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Remote Sensing
Volume 18
Issue 12
10.3390/rs18122003
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Article

Quantifying Landsat’s Contributions to U.S. Agricultural and Forestry Applications

by
Ellen Wengert
1,*,
Jordan Rowe
1,
Shankar Nag Ramaseri Chandra
1,
Melanie K. Vanderhoof
2,
Iris J. Garthwaite
3,
Zhuoting Wu
3,
Gregory Snyder
3,
Kimberly Casey
3,
Crista Straub
3,
Daniel Opstal
3 and
Everett Hinkley
4
1
KBR, Inc., U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA 20192, USA
2
Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO 80225, USA
3
National Land Imaging Program, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA 20192, USA
4
USDA Forest Service, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Remote Sens. 2026, 18(12), 2003; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18122003
Submission received: 3 March 2026 / Revised: 21 May 2026 / Accepted: 10 June 2026 / Published: 16 June 2026
(This article belongs to the Section Earth Observation Data)
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Abstract

The Landsat program has provided over 54 years of multispectral imagery, contributing vital information for agricultural and forestry scientific research and operational activities. Freely available Landsat data have enabled scientists to analyze land use patterns, assess ecological impacts, and develop strategies for sustainable management. We explored Landsat’s pivotal role through the lens of the United States Group on Earth Observations 2023 Earth Observation Assessment (EOA). The EOA included comprehensive surveys of more than 2000 federally supported Earth observation data products. We subsequently analyzed how Landsat satellite data and derived products support agricultural and forestry-related priorities compared to other Earth observation inputs. We evaluated both direct and indirect applications of the data, identifying key users across federal agencies and assessing how Landsat data contribute to critical products, services, and objectives. The results indicate that Landsat provides key information to support diverse activities across agriculture and forestry sectors, such as enhancing food supply, improving resilience to disaster and disturbance events, maximizing ecosystem productivity and conservation, and supporting regulatory requirements and decision-making. The Landsat OLI and TIRS sensors ranked 4th and 10th, respectively, out of 1171 Earth observation inputs identified in the study, underscoring their value to agriculture and forestry.
Keywords: forestry; agriculture; Landsat; remote sensing; Earth observation forestry; agriculture; Landsat; remote sensing; Earth observation

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Wengert, E.; Rowe, J.; Ramaseri Chandra, S.N.; Vanderhoof, M.K.; Garthwaite, I.J.; Wu, Z.; Snyder, G.; Casey, K.; Straub, C.; Opstal, D.; et al. Quantifying Landsat’s Contributions to U.S. Agricultural and Forestry Applications. Remote Sens. 2026, 18, 2003. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18122003

AMA Style

Wengert E, Rowe J, Ramaseri Chandra SN, Vanderhoof MK, Garthwaite IJ, Wu Z, Snyder G, Casey K, Straub C, Opstal D, et al. Quantifying Landsat’s Contributions to U.S. Agricultural and Forestry Applications. Remote Sensing. 2026; 18(12):2003. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18122003

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wengert, Ellen, Jordan Rowe, Shankar Nag Ramaseri Chandra, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Iris J. Garthwaite, Zhuoting Wu, Gregory Snyder, Kimberly Casey, Crista Straub, Daniel Opstal, and et al. 2026. "Quantifying Landsat’s Contributions to U.S. Agricultural and Forestry Applications" Remote Sensing 18, no. 12: 2003. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18122003

APA Style

Wengert, E., Rowe, J., Ramaseri Chandra, S. N., Vanderhoof, M. K., Garthwaite, I. J., Wu, Z., Snyder, G., Casey, K., Straub, C., Opstal, D., & Hinkley, E. (2026). Quantifying Landsat’s Contributions to U.S. Agricultural and Forestry Applications. Remote Sensing, 18(12), 2003. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18122003

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