H2020 SENSAGRI Project: Sentinel Synergy for Agriculture
- Type Project
- Status Filled
- Execution 2016 -2019
- Assigned Budget 1.854.757,5 €
- Scope Europeo
- Main source of financing H2020
- Project website SENSAGRI
Sentinels Synergy for Agriculture (SENSAGRI) aimed to provide Copernicus, the European Union's Earth observation program, with prototypes for new essential services targeting the agricultural sector. Copernicus is an ambitious program that generates a wealth of information from a constellation of satellites, the Sentinels, with a free and open data policy. While some useful services for the agricultural sector have already been implemented, there is enormous potential for new applications and services. Two of the Copernicus satellite missions, Sentinel-1 (S1) and Sentinel-2 (S2), are particularly well-suited to agricultural applications. Both satellites acquire high spatial resolution images (down to 10 m) with high frequency (every five days or less) and are therefore capable of providing highly dynamic field information on a pan-European scale. In response to the Horizon 2020 work programme topic EO-3-2016 (Evolution of Copernicus Services), SENSAGRI aimed to exploit the unprecedented capabilities of S1 and S2 to develop an innovative portfolio of prototypes for agricultural monitoring services. SENSAGRI has exploited the synergy of optical (S1) and radar (S2) measurements to develop three prototype services capable of operating in near real-time: (1) Soil Surface Moisture (SSM), (2) Green and Brown Leaf Area Index (LAI), and (3) Crop Type Mapping. In addition, SENSAGRI proposes four advanced proof-of-concept services: (i) Yield/Biomass, (ii) Tillage Change, (iii) Irrigation, and (iv) Advanced Crop Maps. The developed algorithms have been validated in four European agricultural test areas in Spain, France, Italy, and Poland, which are representative of European crop diversity. To ensure that prototypes are developed in compliance with the strategic objectives of Copernicus Land, regular communication was maintained with the Copernicus Trusted Entities throughout the project lifetime. Continuous engagement was also maintained with other similar projects to maximize synergies and complementarities. The main objectives achieved by the SENSAGRI project are: 1. To combine the Copernicus S1 radar with S2 optical and in-situ data to develop new applications for the European agricultural sector; 2. To develop prototype services for SSM, green and brown LAI, and seasonal crop type mapping and use them for proof-of-concept services for advanced agricultural monitoring products; 3. To validate the delivered services and establish service demonstration cases to showcase the large application potential of the new upstream data products; 4. To disseminate prototype and proof-of-concept services and interact with the agricultural sector and the Copernicus Trusted Entities.
During the three years of the project, work focused on developing the algorithms, implementing the software, producing product sets, and validating SENSAGRI's proof-of-concept prototypes and services with field data.
The project partners agreed on the measurement procedures for all generated products, the sampling strategy for validation, and error metrics. All required instrumentation and methods were installed at the test sites, and two campaigns were conducted at the four main sites over two consecutive years.
To ensure efficient data exchange and storage, a repository of data products, images, and services was implemented. Partners uploaded the generated products, as well as field data sets obtained at the test sites.
A summary of the project's main achievements was presented at the Final Review meeting, where the consortium identified the following issues:
- SENSAGRI offers mature and validated prototypes, capable of being integrated into operational processing chains.
- Some of the products and/or their combined use have demonstrated high potential as a basis for CAP monitoring procedures.
All products feature improvements over current and future Copernicus Ground Services, whether in the accuracy achieved (e.g., SCM), the spatiotemporal resolution (SSM), or the statistical information provided (standard deviation for SSM or model CV for IAF).
We offer novel and innovative products (LAI Brown Index, tillage changes, irrigation event detection, early crop maps without current year reference data), which are not currently available in Copernicus.
The project has put significant effort into validating the products offered. In addition to its use throughout the life of the project, the valuable field data obtained could be used later.
The implementation and transfer of the Living Lab was successful and allowed us to understand the potential impact of SENSAGRI products in a wide range of possible application domains.
A complete set of products from European test sites is publicly available, serving as a good showcase of the project's achievements and allowing for inspection by potential users.
The products are accessible through a web GIS.
Sentinels Synergy for Agriculture (SENSAGRI) aimed to provide Copernicus, the European Union's Earth observation program, with prototypes for new essential services targeting the agricultural sector.
