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PlotToSat : A tool for generating time-series signatures from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 at field-based plots for machine learning applications

Miltiadou, Milto ; Grieve, Stuart ; Ruiz-Benito, Paloma ; Astigarraga, Julen LU orcid ; Cruz-Alonso, Verónica ; Triviño, Julián Tijerín and Lines, Emily R. (2025) In Environmental Modelling and Software 188.
Abstract

PlotToSat offers a practical and time efficient way to the challenge of extracting time-series from multiple Earth Observation (EO) datasets at numerous plots spread across a landscape. This opens up new opportunities to understand and model various ecosystems. Regarding forest ecology, plot networks play a vital role in monitoring and understanding the dynamics of forest ecosystems. These networks often contain thousands of plots arranged systematically to represent an ecosystem. Combining field data collected at plots with EO time-series will allow us to better understand phenology and ecosystem composition, structure and distribution. Linking plot networks with EO data without PlotToSat is time consuming and computational expensive... (More)

PlotToSat offers a practical and time efficient way to the challenge of extracting time-series from multiple Earth Observation (EO) datasets at numerous plots spread across a landscape. This opens up new opportunities to understand and model various ecosystems. Regarding forest ecology, plot networks play a vital role in monitoring and understanding the dynamics of forest ecosystems. These networks often contain thousands of plots arranged systematically to represent an ecosystem. Combining field data collected at plots with EO time-series will allow us to better understand phenology and ecosystem composition, structure and distribution. Linking plot networks with EO data without PlotToSat is time consuming and computational expensive because plots are small and spread out, requiring data from multiple satellite tiles. PlotToSat processed a full year of multi-tile Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data (estimated 18.3TB) at 15,962 plots from the fourth Spanish Forest Inventory in less than 24 h. PlotToSat, implemented using the Python API of Google Earth Engine, offers a new and unique workflow that is innovative due to its efficient, scalable and adaptable implementation. It supports Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data, but its flexible design eases integration of additional EO datasets. New environmental modelling is expected to emerge facilitating EO time-series analyses and investigating interactive effects of environmental drivers.

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author
; ; ; ; ; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Forest ecology, Plots networks, Scalability, Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, Time-series
in
Environmental Modelling and Software
volume
188
article number
106395
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:86000594583
ISSN
1364-8152
DOI
10.1016/j.envsoft.2025.106395
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2025
id
429538b4-af3a-48e1-955a-f47442f70e20
date added to LUP
2025-03-25 13:20:15
date last changed
2025-04-22 13:08:49
@article{429538b4-af3a-48e1-955a-f47442f70e20,
  abstract     = {{<p>PlotToSat offers a practical and time efficient way to the challenge of extracting time-series from multiple Earth Observation (EO) datasets at numerous plots spread across a landscape. This opens up new opportunities to understand and model various ecosystems. Regarding forest ecology, plot networks play a vital role in monitoring and understanding the dynamics of forest ecosystems. These networks often contain thousands of plots arranged systematically to represent an ecosystem. Combining field data collected at plots with EO time-series will allow us to better understand phenology and ecosystem composition, structure and distribution. Linking plot networks with EO data without PlotToSat is time consuming and computational expensive because plots are small and spread out, requiring data from multiple satellite tiles. PlotToSat processed a full year of multi-tile Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data (estimated 18.3TB) at 15,962 plots from the fourth Spanish Forest Inventory in less than 24 h. PlotToSat, implemented using the Python API of Google Earth Engine, offers a new and unique workflow that is innovative due to its efficient, scalable and adaptable implementation. It supports Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data, but its flexible design eases integration of additional EO datasets. New environmental modelling is expected to emerge facilitating EO time-series analyses and investigating interactive effects of environmental drivers.</p>}},
  author       = {{Miltiadou, Milto and Grieve, Stuart and Ruiz-Benito, Paloma and Astigarraga, Julen and Cruz-Alonso, Verónica and Triviño, Julián Tijerín and Lines, Emily R.}},
  issn         = {{1364-8152}},
  keywords     = {{Forest ecology; Plots networks; Scalability; Sentinel-1; Sentinel-2; Time-series}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Environmental Modelling and Software}},
  title        = {{PlotToSat : A tool for generating time-series signatures from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 at field-based plots for machine learning applications}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2025.106395}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.envsoft.2025.106395}},
  volume       = {{188}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}