ECoLaSS · Project

Satellite-Based Land Monitoring Tools That Track Crops, Forests and Urban Change Automatically

environmentTestedTRL 6

Imagine having a camera in space that photographs every field, forest and city block in Europe every few days. This project figured out how to turn those millions of satellite photos into useful maps — showing where crops are growing, where grasslands are shrinking, and how land use is changing over time. They built working prototypes that were tested across sites in Europe and Africa, covering everything from crop health tracking to detecting when forests turn into farmland. The goal was to upgrade Europe's existing land monitoring system so governments and businesses get better, faster information about what's happening on the ground.

By the numbers

Total project deliverables produced

Consortium partners involved

Countries represented in consortium

EUR 2,000,000

EU contribution to the project

Sentinel satellites used (Sentinel-1, -2, -3)

40%

Industry ratio in consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Companies in agriculture, insurance, and environmental consulting need accurate, up-to-date information about what is happening on the land — which crops are growing where, whether forests are shrinking, how grasslands are changing. Getting this data traditionally requires expensive ground surveys or fragmented satellite products that don't update fast enough. Without reliable land monitoring, businesses make decisions based on outdated maps and incomplete information.

The solution

What was built

The project built pre-operational prototype products for satellite-based land monitoring: crop area and crop status maps, permanent grassland tracking, land cover and land use classification, high-resolution layer updates, and time-series change indicators. All prototypes were delivered as raster datasets with INSPIRE-compliant metadata, tested across multiple demonstration sites in Europe and Africa, totaling 58 deliverables.

Audience

Who needs this

Precision agriculture and agri-tech companies needing crop monitoring at scaleAgricultural insurance companies verifying land use claimsEnvironmental consultancies doing regulatory land use reportingNational mapping and land registry agencies upgrading monitoring systemsForestry management companies tracking vegetation changes

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Agriculture & Agri-food

any

Target: Precision agriculture companies, crop insurance providers, agri-tech firms

If you are an agricultural technology company dealing with unreliable crop monitoring data — this project developed satellite-based crop area and crop status products that track agricultural land use across entire regions. The prototypes were tested at multiple sites across Europe and Africa, covering diverse growing conditions. With 58 deliverables including dedicated crop monitoring datasets, this gives you production-ready methods for building commercial crop intelligence services.

Environmental Consulting & Land Management

mid-size

Target: Environmental consultancies, forestry management companies, land registry offices

If you are an environmental consultancy struggling to track land cover changes for regulatory reporting — this project built automated tools that detect changes in forests, grasslands, and urban areas using Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, and Sentinel-3 satellite data combined. The prototypes include high-resolution land cover and land use products with INSPIRE-compliant metadata, ready for integration into existing GIS workflows. Five partner organizations across 4 countries validated these methods at demonstration sites spanning multiple bio-geographic regions.

Insurance & Risk Assessment

enterprise

Target: Agricultural insurers, catastrophe risk modelers, reinsurance companies

If you are an insurance company that needs accurate, up-to-date land use data to assess agricultural or environmental risk — this project created time-series indicators that track how land changes over seasons and years. The permanent grassland monitoring products can verify whether insured agricultural land is being used as declared. These prototype datasets were tested across multiple European sites, giving you a foundation for automated claims verification and portfolio risk assessment.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to access or license these land monitoring products?

The project developed pre-operational prototypes for Copernicus Land Services, which are publicly funded EU services. The underlying Sentinel satellite data is free and open. However, the specific processing methods and algorithms developed by GAF AG and consortium partners may require licensing arrangements for commercial use. Contact the coordinator for pricing details.

Can these monitoring tools scale to cover large geographic areas?

Yes — the prototypes were specifically designed for pan-European operational roll-out with potential for global applications. They were tested across demonstration sites in both Europe and Africa, covering multiple bio-geographic regions and biomes. The system processes Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, and Sentinel-3 data, which provide continuous global coverage.

Who owns the intellectual property and how can we license it?

The project was coordinated by GAF AG, a German private company, with a consortium of 5 partners across 4 countries. IP arrangements would typically follow the consortium agreement. Based on available project data, the prototypes were built to feed into Copernicus CORE services, but value-added downstream applications may be separately licensable through individual partners.

Is this technology ready for commercial deployment?

The project produced pre-operational prototypes — meaning the methods work and have been validated, but they were designed as inputs for future operational Copernicus services rather than standalone commercial products. The objective explicitly mentions expected market opportunities from 2020 onwards. The 58 deliverables with INSPIRE-compliant metadata suggest a high degree of operational maturity.

How does this integrate with existing GIS and monitoring systems?

All prototype datasets come with INSPIRE-compliant metadata, which is the EU standard for spatial data interoperability. This means the outputs are designed to plug into existing geographic information systems. The raster data formats used are standard across the geospatial industry, making integration straightforward.

What regulatory requirements does this help with?

Copernicus Land Services support EU environmental policies including the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) monitoring, LULUCF regulation compliance, and biodiversity reporting. The crop area products and land use change detection tools directly address mandatory environmental reporting requirements across EU member states.

Consortium

Who built it

The ECoLaSS consortium of 5 partners across 4 countries (Austria, Belgium, Germany, France) is led by GAF AG, a well-established German geospatial company — not an SME, which signals serious commercial capacity. With a 40% industry ratio (2 industrial partners out of 5), the project balances scientific rigor with market orientation. The mix includes 1 university, 2 research organizations, and 1 SME alongside the coordinator. This composition suggests the technology was developed with operational deployment in mind, not just academic publication. For a EUR 2,000,000 project, the relatively compact consortium means concentrated expertise and clearer IP ownership — fewer partners to negotiate with for licensing.

GAF AGCoordinator · DE
JOANNEUM RESEARCH FORSCHUNGSGESELLSCHAFT MBHparticipant · AT
UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAINparticipant · BE
DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FUR LUFT - UND RAUMFAHRT EVparticipant · DE
COLLECTE LOCALISATION SATELLITESparticipant · FR

How to reach the team

GAF AG is a German geospatial services company. Their team can be reached through the project website or CORDIS contact form.

Order a report on this consortium See GAF AG profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to use satellite land monitoring in your business? SciTransfer can connect you directly with the ECoLaSS team and help you evaluate which prototype products match your specific needs.

Order a report on this topic More in Environment & Climate