SATELLITE REMOTE-SENSING FOR AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT - OPPORTUNITIES AND LOGISTIC CONSTRAINTS

Interpretation of the information content of vegetation spectral signa tures continues to be the subject of much scientific enquiry, but the logistics of applying this information has been relatively neglected. Vegetation dynamics are chronically undersampled by satellite remote s ensing systems, except for the opportunistic use of meteorological sat ellite data which do not provide the spatial resolution required to mo nitor problems at the field or sub-field scale. A satellite remote sen sing system to meet many of the monitoring needs of agricultural manag ement is within current capabilities, but requires improvements in dat a delivery and careful consideration of the economics of operation, fr om the point of view of users as well as of the satellite operators.