This new generation of Earth observation is of particular interest to agriculture, as Copernicus and its satellites Sentinel-1 (radar sensors) and Sentinel-2 (multispectral sensors) offer, for the first time, the possibility of observing various aspects of farming at the field level in short successive intervals. Both environmental conditions, such as soil moisture, and plant growth itself can thus be continuously monitored and used to optimize and adapt land management. However, before the Earth's surface scanned by the satellites can be used for practical agriculture in the form of radar and multispectral data, intensive scientific analysis in two steps is required. First, the raw data must be processed so that it is usable for specific applications; this includes atmospheric correction, geometric and radiometric correction, masking and evaluation of cloud cover, calculation of vegetation indices, etc. In a second step, the relationships between crop observations and satellite data are systematically investigated.
The SatGrass pilot study investigated the relationship between multispectral Copernicus satellite data and the qualitative and quantitative development of grassland stands. Using continuous destructive and non-destructive measurements repeated weekly on a specially designed grassland field trial, embedded within a commercial field, the study, in combination with climatic factors, examined whether and how well remote sensing data are suitable for the qualitative and quantitative description of grassland growth dynamics.
The two-year project was designed as a pilot study to better assess the scope of work, data collection possibilities, and the potential of the results. The aim was to use the experience gained to launch a significantly larger research project.
Schaumberger, A. and Klingler, A. (2020): Use of remote sensing and climate data to describe yield and quality dynamics in grassland, final report, HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein, Irdning-Donnersbachtal, 28 pp.
