‘Probabilistic Atlas’, a new approach to assess complexity in agroforestry systems using UAV images: example of the spatial effect of Faidherbia albida on pearl millet NDVI

‘Probabilistic Atlas’, a new approach to assess complexity in agroforestry systems using UAV images: example of the spatial effect of Faidherbia albida on pearl millet NDVI | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article ‘Probabilistic Atlas’, a new approach to assess complexity in agroforestry systems using UAV images: example of the spatial effect of Faidherbia albida on pearl millet NDVI Serigne Mansour Diene, Ibrahima Diack, Romain Fernandez, Alain Audebert, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6682409/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 26 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in Agroforestry Systems → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Trees in agroforestry parklands significantly contribute to improving and adapting farming systems while providing ecosystem services. However there is limited information on crop productivity and environmental performance. How do crop growth in such heterogeneous agroforestry systems vary according to distance, crown size, and azimuthal direction ? We use a novel approach based on advanced image analysis derived from medical imaging combined with multispectral imagery (known as the “probabilistic atlas”) to analyze the crop, tree and soil interactions. We analyzed the influence of 72 Faidherbia albida trees on 13 millet fields in 2021 and 2022. Using “Voronoi” diagrams to separate individual trees. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), was used as an indicator to assess the tree effect on pearl millet crop. We observed that, at the early growth stages of millet, the effect of Faidherbia albida on NDVI was stronger near the crown and decreased with distance, reflecting the positive growth influence on millet near canopy. We also observed an effect of azimuthal direction on NDVI. Finally, we found that the effect of Faidherbia albida on NDVI was more significant for trees with a large crown size. These results are a step further in the characterization of spatial tree influence on crops in highly heterogeneous systems, with improvements for e.g. the evaluation of ecosystem services or precision agriculture Probabilistic Atlas Distance of influence Remote sensing UAV Agroforestry Senegal Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 26 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in Agroforestry Systems → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 24 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 23 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 02 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Aug, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 28 May, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 20 May, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 19 May, 2025 First submitted to journal 16 May, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6682409","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":463494660,"identity":"032dbfb6-5504-4a93-aac4-f2f90ceb103a","order_by":0,"name":"Serigne Mansour Diene","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA0ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHACgwNAQg7CZiNBizEDAzMJWkBEYgPRWuSnHd544OMOm/R+6f4DDB/KDjPIz24gYMXttIKDM8+k5c6cc5iBcca5wwwGdw4Q0CKdY3CYt+1w7oYbyQzMQAaDgUQCAYfNBmr52/Y/3R6k5S9Qi/wMAloYbgO1MLYdSDCQAGphBGphuEFAC9gvvW3JhjPuHDY42HMunceAkBb52cmbP/xss5Pnn9348MGPMms5wg6DAwkGhgNAiodY9RAto2AUjIJRMAqwAgA2TUcCF2FhmQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Cheikh Anta Diop University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Serigne","middleName":"Mansour","lastName":"Diene","suffix":""},{"id":463494661,"identity":"0abc81be-0b4e-4989-8087-78bd6571013f","order_by":1,"name":"Ibrahima Diack","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Cheikh Anta Diop University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ibrahima","middleName":"","lastName":"Diack","suffix":""},{"id":463494662,"identity":"d8a5c60d-cb5b-4f5e-84bf-d0e585668743","order_by":2,"name":"Romain Fernandez","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"CIRAD, UMR AGAP Institut","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Romain","middleName":"","lastName":"Fernandez","suffix":""},{"id":463494663,"identity":"56b04466-98e2-4c37-a025-d42f4cc99316","order_by":3,"name":"Alain Audebert","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"CIRAD, UMR AGAP Institut","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Alain","middleName":"","lastName":"Audebert","suffix":""},{"id":463494664,"identity":"1b8eaf1a-d3c3-4f90-a628-e4a92d0d2938","order_by":4,"name":"Olivier Roupsard","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"LMI IESOL, Centre IRD-ISRA de Bel Air","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Olivier","middleName":"","lastName":"Roupsard","suffix":""},{"id":463494665,"identity":"f9d33e75-3eb6-4024-8c91-fc634ad865c8","order_by":5,"name":"Louise Leroux","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"International Institute of Tropical Agriculture","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Louise","middleName":"","lastName":"Leroux","suffix":""},{"id":463494666,"identity":"c85218a9-dfbe-4a2a-bceb-0a0e4ce6e9c9","order_by":6,"name":"Abdoul Aziz Diouf","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ecological Monitoring Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Abdoul","middleName":"Aziz","lastName":"Diouf","suffix":""},{"id":463494667,"identity":"7bbd8c6b-c140-42d2-b3c5-267cdf6cdcb1","order_by":7,"name":"Harun Cicek","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Research Institute for Organic Agriculture","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Harun","middleName":"","lastName":"Cicek","suffix":""},{"id":463494668,"identity":"1fa64850-2483-4d56-9389-b8fedce03b99","order_by":8,"name":"Moussa