Copernicus is an ambitious program that generates a wealth of information from a constellation of satellites, the Sentinels, with a free and open data policy. While some useful services for the agricultural sector have already been implemented, there is enormous potential for new applications and services. Two of the Copernicus satellite missions, Sentinel-1 (S1) and Sentinel-2 (S2), are particularly well-suited to agricultural applications. Both satellites acquire high spatial resolution images (down to 10 m) with high frequency (every five days or less) and are therefore capable of providing highly dynamic field information on a pan-European scale.
In response to the Horizon 2020 work programme topic EO-3-2016 (Evolution of Copernicus Services), SENSAGRI aimed to exploit the unprecedented capabilities of S1 and S2 to develop an innovative portfolio of prototypes for agricultural monitoring services. SENSAGRI has exploited the synergy of optical (S1) and radar (S2) measurements to develop three prototype services capable of operating in near real-time: (1) Soil Surface Moisture (SSM), (2) Green and Brown Leaf Area Index (LAI), and (3) Crop Type Mapping. In addition, SENSAGRI proposes four advanced proof-of-concept services: (i) Yield/Biomass, (ii) Tillage Change, (iii) Irrigation, and (iv) Advanced Crop Maps.
The developed algorithms have been validated in four European agricultural test sites in Spain, France, Italy, and Poland, which are representative of European crop diversity. To ensure that the prototypes were developed in compliance with Copernicus Land's strategic objectives, regular communication was maintained with the Copernicus Trusted Entities throughout the project's lifetime. Continuous engagement was also maintained with other similar projects to maximize synergies and complementarities.
The main objectives achieved by the SENSAGRI project are:
- Combining the Copernicus S1 radar with optical and in-situ data from S2 to develop new applications for the European agricultural sector.
- Develop prototype SSM, green and brown LAI, and seasonal crop type mapping services and use them for proof-of-concept services for advanced agricultural monitoring products.
- Validate delivered services and establish service demonstration cases to showcase the significant application potential of new upstream data products.
- Disseminate prototype and proof-of-concept services and interact with the agricultural sector and Copernicus Trusted Entities.
In the emerging Copernicus Earth monitoring era, Europe provides Earth Observation (OT) data from Sentinel-1 (S1) and Sentinel-2 (S2) based on a free and open data policy. In response to the OT work programme 'OT-3-2016: Evaluation of Copernicus Services', Sentinels Synergy for Agriculture (SENSAGRI) aims to exploit the unprecedented capacity of S1 and S2 to develop an innovative portfolio of prototype agricultural monitoring services.
When used independently, optical or radar sensors enable the mapping of crop types. However, more robust, accurate, frequently updated, and comprehensive crop maps are expected from the rarely exploited synergy of both types of measurements. The same is true when it comes to crop condition, health, and stress. Experimental studies have shown that the fusion of optical and radar data opens up prospects for improved monitoring capabilities.
SENSAGRI will leverage the synergy of optical and radar measurements to develop three prototype services capable of operating in near real-time: (1) soil surface moisture (SSM), (2) green and brown leaf area index (LAI), and (3) crop type mapping. These prototypes will provide a basis for advanced services that can boost the competitiveness of the European agro-industrial sector.
SENSAGRI proposes four advanced proof-of-concept services: (i) yield/biomass, (ii) tillage shift, (iii) irrigation, and (iv) advanced crop maps. The algorithms will be developed and validated in four European agricultural test sites in Spain, France, Italy, and Poland, representative of European crop diversity, and their utility will be demonstrated in at least two non-European countries.
To refine product specifications and iteratively evaluate services, stakeholders from the agricultural sector will be engaged using a Living Lab approach. The combination of a user-centered approach and cutting-edge algorithms will establish a solid basis for decision-making on a new Copernicus land service.
SENSAGRI seeks to overcome the limitations of current Copernicus products for agricultural applications, which are often unsuitable for most European agricultural areas due to their low spatial resolution, low temporal frequency, or the discrepancy between their delivery time and the moment when the products are most useful to stakeholders.
The services proposed in SENSAGRI could provide high-spatial-resolution agricultural information suitable for field-scale monitoring applications on a pan-European scale. They could feed into various information and decision-support systems operated by public or private organizations and serve as the basis for subsequent new Copernicus services in the agro-industrial sector.
- UNIVERSITAT DE VALENCIA (UV)
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