Using VENµS imagery for quantifying the effect of climate change on pasture quantity and quality
Research team: Eli Argaman, Tarin Paz-Kagan, Marcelo Sternberg, Eli Zaady, Zalmen Henkin, and Guy Dovrat.
Ph.D.: Shay Adar
Rangelands are one of the most common land use types on Earth, with man-managed pasturelands covering more than 30% of the world's land surface and supporting the livelihood of around 2 billion people. Sustainable management of livestock in such areas has significant economic value for food production, as well as environmental implications. Understanding the spatial and temporal variability of pasture quantity (aboveground biomass) and quality (nutritional values for livestock), is essential for optimizing decision-making in rangeland farming, both in terms of farming yield and the environmental impacts of grazing on natural ecosystems. Therefore our aim is to develop a method for the quantitative and qualitative assessment of forage quality and quantity along a climatic gradient, based on VENµS satellite, integrated with high-resolution UAV and field data, for sustainable rangeland farming.
