Yield and biomass maps
This product is a series of biomass and yield maps and all intermediate variables used to estimate them together with derived estimates of net annual CO2 fluxes and the yearly carbon (C) budget.
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Output Description
This product consists of maps of the cash crop's final biomass production and yield and the intermediate variables estimated to calculate them (annual crop photosynthesis, crop respiration, above and below-ground biomass). The net yearly CO2 fluxes components, the annual carbon (C) budget, the cover crop/spontaneous re-growth/weeds biomass and evapotranspiration (ETR) can be estimated.
The modelling approach for simulating the biomass, yield, evapotranspiration, CO2 fluxes and annual carbon budget and water budgets of croplands is based on two remote sensing products: 1. the land cover maps and 2. Leaf Area Index (LAI) maps. An empirical crop model (SAFYE-CO2) was adapted and combined with the FAO-56 soil water budget module. The total biomass is the difference between photosynthesis and autotrophic respiration. Then it is separated into two components: maintenance and growth respiration. The biomass is allocated to above ground, below ground, leaf and yield. The net CO2 flux is calculated as the sum of total biomass and soil respiration. The model is parametrised for each crop species, but it doesn’t need field management data to estimate biomass and yield. Therefore, the model is very suitable for large scale applications.
Relevance for monitoring and evaluation of the CAP
The biomass and yield maps are very relevant and helpful for monitoring and evaluation for two reasons. First, they offer direct estimates of biomass and yields and provide data of all intermediate Earth Observations used to calculate biomass and yields. Second, biomass estimates can be used in models that calculate CO2 fluxes and the net annual carbon budget and evapotranspiration.
Biomass and yield estimates can be used, together with the crop type maps tool, to monitor the existence of cover crops, approximate the value of production, or estimate average parcel productivity. Calculation of CO2 fluxes and the net annual carbon budget can be used for evaluating the impacts of policy interventions on carbon sequestration. Finally, evapotranspiration estimates are essential for estimating irrigation needs and triangulating other ancillary data used to model irrigation needs.
The algorithm has been validated by field observations in South West France for winter wheat, sunflower, and maize. Field observations included evapotranspiration and CO2 fluxes measured at two Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) flux sites near Toulouse, the Leaf Area Index (LAI), biomass and yield measured during destructive sampling campaigns and LAI estimated employing Digital Hemispherical Photographs (DHP). The tool was validated at the proof-of-concept stage of development and is easily transferable to other regions and Member States because it does not need any field management data to estimate biomass and yield.
Relevance of the output per CAP Objectives
- Specific Objective 4 - Climate change action
- Specific Objective 5 - Environmental care
Data collection systems used:
- Copernicus
Type of output:
- New / improved data for M&E
- Visualisation tools
Associated evaluation approaches:
- Desk research
- Data analysis
- Impact evaluation ongoing
Spatial scale:
- Parcel
Project information
Sentinels Synergy for Agriculture
SENSAGRI aims to exploit the unprecedented capacity of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites and develop an innovative portfolio of prototype agricultural monitoring services.
SENSAGRI’s goals are:
- To combine the Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar with Sentinel-2 optical measurements and in-situ data to develop new applications and market opportunities for the European agricultural sector.
- Develop prototype Copernicus services of Surface Soil Moisture (SSM), green and brown Leaf Area Indices (LAI) and seasonal crop type mapping and use those for proof-of-concept services of advanced agricultural monitoring products.
- Validate delivered services and establish service demonstration cases to show the large application potential of the new upstream data products.
- Disseminate prototype and proof-of-concept services and interact services with the agricultural sector.
Project’s timeframe: 2016 – 2019
Contacts of project holder: Antonio Ruiz-Verdú, Laboratory for Earth Observation – Image Processing Laboratory, University of Valencia (Spain) antonio.ruiz@uv.es
CORDIS database: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/730074Open link in new window
Territorial coverage: France, Italy, Poland, Spain