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The European Environment Agency (EEA), entrusted with the cross-cutting coordination of access to in-situ data within the Copernicus In-Situ Component, has awarded a consortium with partners GeoVille Information Systems and Data Processing GmbH and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA and led by GAF AG (GAF), an e-GEOS S.p.A. (Telespazio S.p.A./ASI) company, with a new contract. The objective is to pilot a crowdsourcing initiative to improve the management and preservation of grasslands through coordinated, community-driven grasslands mowing events monitoring

The Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS) includes in its portfolio the High Resolution Layers on Grassland Mowing Events and Dates. However, there is a persistent lack of in-situ data required for effective and accurate production and validation of these layers. To address this gap, this project will implement a pilot campaign based on crowdsourcing methods, including a mobile application called MowingQuest.

MowingQuest is tailored to bring together diverse stakeholders such as land managers, various environmental or conservation organisations, citizen scientists and nature enthusiasts. Via the app, all these stakeholders are meant to collectively support and contribute real-time field observations and enhance in-situ data availability to strengthen the EEA’s capacity to monitor land management practices via the CLMS, and protect and conserve Europe’s natural ecosystems and biodiversity.

Grasslands take up 8% of Europe’s land surface. These specific ecosystems play an important role in supporting biodiversity, by being habitats for pollinators and insects. Additionally, grasslands are vital for climate regulation and provide valuable insights into agricultural activity. Hence, monitoring grasslands is crucial for authorities to understand whether these are managed sustainably. Shifts in mowing and grazing constantly evolve due to environmental conditions and agricultural practices, increasing the pressure to monitor grassland mowing activities appropriately and in more detail.