As the spring season is just around the corner, the Living Wales team prepares for the field measurement campaign for 2019. A list of key environmental variables has been prepared for the campaign this year. The variables have been selected based on their importance in generating up to date Land Cover map and also their capability to reflect on the dynamics of Welsh ecosystems.

We promote measurements of these variables throughout the Wales in 2019 targeting different vegetation types. This should generate a good representative field dataset that could then be effectively used to improve and validate our algorithms developed for retrieving these variables from earth observation data over Wales. You can click on the variables below to find out more about the standard methods for measurement.

Also, the ideal periods for recoding observations have been illustrated in the ANNUAL CYCLES to help people synchronise their measurements with others taking part in the campaign using EarthTrackWales mobile app.

  1. Life form (trees, shrubs, grasses)
  2. Leaf type (broadleaf, conifer, aphyllous)
  3. Phenology (evergreen, deciduous)
  4. Canopy cover
  5. Canopy height
  6. Crop type
  7. Tree species
  8. Canopy layers
  9. Woody biomass
  10. Non-photosynthetic vegetation (especially spread of bracken and Molinia)

We also have selected few more variables that would capture weather driven seasonal changes in the land cover. These are:

  1. Water seasonality
  2. Snow cover