Remote sensing of plastic-covered greenhouses and plastic-mulched farmlands: Current trends and future perspectives

The application of intensive plasticulture farming has resulted in an increased yield of horticulture crops during the last few decades in the world, particularly in China, Spain, and Italy. Proper monitoring of plastic-covered greenhouse (PCG) farming areas and plastic-mulched farmlands (PMF) is necessary for the sustainable development of horticulture, including high-quality agricultural production in limited areas with cost-effectiveness, and reduced pollution. The development of sophisticated image processing algorithms, such as pixel-based, object-based, and machine learning approaches, for mapping landscape and land use changes have revolutionized monitoring plasticulture areas in recent decades. Even though a complex task, remote sensing offers cost-effective, large-scale monitoring of plasticulture areas. Advancements in UAV technology are expected to improve the mapping and monitoring accuracy of PCGs and PMFs in the future in addition to high resolution optical data combined with digital surface models (DSM) with high vertical accuracy.