Data from: Topographic position index predicts within-field yield variation in a dryland cereal production system

dataset

posted on 2025-05-27, 15:18 authored by David Poss, Cody Hardy, Jacob Macdonald, Robert H. Erskine, Kyle Douglas-Mankin, Maysoon M. Mikha, David Barnard, Grace L. Miner, Sushant Mehan, Adam L. Mahood

We investigated drivers of sub-field spatial variability in yield for 3 crops (hard red winter wheat, Triticum aestivum L. variety Langin; corn, Zea mays L.; and proso millet, Panicum milaceum L.) usings this multi-year dataset from a dryland research farm in northeastern Colorado, USA. The dataset spanned 18 2.6-4.3 ha management units collected over 4 years (2019-2022). The data includes high resolution topographic data collected via real-time kinematic GPS, densely sampled soil texture and chemical properties, and meteorological data from an on-site weather station.

Funding

USDA-ARS

History

Data contact name

Douglas-Mankin, Kyle

Data contact email

Kyle.Mankin@usda.gov

Publisher

Ag Data Commons

Intended use

Research and education

Use limitations

This dataset covers 4 years of crop yield data, as well as spatially co-occurring topographic attributes and soil characteristics. The yield data presented in this dataset are derived from continuous yield monitor grain flow rate data that has been aggregated to a regular 5 m grid. The gridded values were then extracted at soil sampling locations. Note that the crop types, management practices, and weather conditions differ between observations in this data set, so variations in yield cannot be attributed solely to topography and soil characteristics. Also note that multiple years of yield data are present for the same sampling locations, and that sampling locations are spaced approximately 30 m apart; these data should not be considered fully independent, due to pseudo-replication and spatial autocorrelation.

Temporal Extent Start Date

2019-01-01

Temporal Extent End Date

2022-12-31

Frequency

annually

Theme

Non-geospatial

Geographic Coverage

{"type": "FeatureCollection", "features": [{"geometry": { "type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [ [ [ -103.1482923836, 40.1494161291 ], [ -103.1479314553, 40.1626982725 ], [ -103.1199392655, 40.1622469882 ], [ -103.1203056410, 40.1489650556 ], [ -103.1482923836, 40.1494161291]]]},"type":"Feature","properties": {}}]}

Geographic location - description

The fields in this study were located at the USDA-ARS Central Great Plains Research Station (40.155° N, 103.135° W) located 6.4 km east of Akron, Colorado, USA.

ISO Topic Category

farming
environment

National Agricultural Library Thesaurus terms

topography; arid lands; crops; hard red winter wheat; Triticum aestivum; corn; Zea mays; Panicum miliaceum subsp. miliaceum; data collection; farms; Colorado; global positioning systems; soil texture; physicochemical properties; meteorological data; agronomy; crop yield; artificial intelligence; precision agriculture; soil sampling; autocorrelation; Great Plains region

OMB Bureau Code

005:18 - Agricultural Research Service

OMB Program Code

005:040 - National Research

ARS National Program Number

ARIS Log Number

424574

Pending citation

Public Access Level

Public

Usage metrics

Keywords

yield spatial variability.machine learning random forest rainfed dryland precision agriculture topographic position index

Licence

CC0