How GO OLIVE CARBON BALANCE can "see" from space the carbon sequestered by olive trees

Recently, Pedro Hernández , from the InnoTech Think Tank , has published details of the project on the GO OLIVE CARBON BALANCE website and how it manages to unravel such curious questions as whether there is a way to know how many tons of carbon an organic olive grove is storing without having to examine each tree .

The article places the case study on the Santa Sofía plot (Luque Ecológico, Castro del Río, Córdoba) as a "living laboratory" where remote sensing —mainly with Sentinel-2 (Copernicus) —allows the inference of the olive grove's carbon balance from vegetation vigor and humidity indicators.

Furthermore, the text details why olive groves are key to the climate fight, stating that Spain has more than 2.7 million hectares of olive groves , a sink that stores carbon in trees, soil, and vegetation cover . Ecological management can enhance sequestration, and therefore the GO-OLIVE CARBON BALANCE (OCB) project seeks to quantify and optimize this balance to generate climate and economic benefits for farmers.

This is how the health of the olive grove is "read"

The team calculates six vegetative indices (NDVI, NDRE, GNDVI, EVI, SAVI, and NDMI) from multispectral images to construct an "electrocardiogram" of the crop. Its project description states that the most important indicators are, on the one hand, the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), which reflects vigor and photosynthetic activity . High values (deep green) imply full photosynthesis and, therefore, greater CO₂ capture . On the other hand, the NDMI (Normalized Difference Wetness Index) , or "thirst detector," which estimates leaf water content . Low values warn of water stress (stomatal closure), which reduces CO₂ absorption .

Evidence in Hagia Sophia

The first data collected show partial results indicating that:

• NDVI : the time series shows the autumn-winter “awakening” of plant vigor.
• NDMI : Maps and graphs reveal variations linked to rainfall and climate , useful for anticipating water stress .
• Other indices (NDRE, EVI, SAVI, GNDVI) refine the diagnosis (e.g., chlorophyll and soil effect ), with NDRE mapping leaf variability.

A map of opportunities: from data to decisions

Index maps segment the most productive or at-risk areas, which will form the basis of a future Decision Support System (DSS) that will issue operational warnings (e.g., localized water stress, optimal timing of cover management or harvesting), moving toward precision agriculture that optimizes resources and maximizes carbon sequestration .

In addition to improving management, the approach opens the door to certification and valorization of carbon credits , reinforcing the role of olive groves in sustainability and the fight against climate change .

GO-OLIVE CARBON BALANCE is a collaborative project with centers from the CSIC , Ecovalia , AEMO , the University of Jaén , and the InnoTech Think Tank (remote sensing and DSS). Its mission: to innovate for a more sustainable, resilient, and profitable olive grove.

Source: Article “ The Carbon Pulse: How We “See” Olive Grove Health from Space ”, by Pedro Hernández (Think Tank InnoTech) , published on the GO-OLIVE CARBON BALANCE (OCB) project website.