Grassland makes up around 40 percent of the Earth’s land mass; the livelihood of around two billion people worldwide is directly dependent it. Grassland serves as pasture for livestock, performs important ecosystem functions ssuch as carbon storage and guarantees food security for a growing world population.
Digitalized and automated recognition of plant species and analysis of crop growth assists not only in grassland management but also in validating funding applications for environmental initiatives. UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) technology shows great potential here: a variety of camera and sensor technologies collect high-resolution spatial and temporal information in the visible and infrared spectrum. With the aid of machine learning and artificial intelligence, the 2D image material and 3D models can be used to establish species composition in area of grassland as well as the quantity and quality of the vegetation to be found there.
Such information is a prerequisite for precision farming and can therefore help to reduce the total quantity of fertilizers and pesticides consumed and to optimize pasture management.