Preharvest Monitoring of Biomass Production - Engineering and Science of Biomass Feedstock Production and Provision - page 70

Fig. 4.8 RGB and CIR images captured on 23 September from stand-alone tower-based remote
sensing system for ( a ) Miscanthus, ( b ) switchgrass, and ( c ) prairie fi eld

The calibration was performed for zoom and focus of the lens using two potenti-
ometers. The camera sensor system was developed to capture images from 38-m
high tower for Miscanthus, switchgrass, prairie grass, and corn. The average plot
size was 3.6 ha. The perennial crops were in the fi rst year of their growth in 2009
and needed to be replanted using fresh rhizomes for uniform density of canopy. The
perennial energy crop like Miscanthus requires 3-4 years to establish toward a full
production potential.

4.7.2 Tower Remote Sensing Data Analysis and Result

The CIR and RGB images were captured on 23 September, 3 November, and 3
December 2009 from the stand-alone tower system for Miscanthus, switchgrass,
and prairie. The fi rst set of images was collected on 23 September as indicated in
Fig. 4.8 . It is visually indicated that the plant vigor and growths were good in these