Objectives of the service
SOCBIO-MAP combines satellite Earth observation with in-situ soil sampling to deliver scientifically robust measurement, reporting, and verification of soil health in forest ecosystems.
Forest soils are among the most carbon-rich and biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth yet they remain poorly measured, poorly understood, and consistently undervalued in carbon markets. Current soil organic carbon (SOC) mapping approaches rely on sparse sampling networks and remote sensing alone, producing estimates that are too uncertain for high-integrity Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV). SOCBIO-MAP addresses this gap directly. The project consortium, composed by TransparenC and Soilytix, is co-developing an end-to-end service that combines satellite Earth observation (EO) with optimised field sampling and laboratory analysis to map SOC stocks and soil biodiversity at project and regional scales. By using EO-derived variables to guide where and how many samples to take, the service reduces required field sampling by 30–50% without sacrificing model accuracy. The resulting soil health maps are integrated into an intuitive platform, translating complex geospatial outputs into actionable KPIs for forest carbon and biodiversity markets.
Users and their needs
SOCBIO-MAP serves organisations that need reliable, science-backed soil data for forest carbon and biodiversity projects. Primary users include enterprise and SME carbon project developers who require accurate SOC stock maps to validate and monitor carbon sequestration claims; nature conservation NGOs that need spatially explicit biodiversity data for reporting and fundraising; carbon credit intermediaries and marketplaces seeking defensible dMRV data to ensure credit quality; and corporate buyers who need to demonstrate genuine environmental impact. A key institutional partner is the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), whose certification use cases directly shape service requirements. The project addresses a common challenge: current soil monitoring approaches are prohibitively expensive, spatially sparse, and lack the biological depth needed to meet growing market and regulatory expectations for integrity in carbon and biodiversity accounting. SOCBIO-MAP makes scientifically rigorous soil health MRV accessible and affordable.
Service/ system concept
SOCBIO-MAP delivers a fully integrated, three-stage service. In the first stage, EO-derived variables including Sentinel-2 spectral indices, GEDI canopy height, ALOS-2 synthetic aperture radar backscatter, and digital elevation model derivatives are ingested and processed to generate statistically optimised sampling plans for any user-submitted area of interest. This replaces conventional grid-based or random sampling with a covariate-guided strategy that maximises representativeness while minimising the number of samples required. In the second stage, field teams collect soil samples at the recommended locations, which are sent to the Soilytix laboratory in Hamburg for physicochemical analysis (SOC content, bulk density, cation exchange capacity) and high-throughput eDNA metabarcoding to characterise soil microbial biodiversity. In the third stage, machine learning models trained on the in-situ measurements and EO covariates produce wall-to-wall spatial predictions of SOC stocks, below-ground biomass, and biodiversity indicators across the project area. All outputs are published to the platform, where they are rendered as interactive maps and market-ready KPIs. Users submit a polygon, receive a sampling offer, and view validated maps — all within a single, automated workflow.
The service architecture connects three layers: (1) a cloud-based EO data pipeline using Google Earth Engine and Azure, which ingests and harmonises Copernicus, GEDI, and ALOS-2 data; (2) a machine learning engine running on GPU infrastructure that trains and deploys spatial prediction models; and (3) the TransparenC front-end platform, which surfaces results as interactive geospatial layers, downloadable reports, and API-accessible data for downstream integration.
Space Added Value
Satellite Earth observation is the backbone of the SOCBIO-MAP service, providing value at every stage that ground-based approaches alone cannot deliver. Copernicus Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery supplies high-resolution vegetation indices (NDVI, EVI), bare soil spectral signatures, and time-series composites that capture seasonal dynamics invisible to single-date field visits. Sentinel-1 C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) penetrates cloud cover and dense canopy to detect structural changes associated with forest degradation, complementing Sentinel-2 in persistently cloudy tropical regions. NASA’s GEDI lidar mission provides canopy height and vertical forest structure data at landscape scale, a direct proxy for above-ground biomass that would require thousands of field measurements to replicate. The Copernicus GLO-30 Digital Elevation Model and its derivatives (slope, aspect, topographic wetness index) capture the geomorphological controls on soil formation and carbon accumulation. Together, these EO layers enable the consortium to guide sampling strategies scientifically, reducing required samples by 30–50% versus conventional approaches. After sampling, the same EO variables serve as spatially continuous predictors in machine learning models, enabling wall-to-wall mapping from a sparse set of ground-truth points. The forthcoming ESA BIOMASS mission, operating at P-band SAR, is anticipated to significantly improve above- and below-ground biomass estimation in dense tropical forests and will be integrated as data become available.
Current Status
SOCBIO-MAP was awarded ESA funding in late 2025 under the ARTES 4.0 BASS programme. The project officially started in January 2026. The EO data ingestion backend (WP4200) and initial sampling optimisation model architecture (WP4300) are currently under development. Field campaign planning for both the Gran Chaco (Paraguay) and the Temperate Forest (Chile) is underway, with permits and local partner coordination in progress. Soil sample collection in Chile is scheduled to begin in early 2026, with the Paraguay campaign to follow. Laboratory analysis protocols at Soilytix’s Hamburg facility have been finalised. The Baseline Design Review (BDR) is planned for month four of the project.
Prime Contractor(s)
