CatchMaps

PROJECT OVERVIEW: CatchMaps Ltd, based near Shrewsbury, work to help UK farmers, landowners and the wider UK agricultural sector meet the goal of net-zero greenhouse emissions. They plan to develop a product offering carbon storage mapping from satellite imagery. They are interested in comparing the effectiveness of their algorithms using satellite and drone imagery.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES: The main focus was to explore the use of drone imagery for tree and hedge canopy surveys. These results would then be compared to free satellite imagery for the development of a carbon sequestration tool. To back up the findings, samples would be taken from each location in order to analyse the carbon content.

PROJECT SOLUTIONS: CREST supported with capturing drone imagery in RGB (Red, Green and Blue) and NIR (Near Infrared) to allow CatchMaps to map the carbon storage based on the vegetation index NDVI. We had to capture data from various different locations to train the CatchMaps algorithms. To support the data recorded, laboratory testing was done to estimate the carbon content of samples from these different locations.