European Union crop map 2022: Earth observation's 10-meter dive into Europe's crop tapestry

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Remote Sensing
• Geospatial Analysis

Background:

• Detailed crop monitoring is crucial for European Union (EU) agricultural policy and food security.
• Previous crop type maps lacked the resolution and accuracy required for precise monitoring.
• The 2018 version required updating to reflect current agricultural landscapes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create an advanced 10-meter resolution crop type map for the EU and Ukraine for 2022.
• To update and improve upon the previous 2018 crop type map.
• To provide accurate data for detailed agricultural monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Earth Observation (EO) data, including Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery.
• Integrated in-situ data from Eurostat's Land Use and Coverage Area Frame Survey (LUCAS) 2022.
• Employed a Random Forest machine learning approach with primary and gap-filling classification layers.

Main Results:

• Generated a 10-meter resolution map covering 27 EU countries and Ukraine with 19 crop types for 2022.
• Achieved an overall accuracy of 79.3% for seven major land cover classes and 70.6% for all 19 crop types.
• Demonstrated model robustness in Ukraine, even without region-specific training samples.

Conclusions:

• The 2022 crop type map provides essential information for EU agricultural monitoring.
• The methodology is robust and applicable to regions beyond the EU.
• High-resolution mapping enhances understanding of agricultural landscapes and supports policy decisions.