Characterisation of grapevine canopy leaf area and inter-row management using Sentinel-2 time series

Accurate data on crop canopy are among the prerequisites for hydrological modelling, environmental assessment, and irrigation management. In this regard, our study concentrated on an in-depth analysis of optical satellite data of Sentinel-2 (S2) time series of the leaf area index (LAI) to characterise canopy development and inter-row management of grapevine fields. Field visits were conducted in the Ouveze-Ventoux area, South Eastern France, for two years (2021 and 2022) to monitor phenology, canopy development, and inter-row management of eleven selected grapevine fields. Regarding the S2-LAI data, the annual dynamic of a typical grapevine canopy leaf area was similar to a double logistic curve. Therefore, an analytic model was adopted to represent the grapevine canopy contribution to the S2-LAI. Part of the parameters of the analytic model were calibrated from the actual grapevine canopy dynamics timing observation from the field visits, while the others were inferred at the field level from the S2-LAI time series. The background signal was generated by directly subtracting the simulated canopy from the S2 LAI time series. Rainfall data were examined to see the possible explanations behind variations in the inter-row grass development. From the background signals, we could group the inter-row management into three classes: grassed, partially grassed, and tilled, which corroborated our findings on the field. To consider the possibility of avoiding field visits, the model was recalibrated on a grapevine field with a clear canopy signal and applied to two fields with different inter-row management. The result showed slight differences among the inter-row signals, which did not prevent the identification of inter-row management, thus indicating that field visits might not be mandatory.