Winter soil cover by vegetation is associated with multiple benefits. In this study, winter soil cover rate before spring-sown crops was estimated for mainland France from multispectral imagery. For 67% and 84% of the area under spring-sown crops for years 2018 and 2019, soil cover during the previous winter was estimated through the computation of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), using Sentinel-2 multispectral images. At country scale, winter soil cover rate before spring-sown crops was estimated between 37% and 48% for 2018 and between 31% and 43% for 2019, depending on the NDVI threshold for a soil to be considered covered by at least 50% of vegetation. Spatial patterns were relatively similar between the two years studied, highlighting strong heterogeneities between French departments. Cropping systems may explain some of these heterogeneities, as it has been shown that there is a large variability in the soil cover rate between spring-sown crops, but also depending on the previous crop. Winter soil cover rate was higher for crops associated with livestock production, such as maize silage (between 59% and 74% of plots covered before this crop). It was also shown that winter soil cover could be ensured by other means than cover crops: temporary grasslands were the previous crop with the highest soil cover, probably due to late ploughing. For these reasons, mixed systems combining livestock and crop productions may be a solution to increase winter soil cover before spring-sown crops.

植被覆盖的冬季土壤具有多种效益。在这项研究中，根据多光谱图像估计了法国大陆在春播作物之前的冬季土壤覆盖率。对于 2018 年和 2019 年春播作物面积的 67% 和 84%，使用 Sentinel-2 多光谱图像通过计算归一化差异植被指数 (NDVI) 估算了前一个冬季的土壤覆盖。在国家范围内，2018 年春播作物前的冬季土壤覆盖率估计在 37% 至 48% 之间，2019 年在 31% 至 43% 之间，这取决于土壤被认为至少被覆盖 50% 的 NDVI 阈值植被。研究的两年之间的空间模式相对相似，突出了法国部门之间的强烈异质性。种植系统可以解释其中的一些异质性，因为已经表明春播作物之间的土壤覆盖率存在很大差异，但也取决于先前的作物。与畜牧生产相关的作物的冬季土壤覆盖率较高，例如玉米青贮饲料（在该作物之前覆盖的地块的 59% 至 74%）。还表明，冬季土壤覆盖可以通过覆盖作物以外的其他方式来确保：临时草原是土壤覆盖最高的前一茬作物，可能是由于耕作晚。由于这些原因，结合牲畜和作物生产的混合系统可能是在春播作物之前增加冬季土壤覆盖的解决方案。但也取决于以前的作物。与畜牧生产相关的作物的冬季土壤覆盖率较高，例如玉米青贮饲料（在该作物之前覆盖的地块的 59% 至 74%）。还表明，冬季土壤覆盖可以通过覆盖作物以外的其他方式来确保：临时草原是土壤覆盖最高的前一茬作物，可能是由于耕作晚。由于这些原因，结合牲畜和作物生产的混合系统可能是在春播作物之前增加冬季土壤覆盖的解决方案。但也取决于以前的作物。与畜牧生产相关的作物的冬季土壤覆盖率较高，例如玉米青贮饲料（在该作物之前覆盖的地块的 59% 至 74%）。还表明，冬季土壤覆盖可以通过覆盖作物以外的其他方式来确保：临时草原是土壤覆盖最高的前一茬作物，可能是由于耕作晚。由于这些原因，结合牲畜和作物生产的混合系统可能是在春播作物之前增加冬季土壤覆盖的解决方案。临时草地是前一季土壤覆盖度最高的作物，可能是由于耕作晚。由于这些原因，结合牲畜和作物生产的混合系统可能是在春播作物之前增加冬季土壤覆盖的解决方案。临时草地是前一季土壤覆盖度最高的作物，可能是由于耕作晚。由于这些原因，结合牲畜和作物生产的混合系统可能是在春播作物之前增加冬季土壤覆盖的解决方案。