Cropland abandonment

Fallow fileds in Wisconsin, 2019

Abandoned fields in Uzbekistan, 2014

Cropland abandonment is a prominent form of land use change and an important indicator of economic growth and stability. Further, the unused lands may provide opportunities for conservation and carbon storage. However, cropland abandonment is often confused with other land use such as fallow, and thus is not routinely mapped with remote sensing. We aim to create cropland abandonment maps that have high precision in time and location. Better maps (i.e. with higher spatial and temporal resolutions) will help improve our understanding of the drivers that lead to cropland abandonment and are a crucial component for planning sustainable landscapes.

Related publications:
Crawford, C. Wiebe, A. Yin, H. Radeloff, V. Wilcove, D. (2024): Biodiversity consequences of cropland abandonment. Nature Sustainability
. 7: 596–1607
Yin, H. de Oliveira Brandao Jr., A. Buchner, B. Helmers, D. Luliano, B. G. Kimambo, N. Lewińska, K. E. Razenkova, E. Rizayeva, A. Rogova, N. Spawn, S. A. Xie, Y. H. and Radeloff, V. C. (2020): Monitoring cropland abandonment with Landsat time series. Remote Sensing of Environment. 246: 111873
Yin, H. Prishchepov, A. Kuemmerle, T. Bleyhl, B. Buchner, J. and Radeloff, V. (2018): Mapping agricultural land abandonment from spatial and temporal segmentation of Landsat time series. Remote Sensing of Environment. 210: 12-24​

Grassland management

Grasslands, among the largest ecosystems in the world, provide valuable ecosystem services and harbor unique biodiversity. One important question for both land use management and agricultural policy is whether grasslands are used, and especially if they are mowed. However, mapping grassland use is challenging because it is highly dynamic over space and time, requiring dense time series of satellite imagery. With both Landsat and Sentinel-2 data being available, it is now possible to analyze dense time series of satellite imagery for grassland mapping. This project aims to develop approaches for detecting mowing events in grassland using a combined time series of Landsat and Sentinel-2 imagery.

The Sentinel-2 imagery showing grassland dynamics in France

The enhanced vegetation index time series showing mowing events

Related publications:
Yin, H. Griffiths, P. Hoster, P and Radeloff, V. C. (in preparation): Mapping grassland use with Landsat and Sentinel-2 time series.

Armed conflicts

Abandoned cropland surrounding a war-torn Syrian village

Armed conflicts are globally widespread and can strongly influence societies and the environment. Directly or indirectly, armed conflicts alter agriculture and thus affect food security. However, where and how armed conflicts affect agricultural land is not well-understood. We aim to use remote sensing, econometric models, and field surverys to understand how armed conflicts affect agricultural land. Ultimately, we hope to help institutions make better decisions that reduce food insecurity and contribute to understanding environmental change. 
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Related publications:
​​​Yin, H. Eklund, L, Habash, D. Qumsiyeh, M. Van Den Hoek, J. (2025): Evaluating war-induced damage to agricultural land in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 using PlanetScope and SkySat imagery. Science of Remote Sensing. 11: 100199
Buchner, J. Butsic,  Yin, H. V. Kuemmerle, A. Baumann, Zazanashvili, N. Stapp, J. and Radeloff, V. (2022): Localized versus wide-ranging effects of the post-Soviet wars in the Caucasus on agricultural abandonment. Global Environmental Change. 76: 102580
Yin, H. Butsic, V. Buchner, J. Kuemmerle, T. Prishchepov, A. Baumann, M. Bragina, E. Sayadyan, H. and Radeloff, V. (2019): Agricultural abandonment and re-cultivation during and after the Chechen Wars in the northern Caucasus. Global Environmental Change. 55: 149-159

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​Environmental Justice

Environmental justice (EJ) combines the interests of environmental protection with social justice; in particular protection of the rights and wellbeing of marginalized communities that are disproportionately impacted by environmental harms (Pellow, 2017). Leveraging remote sensing and spatial analysis, our aim is to address EJ by co-designing tools that can be used for decision making. Ultimately, our goal is to deploy these tools for the benefit of communities, particularly those facing disadvantages and injustices. Our ongoing EJ project is related to Tribal land use in California, supported by funding from the Anti-Racism and Equity Institute and the Environmental Science and Design Research Institute at Kent State University.

Funding

2025-2027 Yin, H. (Co-I). Scalable conflict damage monitoring with open EO data. NASA Science Mission Directorate Single-Source. NASA
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2021-2026 Yin, H. (PI). The effects of the Syrian civil war on cropland in the eastern Mediterranean region. NASA New (Early Career) Investigator Program in Earth Science

2020-2021 Yin, H. (PI). Mapping cropland abandonment in Eurasia. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

2018-2023 Radeloff, V (PI). Monitoring the dynamics of abandoned agriculture, fallow fields and grasslands, with harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 data. NASA Land-Cover and Land-Use Change Program (LCLUC) Multi-Source Land Imaging Science

2018-2022 Radeloff, V. (PI). Long-term land degradation in the Caucasus. NASA Land-Cover and Land-Use Change Program (LCLUC)

2016-2017 Zuckerberg, B. (PI). Re-wilding urban environments: Integrating remote sensing and citizen science to study the environmental context and ecological consequences of returning avian predators. NASA Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program

We are grateful for the support from