The ‘Green Revolution’ in rice farming of the late 1960’s denotes the beginning of the extensive breeding programs that have led to the many improved rice varieties that are now planted on more than 60% of the world’s riceland (Khush, 1987). This revolution led to increases in yield potential of 2 to 3 times that of traditional varieties (Khush, 1987). Similar trends have also been seen in the Irrigation Areas and Districts of southern New South Wales (NSW) as the local breeding program has produced many improved varieties of rice adapted to local growing conditions since the 1960’s (Brennan et al., 1994). Increases in area of rice planted, rice quality, and paddy yield resulted (Brennan et al., 1994). Increased rice area, however, has led to the development of high water tables and risk of large tracts of land becoming salt-affected in southern NSW (Humphreys et al., 1994b). These concerns have led to various environmental regulations on rice in the region, culminating in 1994 when restrictions on rice area, soil suitability, and water consumption were fully enacted (Humphreys et al., 1994b). Strict environmental restrictions in combination with large areas of land make the management of this region a difficult task. Land managers require, among other things, a way of regulating water use, assessing or predicting crop area and productivity, and making management decisions in support of environmentally and economically sustainable agriculture. In the search for more time and cost effective methods for attaining these goals, while monitoring complex management situations, many have turned to remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies for assistance. The spectral information and spatial density of remote sensing data lends itself well to the measurement of large areas. Since the launch of LANDSAT-1 in 1972, this technology has been used extensively in agricultural systems for crop identification and area estimation, crop yield estimation and prediction, and crop damage assessment. The incorporation of remote sensing and GIS can also help integrate management practices and develop effective management plans. However, in order to take advantage of these tools, users must have an understanding of both what remote sensing is and what sensors are now available, and how the technology is being used in applied agricultural research. Accordingly, a description of both follows: first a description of the technology, and then how it is currently being applied. The applications of remote sensing relevant to this discussion can be separated into crop type identification; crop area measurement; crop yield; crop damage; water use/ moisture availability (ma) mapping; and water use efficiency monitoring/mapping. This report focuses on satellite remote sensing for broad-scale rice-based irrigation agricultural applications. It also discusses related regional GIS analyses that may or may not include remote sensing data, and briefly addresses other sources of finer-scale remote sensing and geospatial data as they relate to agriculture. Since a complete review of the remote sensing research was not provided in the rice literature alone, some generic agricultural issues have been learned from applications not specifically dealing with rice. Remote sensing specialists may wish to skip to section 2
