Automatic determination of grassland use intensities by means of satellite image time series

Background and Objective

The high spatial and temporal resolution of the Sentinel satellites (one image taken every 2 to 3 days) of the European Copernicus Earth Observation Programme makes it possible to acquire information on land use with high spatial and temporal resolution. Based on the remote sensing data, the intensity of use of permanent grassland is to be determined nationwide throughout Germany.

This comprehensive information is an important basis for the assessment of grassland, in particular with regard to the provision of feedstuffs and questions of nature and resource conservation. On the basis of the targeted data set, it is possible, for example, to estimate the extent of the potential of individual areas and regions and, in particular, to improve policy impact assessments for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The following objectives are to be achieved:

1. development of methods for the automatic determination of usage intensities in permanent pastureland from sentinel remote sensing data
2. Germany-wide mapping and provision of current spatial information on the intensity of use of permanent pastureland in Germany

Approach

The following steps will be carried out in this project:

• Creation of a database for validation data,
• merge different data types and develop indicators to describe the intensity of use in grassland
• Development of a method for determining the usage intensity of permanent grassland Germany-wide
• Transfer of the method
• Validation of the methods based on the established database

Links and Downloads

http://esa-sen4cap.org/

http://www.copernicus.eu/