Project: Stimulating novel Technologies from Earth Remote Observation to Predict European Soil carbon

Acronym STEROPES
Duration 01/02/2021 - 31/01/2024
Project Topic Conventional high-detail soil maps are static and often based on obsolete data in relation to the time of use. STEROPES intends to overcome these limitations putting the use of satellite time series forward, to test their potential to predict cropland soil organic carbon content over various pedoclimatic conditions and cropping systems across Europe. First, models will be constructed from the reflectance image spectra of optical satellite series, notably Sentinel-2 (ESA), based on a number of diversified areas for which soil organic carbon samples are already available. The second phase of the project will be dedicated to analysing the influence of various factors on SOC prediction performance: soil moisture, texture, dry vegetation due to management practices, salinity. Then, for the sites where satellite information may not enable to derive acceptable predictions, other ancillary data will be considered at a more detailed scale, using geophysical proxies to reduce the uncertainty associated with these predictions.
Website visit project website
Network EJP SOIL
Call 1st EJP SOIL internal Call for proposals

Project partner

Number Name Role Country
1 Paris Institute of Technology for Life, Food and Environmental Sciences Coordinator France
2 National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment Partner France
3 Institut Agro Partner France
4 Wageningen University & Research Partner Netherlands
5 Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Partner Belgium
6 Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Partner Czech Republic
7 Aarhus University Partner Denmark
8 Council for Agricultural Research and Economics Partner Italy
9 Ministry of University and Research Partner Italy
10 Ministry of Environment Partner Italy
11 Ente Regionale per i Servizi all’Agricoltura e alle Foreste Partner Italy
12 University of Latvia Partner Latvia
13 Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry Partner Lithuania
14 Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation – State Research Institute Partner Poland
15 National Institute for Agrarian and Veterinarian Research I. P. Partner Portugal
16 National Institute for Agriculture and Food Research and Technology Partner Spain
17 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Partner Sweden
18 Agroscope Partner Switzerland
19 Republic of Turkey Ministry Of Agriculture and Forestry Partner Türkiye