The Impact of Tillage Practices on Land Surface Temperatures

Land surface temperature (LST) is a key component of the Earth’s environmental systems. It is a part of the Earth’s energy budget and is an indicator of the impact of the human activities on the Earth. In agriculture, different crop types and tillage systems have varying effects upon LST and therefore upon the environment at large. The effects of crop type and tillage system on LST were examined using eight satellite images from Landsat 5 in 2006 and three satellite images from Landsat 5 in 2005. The project was conducted over the northern Maumee River watershed in northwest Ohio, northeast Indiana and southeast Michigan. LST throughout the growing season was extracted using band 6 for the combinations of crop type and tillage system, as well as forest, water, and urban land cover. Atmospheric correction of the thermal signal was performed using the Atmospheric Correction Tool which is based on the Modtran radiative transfer code and is available to the public on the internet. The work should be helpful to environmental and climate scientists.