EO Capability Benefits
Monitoring crop phenology provides critical insights into the identification and timing of growth stages. Understanding these phenological dynamics using satellite time-series data is crucial for the optimization of planting and harvesting timings and practices, yield estimation, crop rotation planning, green biomass estimation, and sustainable land management.
EO Capability Description
Crop phenology is the study of the timing and sequence of distinct stages in the crop life cycle, from the time seed germination takes place to final maturity and aging of the crop. These stages, called phenological stages, of a particular crop are expected to take place at the same time each year within a specific bioclimatic region.
Crop type maps are among the primary inputs for land surface phenology metrics, including start of season, end of season, length of season and peak of season, which represent the key metrics for assessing crop development. Different remote sensing techniques are used to monitor seasonal growth stages using time-series analysis of different indices derived from optical (e.g NDVI, EVI, LAI) data, as well as radar data. Multiple EO data sources, including hyperspectral, LiDAR and in-situ information are often used and combined to improve accuracy. Modern advances in multi-sensor fusion and AI-driven analytics are making EO-based crop phenological monitoring more precise and scalable.