Satellite Remote Sensing Analysis to Support Winter Cover Crop Conservation Program Management in Maryland, USA

In the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA, winter cover crops are strongly promoted as an agricultural conservation practice to reduce the loss of nutrients and sediment from farmland, and to improve soil health and carbon sequestration. The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) provides incentive payments to farmers to offset the cost of managing cover crops, and Maryland leads the nation with cover crop implementation on 47% of cropland. Our research has developed satellite-based analysis to support MDA cover crop conservation program management, using Harmonized Landsat Sentinel (HLS) time-series imagery to identify cover crop emergence and termination dates and to derive Wintertime and Springtime performance estimates (biomass, nitrogen (N) uptake, fractional groundcover) for >25,000 enrolled fields per year, on an operational basis. The resulting monitoring and analysis of these fields has informed adaptive management of the cost-share program incentive structure to promote effective environmental outcomes and has greatly reduced the workload associated with time-intensive field visits by county agents to confirm Springtime termination of cover crop fields. Satellite remote sensing data products, when applied in collaboration with conservation program managers, can provide valuable input to support adaptive management of conservation incentive programs, increase environmental benefits and understanding of management practices, and assist in agricultural conservation management.