Locust Habitat
EO Capability Benefits
Earth Observation (EO) enables continuous, wide-area monitoring of the environmental conditions that determine the habitat of the desert locust. By integrating optical, radar, meteorological, and environmental satellite data, EO allows for the timely detection of both biotic and abiotic factors that are favourable for breeding and surviving the hopper stage. This particularly supports targeted surveillance and control operations to reduce the number of locust outbreaks and thereby reduce the impact on food security and farmer livelihoods.
EO Capability Description
EO-based locust habitat monitoring applications rely on integrating satellite-based environmental indicators with in-situ locust presence observations through ecological modelling. These models quantify habitat suitability and thereby enable spatially detailed and timely insights into habitat dynamics over large regions.
Optical sensors, such as Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3, provide multispectral data that can be used to derive vegetation indices, which indicate vegetation availability and acts as potential food for freshly hatched hoppers.
Different topographic and soil conditions lead to different breeding potential for desert locust. Topographic data (elevation, slope) are available through Digital Elevation Models (DEM) at varying scales. Information on topsoil texture (e.g. sandiness) can be retrieved from ancillary sources. Soil moisture can be approximated using operational Scatterometer or SAR sensors aboard satellites (e.g. Sentinel-1, ASCAT).
Combining above data with meteorological parameters such as precipitation and temperature and in-situ observations allows for near-real time mapping of habitat suitability.
