Case Study: ADAS – Using EO to improve Natural Resource Management Pesticide Risk

This project was selected through an SSGP competition run using Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), supported by Innovate UK.

Invasive rushes (Juncus spp.) reduce ecological and economic value of grassland. Their treatment with pesticides pose a significant risk to our environment by breaching stringent water quality (WQ) standards under the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) and associated national legislation.

MCPA herbicide treatments can leach into water courses making it difficult to treat and may breach UK/EU WFD water quality standards.

This project aimed to utilise very high resolution (VHR) EO imagery to identify rush abundance and enable development of specific pesticide risk maps to help target management treatments.

The project used multispectral VHR EO imagery, DTM & NBN data to develop novel Juncus classification algorithm with 69% predictive accuracy based on field calibration & validation.EO-derived rush abundance data was used to develop specific pesticide risk map product.

The produced Juncus and pesticide risk maps help target “weed wiper” activities, prioritising resources onto high risk areas.

Lessons Learned

The project team found out that:

• Critical importance of ground truthing rush algorithm predictions: confusion between Juncus/Molinia & Juncus/silage grass
• Constraints in geospatial data (e.g. NBN) mean EO has significant potential to help prioritise & target catchment-based management

Costs and Benefits

Potential cost for operational satellite application in a subsequent phase is estimated to be in the region of c.£250k (+VAT).

Savings/benefits possible by using new EO products in case study area include:

• Pesticide risk reduced by 76% using EO-derived rush abundance & pesticide risk maps
• Resources saved by not visiting 15% of farms which were found not to have substantial rush abundance
• For farms with rushes, resources saved by targeting herbicide to 30-50% of land area based on field-scale rush abundance & pesticide risk assessment maps
• Reduced risk of UK/EU fines for non-compliance with WFD water quality standards
• Operational ability to monitor changes over both time and space (annual updates)

Next Steps

Further developments in the next phase of the project include:

• Improved accuracy of rush algorithm (field calibration; additional EO sources (e.g. TerraSAR-X)
• Extended approach to other problematic pesticides (e.g. metaldehyde), land uses, catchments and/or UK regions
• Operationalised output products