EO-based solution for detection and monitoring of habitats affected by invasive species

The SAMIPS service aims at providing an EO-based solution allowing for detection and monitoring of habitats affected by invasive species in Poland and, in the longer run, in other Central European countries. The service consists of two main components: (i) an EO-based automated application for detection and monitoring of habitats affected by invasive species (esp. giant hogweed, Sosnowsky’s hogweed, Asian knotweed, Czech knotweed); and (ii) a mobile application that enables a GNSS-based and easy in-situ mapping of such habitats. he service is intended to indicate areas where alien species occur, to enable the monitoring of changes in range and distribution of such areas, as well as to provide information on effectiveness of invasive species control treatments. Four main groups have been identified as potential users: environmental institutions, communes and local administrations, agricultural entities, and water catchment management institutions. The service uses EO and GNSS: the multispectral Earth Observation data will be applied as an input for algorithms detecting invasive alien plants’ species and the developed application for smartphones will use GNSS to locate infested habitats.