Diallo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Cheikh Anta Diop University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Moussa","middleName":"","lastName":"Diallo","suffix":""},{"id":463494669,"identity":"31d2178b-9b99-44c5-bb1d-50f7b45f3af0","order_by":9,"name":"Idrissa Sarr","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Cheikh Anta Diop University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Idrissa","middleName":"","lastName":"Sarr","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-05-16 16:38:10","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6682409/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6682409/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-025-01399-y","type":"published","date":"2025-12-26T15:57:37+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":99172280,"identity":"00e286e1-0943-4341-b3e8-a0a1f74928ca","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-29 16:07:06","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1171700,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Dieneandal2025.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6682409/v1_covered_12c2dc39-64dc-4575-833d-9570f5560cc7.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e‘Probabilistic Atlas’, a new approach to assess complexity in agroforestry systems using UAV images: example of the spatial effect of Faidherbia albida on pearl millet NDVI\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"agroforestry-systems","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"agfo","sideBox":"Learn more about [Agroforestry Systems](http://link.springer.com/journal/10457)","snPcode":"10457","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10457/3","title":"Agroforestry Systems","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Probabilistic Atlas, Distance of influence, Remote sensing, UAV, Agroforestry, Senegal","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6682409/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6682409/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Trees in agroforestry parklands significantly contribute to improving and adapting farming systems while providing ecosystem services. However there is limited information on crop productivity and environmental performance. How do crop growth in such heterogeneous agroforestry systems vary according to distance, crown size, and azimuthal direction ? We use a novel approach based on advanced image analysis derived from medical imaging combined with multispectral imagery (known as the “probabilistic atlas”) to analyze the crop, tree and soil interactions. We analyzed the influence of 72 Faidherbia albida trees on 13 millet fields in 2021 and 2022. Using “Voronoi” diagrams to separate individual trees. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), was used as an indicator to assess the tree effect on pearl millet crop. We observed that, at the early growth stages of millet, the effect of Faidherbia albida on NDVI was stronger near the crown and decreased with distance, reflecting the positive growth influence on millet near canopy. We also observed an effect of azimuthal direction on NDVI. Finally, we found that the effect of Faidherbia albida on NDVI was more significant for trees with a large crown size. These results are a step further in the characterization of spatial tree influence on crops in highly heterogeneous systems, with improvements for e.g. the evaluation of ecosystem services or precision agriculture","manuscriptTitle":"‘Probabilistic Atlas’, a new approach to assess complexity in agroforestry systems using UAV images: example of the spatial effect of Faidherbia albida on pearl millet NDVI","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-05-30 07:00:14","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6682409/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-10-24T18:38:04+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-10-23T11:16:52+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"160395768039243449239237640203334525072","date":"2025-10-15T09:13:23+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"21772655548782400288449481259840686789","date":"2025-10-10T10:58:53+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-09-02T12:29:29+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"75909504285317478608168186755414195199","date":"2025-08-26T11:21:24+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-05-28T11:14:01+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-05-20T11:32:34+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-05-19T15:04:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Agroforestry Systems","date":"2025-05-16T16:27:08+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"agroforestry-systems","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"agfo","sideBox":"Learn more about [Agroforestry Systems](http://link.springer.com/journal/10457)","snPcode":"10457","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10457/3","title":"Agroforestry Systems","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"da340fad-72fa-433f-bef3-2f9968a702e3","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 30th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-12-29T16:00:32+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-6682409","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-025-01399-y","journal":{"identity":"agroforestry-systems","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Agroforestry Systems"},"publishedOn":"2025-12-26 15:57:37","publishedOnDateReadable":"December 26th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-05-30 07:00:14","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s10457-025-01399-y","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-025-01399-y","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6682409","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6682409","identity":"rs-6682409","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}