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Spatial variability in pasture production, especially at within-field scales challenges land managers seeking to optimise management to increase the overall productivity of their grazing operations. In this study, a relatively coarse, remote, spatial-based measure of net primary production on a farming landscape of predominately tall fescue ('Festuca arundinacea') pasture was derived using accumulative NDVI from weekly MODIS satellite imagery. This data was evaluated against two, higher spatial resolution, on-ground descriptors often linked with productivity; namely soil texture, via a electromagnetic induction instrument (EM38) and elevation data. Net primary production was observed to be larger within the lower slopes and valley floors of paddocks; the same areas most likely associated with higher levels of long term soil moisture. The implications of using relatively low spatial resolution remote sensing products (100-200 m) to monitor and forecast pasture production, and avenues for increasing the spatial resolution of such products using third-party, on-ground datasets like EM38 are also discussed. |
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