Scottish digital map ‘could help define future land use policy’

Every crop grown in nearly 400,000 fields in Scotland has been recorded using satellite imagery to create a new interactive map, which could be used in the future to help design land use policy.

The Scottish Crop Map uses data from 2019 to predict the crop types using radar images from the European Space Agency (ESA) Copernicus satellite programme.

The Scottish government says the map helps to break down agriculture land use in Scotland, and it could be developed in the future to real-time data, which would cut down on the amount of time farmers and crofters spend completing land surveys.

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Scottish rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon described the map as “a very exciting development”, which, along with other digital innovations, will provide greater insight into rural land use. 

Broader use

She added: “Future iterations of the map, combined with other datasets, could have a significantly broader scope of use, providing real-time data that would help with community and farm-level land-use planning and management.”

Analysis of the results predict that the model was working with an accuracy of 85% and more than 90% for barley and wheat.

Ms Gougeon urged Scottish farmers and crofters to review the map and report and inaccuracies, before further developments are made to track minor crops.

“Engagement with farmers and crofters, with their local knowledge, is vital and will help develop future iterations of the map and enable us to extend and enhance what the map could do,” she explained.

‘Important development’

NFU Scotland (NFUS) said the online map is an “important development” in helping to underpin policy decisions with clearer evidence.

NFUS policy director Jonnie Hall said visual and digital data on agricultural land use will be an increasingly important tool in helping define and design future agricultural and land-use policy.

He added: “On the assumption that the data is as accurate as possible, it could help guide the development of measures and management actions that could be undertaken in pursuit of, for example, climate and biodiversity goals.

“However, as yet, it can only provide a partial picture. Further layers relating to livestock management, agri-environment management, habitats and woodlands, not least across Scotland’s vast swathes of rough grazing, are also required.”

The map has been developed by the Scottish government’s Rural and Environmental Science and Analytical Services, working in collaboration with Edina – a world-class centre of excellence in geospatial and satellite data – at the University of Edinburgh.