Satellite Vegetation Maps
Visualizing Crop Development, Stress Patterns, and Field Variability
Satellite vegetation maps are one of the most powerful features in Carbonleap. They help growers see what is happening across an entire field — not just the areas they can visit in person — by highlighting differences in crop vigor, moisture, and canopy development.
These maps update every time new satellite imagery becomes available and provide an objective, field-wide perspective.
What Satellite Vegetation Maps Show
Satellite vegetation maps help you understand:
How well plants are growing in different parts of the field
Early signs of stress before they become visible from the ground
Differences in moisture, vigor, and canopy density
Variability caused by soil, irrigation, disease, pests, or management practices
The maps display a colorized heatmap over your field:
Greener/warmer colors often indicate stronger or healthier growth
Redder/cooler colors often indicate weaker or stressed growth
The exact interpretation depends on the metric selected.
The Four Vegetation Metrics in Carbonleap
Carbonleap supports four satellite-derived vegetation indices. Each index provides a different type of information and is more useful at certain times of the season.
1. NDVI — Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
Best for: General plant vigor and canopy health Useful during: Mid-season through late season Interpretation: NDVI measures how “green” and dense vegetation is. Higher NDVI = stronger, healthier, denser growth. Lower NDVI = weaker growth, bare soil, stress, or poor canopy.
What to look for:
Uniform green = consistent growth
Patchy areas = uneven vigor or potential issues
Red/low areas = stress, disease pressure, water issues, poor soil, or lagging growth
NDVI is widely used because it gives a clear, top-level view of crop performance.
2. NDMI — Normalized Difference Moisture Index
Best for: Detecting moisture stress Useful during: All season, especially mid-to-late season Interpretation: NDMI measures moisture inside the plant canopy. Higher NDMI = healthier plants with adequate moisture Lower NDMI = water deficit, heat stress, or drought signal
What to look for:
Sudden drops in NDMI = emerging water stress
Persistent low NDMI areas = irrigation coverage gaps or soil water limitations
Comparing NDMI over time helps spot trends that may not appear in NDVI yet
Water-Deficit Alerts rely heavily on NDMI.
3. NDRE — Normalized Difference Red Edge
Best for: Chlorophyll content and maturity monitoring Useful during: Mid-to-late season (after canopy establishes) Interpretation: NDRE detects changes in chlorophyll levels, making it sensitive to nutrient issues, crop maturity, and stress that NDVI may not catch once the canopy is dense.
What to look for:
Declining NDRE in patches = nutrient deficiency, senescence, or stress
High NDRE = healthy, active photosynthesis
Useful for vineyards, orchards, and late-stage row crops
NDRE is especially important when crops have dense foliage.
4. MSAVI — Modified Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index
Best for: Early-season monitoring Useful during: Planting, emergence, early canopy stages Interpretation: MSAVI reduces the influence of bare soil, making it better than NDVI when crops are just starting to grow and soil is still visible.
What to look for:
Differences in emergence
Weak establishment areas
Early-stage plant density
Gaps or inconsistent stand development
Use MSAVI early in the season, then transition to NDVI/NDRE as canopy increases.
Early Season vs. Mid Season vs. Late Season: Which Metric to Use?
Planting / Emergence
MSAVI
Handles bare soil; shows early plant establishment.
Canopy Formation
NDVI
Good general indicator of vigor and canopy density.
Mid Season / Peak Growth
NDVI or NDRE
NDVI shows vigor; NDRE reveals chlorophyll and nutrient status.
Late Season / Ripening
NDRE
Better at detecting subtle changes in mature crops.
Checking Moisture Stress
NDMI
Most sensitive indicator of water deficit.
How to Interpret the Map
When viewing vegetation maps:
Green or high values → strong growth, healthy canopy
Yellow or moderate values → average vigor, potential variability
Red or low values → stress indicators or poor performance
Sharp transitions → possible management issues (irrigation, fertilization, soil)
Gradual gradients → natural variability in field conditions
Patterns are often more important than absolute values.
Map Interaction Tools
You can adjust several controls:
Metric Selector
Choose NDVI, NDMI, NDRE, or MSAVI.
Variant Selector
Choose Actual values, Change from last scan, Percentile, or 10-Year Percentile.
Opacity Control
Blend the heatmap with the underlying base image to:
See vine or tree row structure
Identify soil or terrain factors
Understand whether patterns correspond to management zones
Date Indicator
Shows the date of the satellite scan used for the map. Future updates will allow selecting past scan dates.
Why Vegetation Maps Matter
These maps help growers:
Detect problems earlier than ground scouting
Save time by targeting scouting efforts
Identify irrigation issues
Track nutrient responses
Monitor growth uniformity
Evaluate management practices over time
Satellite maps give a complete, unbiased view of the field — every square meter, every scan.
Vegetation maps are the visual foundation of Carbonleap’s field monitoring system and play a key role in decis
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