Field radiometer with canopy pasture probe as a potential tool to estimate and map pasture biomass and mineral components: A case study in the Lake Taupo catchment, New Zealand

Abstract Precision farming requires data on resource status at a very fine, within‐paddock scale which is impractical to collect by traditional sampling methods. This paper demonstrates the potential of a field radiometer in conjunction with a canopy pasture probe (CAPP) and global positioning system (GPS) to predict and map the spatial distribution patterns of herbage biomass and mass of nutrients, such as nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K), and sulphur (S) in hill country grassland. The accuracy of the calibration model using partial least squares (PLS) regression was assessed by using coefficient of determination (R 2) and the ratio of prediction to standard deviation (RPD). Continuum‐removed derivative reflectance (CRDR) data used in a PLS model gave an excellent prediction of the standing masses of N, P, and S (R 2> 0.895, RPD > 3.0). Both first derivative reflectance (FDR) and CRDR datasets gave a good prediction of standing biomass (R 2 > 0.857, RPD > 2.5). Although relatively lower prediction accuracy was shown in standing K, it may still be possible to make a quantitative prediction using CRDR and FDR (RPD > 2.2). The semivariogram's parameter “range” of biomass was longer (58.7 m) than the ranges of the other parameters (10.6–17.4 m), suggesting that biomass values influenced neighbouring values of biomass over greater distances than the other pasture parameters (masses of N, P, K, and S).