M. Donat: Creation of Patch Cropping maps – A prototype of a web-based application

Marco Donat is a PhD Student and research assistant at Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) (Research Area 2 “Land Use and Governance) with a research interest in geographic information system (GIS) and data analysis with Python.

Patch cropping is a concept for sustainable and resilient agriculture of the future in which arable land will be divided into patches with homogeneous site characteristics and spatially adapted management (crop species and crop rotation). Since this small-scale and site-specific cropping system has never been put into practice before, there is a particular need for concrete recommendation for action for the implementation of Patch Cropping. Our prototype of a web-based application for automated patch identification shows a potential solution for creating standardized georeferenced maps by analyzing data under consideration of technical requirements of agricultural machinery, thus supporting the implementation of Patch Cropping.

Co-Authors: Jonas Geistert – Technical University of Berlin (Faculty Electrical Engineering and Computer Science); Dr. Ralf Bloch – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (Faculty of Landscape Management and Nature Conservation) and Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (Research Area 2 “Land Use and Governance”); Prof. Dr. Sonoko Dorothea Bellingrath-Kimura – Humboldt University of Berlin (Faculty of Life Sciences) and Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (Research Area 2 “Land Use and Governance”)