LNC)在表征大豆养分活性方面起着至关重要的作用,最终影响大豆的光合效率和产量形成,而基于无人机的遥感技术已成为估计作物表型性状的常用工具。因此,该研究结合无人机多光谱技术,通过连续2 a(2021—2022)的大田试验,采集大豆开花期各叶层LNC数据与对应的无人机多光谱图像数据,建立了与前人研究和作物参数具有较强相关性的植被指数,冠层纹理特征及随机组合提取的纹理指数。通过对上述参数与大豆各叶层LNC相关性的分析,进而筛选出与大豆各叶层LNC相关系数达到显著性相关的参数(P<0.05),由此分别构建出4种组合(组合1:植被指数;组合2:纹理特征;组合3:纹理指数;组合4:植被指数、纹理特征和纹理指数),作为模型的输入变量。随后采用随机森林(random forest, RF)、反向神经网络(back propagation neural network, BPNN)和梯度提升模型(extreme gradient boosting, XGBoost)3种机器学习模型对大豆各叶层LNC建模。结果表明,大部分植被指数与大豆各叶层LNC相关系数均高于纹理特征,达到显著相关水平(P<0.05),且与各叶层LNC相关性从大到小依次为冠层、中层、底层。而随机组合构建的纹理指数与大豆各叶层LNC的相关系数最高,其中大豆冠层、中层、底层LNC均与构建的加值纹理指数相关系数最高,分别为0.774、0.726、0.650。当输入变量为组合4(植被指数、纹理特征、纹理指数),采用XGBoost模型构建的大豆各叶层LNC预测模型的效果均为最佳,其中冠层LNC预测模型验证集R2为0.853,均方根误差(root mean square error, RMSE)为0.321%,平均相对误差(mean relative error, MRE)为7.120%;中层LNC预测模型验证集R2为0.822,RMSE为0.349%,MRE为7.448%;底层LNC预测模型验证集R2为0.809,RMSE为0.340%,MRE为8.042%。该研究可为精准农业中氮素垂直分布动态监测及精准施肥管理提供了可靠的技术依据。

       

      Abstract: Leaf Nitrogen Concentration (LNC) can play a crucial role in the nutrient activity of soybeans, ultimately leading to the photosynthetic efficiency and yield formation. UAV-based remote sensing technology has been commonly used to estimate crop phenotypic traits. However, the traditional remote sensing monitoring of crop nitrogen can usually rely on the spectral data from a single sensor. It is mostly limited to the canopy-level assessment. In this study, a systematic analysis of the vertical heterogeneity of nitrogen was carried out to integrate the UAV-derived multispectral and texture features in the flowering period of soybeans. UAV multi-spectral technology was also combined with two-year (2021–2022) field experiments. The LNC data of each leaf layer were collected with its UAV multi-spectral image data. Firstly, a preliminary analysis was performed on the soybean LNC data. It was found that the LNC concentration in the canopy was higher than that in the middle layer, while the LNC concentration in the bottom layer was the lowest. Secondly, 10 vegetation indices were selected and then calculated. 48 texture features were extracted from 8 second-order probability matrices of each band. Subsequently, 6 texture indices were constructed after random combinations. There were some correlations between the parameters and the LNC of each leaf layer of soybeans. The correlation coefficients of the parameters reached a significant level (P<0.05). Among them, 4 combinations were constructed to serve as the input variables for the model: Combination 1 was the vegetation indices; Combination 2 was the texture features; Combination 3 was the texture indices; and Combination 4 was the group of the vegetation indices, texture features, and texture indices. Three machine-learning models were used to simulate the LNC in each leaf layer of the soybeans, namely Random Forest (RF), Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN), and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost). The results showed that the correlation coefficients of the most vegetation indices with the LNC of each leaf layer of soybeans were higher than those of the texture features, thereby reaching a significant correlation level (P<0.05). The correlations with the LNC of each leaf layer decreased in the order of the canopy, middle layer, and bottom layer. The texture indices after random combinations shared the highest correlation coefficients with the LNC in each leaf layer of the soybeans. Among them, the LNC of the canopy, middle, and bottom layers of soybeans had the highest correlation coefficients with the constructed Additive Texture Index (ATI), which were 0.774, 0.726, and 0.650, respectively. Once the single-source data (Combination 1, Combination 2, and Combination 3) was used as the input variables to construct the prediction models, all three machine-learning models showed that the performance of Combination 3 (texture indices) was better than that of Combination 1 (vegetation indices), while Combination 2 (texture features) had the worst performance. The best performance was achieved in the prediction models with the LNC of each leaf layer of soybeans that was constructed by the XGBoost model, when the input variables were Combination 4 (vegetation indices, texture features, and texture indices). The canopy-layer LNC prediction model demonstrated that the coefficient of determination (R²) of the validation set was 0.853, the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) was 0.321%, and the Mean Relative Error (MRE) was 7.120%; The middle-layer LNC prediction model indicated that the R² of the validation set was 0.822, the RMSE was 0.349%, and the MRE was 7.448%; The bottom-layer LNC prediction model showed that the of the validation set was 0.809, the RMSE was 0.340%, and the MRE was 8.042%. The finding can provide a practical technical path to monitor the physiological growth of the crops using an unmanned multispectral platform. Meanwhile, a reliable technical basis can also offer to dynamically monitor the vertical distribution of nitrogen in the precise fertilization of modern agriculture.

       

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