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Low-Cost GPS Receivers for the Monitoring of Sunflower Cover Dynamics

The aim of this research is to analyze the potential use of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals for the monitoring of in situ vegetation characteristics. An instrument, based on the use of a pair of low-cost receivers and antennas, providing continuous measurements of all the available Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite signals is proposed for the determination of signal attenuation caused by a sunflower cover. Experimental campaigns with this instrument, combined with ground truth measurements of the vegetation, were performed over a nonirrigated sunflower test field for a period of more than two months, corresponding to a significant portion of the vegetation cycle. A method is proposed for the analysis of the signal attenuation data as a function of elevation and azimuth angles. A high correlation is observed between the vegetation’s water content and the GPS signals attenuation, and an empirical modeling is tested for the retrieval of signal behavior as a function of vegetation water content (VWC). The VWC was estimated from GNSS signals on a daily basis, over the full length of the study period.