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.
