Progress in remote sensing of grass senescence: A review on the challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Grass senescence estimation in rangeland is particularly important for monitoring the conditions of forage quality and quantity. During senescence, grasses lose their nutrients from the leaves to the root and thereby affecting forage productivity. Studies on the remote sensing of grasslands have been conducted during the senescent phenological stage. However, despite the efforts made in previous remote sensing studies on grass senescence, its role in estimating grass senescence is rudimentary. More so, the strengths and limitations presented by the newly developed remote sensing instruments in grass senescence estimation are not well documented. This work, therefore, provides a detailed overview on the progress of remote sensing applications in characterizing grass senescence.