Abstract
A crop map was made using multitemporal Landsat TM data of the Tokachi Area, Hokkaido, Japan, to investigate the relationship between soil organic matter content, planting ratio, and crop order in 1985 and 1986.
Crops were identified using TM band ratios reflecting differences in the plant growth periods. Sugar beet, potato, and wheat were distinguished with 95% accuracy in both 1985 and 1986 TM images. Soil organic matter content was classified into three levels: high, middle, and low.
For both years, cropping order differed according to soil organic matter content. Crop ratio was higher for potato in soils with both high and middle organic content, and for legumesin soils with high organic matter content. Sugar beet preceded the majority of potato crops regardless of organic matter content. Sugar beet preceded wheat in soils with low organic matter, but wheat tended to be grown successively as soil organic matter content increased.
These results show that Landsat TM band ratios are effective in making crop maps.
