Rotation Effects on Corn and Soybean Yield Inferred from Satellite and Field-level Data

Remote sensing provides a way of studying agricultural systems when proprietary data and field studies are unavailable. As satellite data become more plentiful and accurate, they have been used to analyze crop yields and, when paired with field data, the effects of management practices. However, satellite data have rarely been used alone to quantify the effects of management practices. This study was conducted to determine whether satellite data can replicate field data findings on the yield benefits of rotation practices. We investigated the yield benefits of crop rotation on corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] using estimates generated from satellite imagery in Indiana, Iowa, and Illinois and compared these to yield benefits from field-level data between 2007 and 2012. After adjusting for environmental differences between fields with and without rotations, satellite data show yield benefits of 1.0% with a range of -8.9 to 9.7% for corn rotations and 10.8% with a range of 4.6 to 17.6% for soybean rotations, within the range of effects found in the literature and not significantly different from estimates of 4.3% for rainfed corn and 10.3% for rainfed soybean found using the field-level data. Based on our findings, we conclude that satellite data can be used to evaluate rotation practices without ground data.