The Universe of Trees: a journey from Space to Earth. Sustainability and digital trees: the role of satellites, in-situ sensors and citizen science.
- Paper number
IAC-24,B5,1,4,x86879
- Author
Dr. Stefano Ferretti, European Space Agency (ESA), Austria
- Coauthor
Dr. Laura Perez-Martin, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain
- Coauthor
Mr. Fabrizio Pera, SERCO for ESA, Italy
- Coauthor
Mr. Massimiliano Ferrante, Telespazio, Italy
- Coauthor
Dr. Matilda Van den Bosch, Italy
- Coauthor
Mr. Pietro Maroè, Italy
- Coauthor
Dr. Francesco Sarti, ESA, Italy
- Year
2024
- Abstract
Trees and forests play a major role in terrestrial ecosystems: they contribute to carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, regulation of the water cycle, soil health and nutrients. Trees also provide several cultural and socio-economic benefits as highlighted in the UN Agenda 2030 and its associated Sustainable Development Goals. Today satellites, drones, in-situ sensors and specialized visual inspections provide real-time data on the physical, chemical and biological status of trees. Traditionally, monitoring tree health is carried out by expert arborists who conduct visual examinations. Tools such as dendropenetrometers, tomographs, sonar and radars are often used to determine water distribution, wood density, and root distribution in the soil, indicating the tree's health, structure, and growth patterns. In-situ sensors and automated platforms placed in soil, plants, and air can provide valuable information. Since 2019, the European Space Agency (ESA) carried out citizen science campaigns with a pre-cursor IoT platform monitoring air quality (AQP), which then evolved into the Health Tree Platform (HTP). With these platforms any citizen can measure the health status of trees through the acquisition of parameters such as oscillation, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), near-infrared bands (NIR) of leaves, and environmental variables such as wind speed and soil moisture. This in-situ data can be fused with EO data (e.g. Sentinel-2, Sentinel-3, Sentinel-5p). This Health Tree Platform (HTP) can be assembled by any citizen, and it is linked to a dedicated ESA web platform that collects and visualizes the combined in-situ and satellite datasets. This approach ensures a free and open access to the data, promotes the outreach of the benefits that trees provide to society, favor the dissemination of scientific principles, and allows the testing of affordable IoT technologies in the field by any citizens. This paper explores the various benefits of trees, discuss the methods and new technologies (including EO satellites, AI algorithms and digital twins) in monitoring trees and forests in terrestrial ecosystems and underlines the role of open science and collaboration in advancing ecological and environmental studies.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-24,B5,1,4,x86879.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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