Toward Precision Agriculture in Outdoor Vertical Greenery Systems (VGS): Monitoring and Early Detection of Stress Events

Abstract

Vertical greenery systems (VGS) have been proposed as a nature-based solution to mitigate the adverse effects of urban heat islands and climate change in cities. However, large-scale VGS are costly and require ongoing maintenance, typically carried out manually through trial and error based on professional experience. Advanced management is essential for the sustainability of VGS due to its limited accessibility and associated costs. To address these challenges, we examined the use of remote sensing methods for outdoor VGS monitoring as a basis for a precision agriculture approach for VGS management and maintenance. This study presents the first ongoing monitoring of real-scale VGS using thermal, hyperspectral, and RGB vegetation indices. These indices were employed for the early detection of vegetation stress, focusing on two case studies exhibiting visible yellowing symptoms. Through the application of unsupervised classification techniques, stressed pixels were successfully detected 14–35 days before visual yellowing, achieving an accuracy of 0.85–0.91. Additionally, the thermal index provided valuable information regarding the spatial distribution of watering along the VGS. Stress maps based on noninvasive methods were demonstrated, forming the basis of a spatial decision support system capable of detecting issues related to plant vitality and VGS irrigation management.