An advanced Remote Sensing and GIS laboratory was inaugurated in the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry on 19th September 2024 by Hon’ble Vice Chancellor Dr. D. R. Singh.
This cutting-edge facility represents a significant milestone in the University’s journey towards technological advancements in soil science and agricultural research. The lab will empower students, researchers, and faculty to utilize the latest remote sensing and geospatial technology tools, contributing to enhanced land use planning, soil mapping, and natural resource management.
The journey towards incorporating remote sensing and GIS techniques in soil research began long ago. In 1955, under the Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (SS&LUP) scheme, the Department of Soil Science initiated cartography techniques for mapping soils across Bihar. These traditional methods laid the foundation for future advancements. Significant transformation occurred in 2009 when the department adopted digital cartography and integrated remote sensing and GIS technologies. This shift enabled the preparation of soil survey reports for key districts, including Nalanda, Sheikhpura, and Bhagalpur. 2013 marked another breakthrough, with the first-ever spectral signature capture of problematic soils in Bihar, conducted using hyperspectral data under a project sponsored by DST-SERB, New Delhi. This was followed by a study of the Ahar-Pyne systems in Bihar in 2014, under the BAU-IRRI collaborative project, aimed at promoting rice intensification in lowland rain-fed areas. In 2017, under a national networking project sponsored by DST-NRDMS, New Delhi, the department studied the revival of village ponds using microwave, thermal, and multispectral remote sensing to assess water potential and drainage patterns.
Aims and Objectives of the Lab:
The Remote Sensing and GIS Lab has been established with the following aims and objectives:
Strengthening microwave SAR, LiDAR, and thermal remote sensing for efficient natural resource management.
Promoting large-scale mapping techniques for advanced soil surveying and land use planning.
Integrating geospatial modeling, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and web GIS design to support digital agriculture.
Enhancing soil spectroscopy, digital soil libraries, and diagnostic tools for comprehensive soil, water, and vegetation mapping.
Capacity building by offering undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD students hands-on training and research opportunities.
The lab has already secured several ongoing research projects. Externally funded initiatives include a land suitability analysis for fruits and vegetables in the Bhagalpur division using RS-GIS and machine learning, led by B. K. Vimal and Dr Anshuman Kohli, and a project on UAV-based pest and disease management of cereal crops in Bihar, managed by B. K. Vimal. In-house research projects include Modeling of Crop Dynamics, Leaf Nitrogen and Yield using Sentinel-1 SAR integrated with Machine learning, led by Dr. Sai Parasar Das, Dr. Amit Kumar Pradhan, and Dr. Bhabani Prasad Mondal; Land Resource Appraisal and Land Use Planning of Shambhuganj, Phulidumar and Katoriya Blocks, managed by Dr. Ingle Sagar Nandulal, B. K. Vimal, and Dr. Anupam Das; and Identifying Residual Soil Moisture based Optimal Planting Window for rainfed Rabi Crops in Bhagalpur, led by Dr. Bhabani Prasad Mondal and Dr. Sai Parasar Das. The lab is also involved in research on Assessment of climate change impact on crop yield and soil carbon for Agroclimatic zone- IIIa, Bihar using the DSSAT-CERES and Century model, led by Dr Chandrabhan Patel and Dr Anupam Das, and soon it is preparing for partnering in the National Soil Mapping Programme (NMSP) to map Bihar’s soils at a 1:10000 scale.
The lab is equipped with various advanced digital tools and resources to support its research such as:
Digital Soil Science Library: A dedicated system houses 100 e-books covering soil physics, chemistry, biology, pedology, and micromorphology, providing an invaluable resource for students and researchers.
Advanced Digital Remote Sensing Library: A digital library of 70 e-books focusing on advanced remote sensing techniques, including microwave SAR, multispectral and hyperspectral imaging, supporting the latest developments in the field.
Organised Library Services: All digital library services of the University Central Library are integrated into a unified system, providing easy and efficient access for students and faculty.
Spatial data Analysis using R: The lab is equipped with R studio, offering a powerful tool for spatial data analysis, predictive modelling and data visualization that is vital for master’s degree and doctoral research projects.
Microwave SAR Data Processing: A dedicated system processes microwave SAR data, enabling the lab to handle SAR data for wide applications like crop type mapping, disaster management especially flood and environmental monitoring.
Hyperspectral Image Analysis: Another system specializes in hyperspectral image analysis, which is crucial for high-resolution spectral data processing, such as vegetation analysis and water quality assessment.
The Remote Sensing and GIS Lab has produced a range of data products and research findings that include:
Legacy data of soil surveyed areas of Bihar in the form of technical reports and maps.
Exclusive spectral signature data for red soil patches of Bihar.
Mapping of the geographical area of Ox-Bows, Tal, and Diara lands in Bihar.
Topographical, lowland physiography, climate, drainage, flood, and land use/land cover maps of Bihar.
Analysis of temporal changes in maize cultivation in Bihar.
NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) dynamics for rice, wheat, and maize crops.
Large area mapping of farmland in Bihar.
Indexing of land suitability for cereals, millets, oilseeds, and pulses.
Varietal screening of coffee using land suitability analysis.
Ongoing land suitability classification of fruits and vegetables.
Sentinel-1 SAR for Flood Mapping
One of the lab’s key accomplishments is using Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data to create a flood map for Bihar 2024. Sentinel-1 SAR is very effective for flood monitoring. It captures data even in cloudy weather conditions and regardless of daylight, providing real-time monitoring and thus effective for disaster management and mitigation efforts.
Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor Dr. D. R. Singh expressed satisfaction at the inauguration and highlighted the lab’s potential as a critical enabler for students and other stakeholders. He highlighted its role in capacity building, fostering innovations, and addressing critical issues like climate change and disaster mitigation and adaptation. He also emphasised the laboratory’s potential to become self-sustaining through revenue generation by collaborating with industry and academia while creating valuable job opportunities for students and stakeholders by equipping them with cutting-edge skills in geospatial technology.
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