Sentinels of Wheat

UCL Geography’s Sentinels of Wheat project uses advanced remote sensing and data assimilation to monitor crop yields in China’s North China Plain, supporting food security and sustainable agriculture.

Funding

Jointly funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). Winner of the

Chair’s Award of Newton Prize 2019.

The Sentinels of Wheat project brings together researchers from UCL Geography, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and China Agricultural University to develop innovative ways of monitoring crop growth and yield. Using satellite data and advanced modelling, the project supports sustainable farming and strengthens food security across China’s vital North China Plain.

Newton Prize 1 — Professor Philip Lewis and Dr Qingling Wu receiving the Newton Prize

Newton Prize 2 — L-R: Dr Hugh Mortimer (STFC), Professor Philip Lewis and Dr Qingling Wu

Arable land vs population

China has only 10% of the world's arable land and water resources but must feed 20% of the global population, making accurate crop monitoring vital.

Methods and Approach

The Sentinels of Wheat project combines traditional field surveys, satellite imagery, and advanced data assimilation techniques to monitor crop yields across the North China Plain. Each approach brings unique strengths, and together they provide a more accurate, predictive understanding of agricultural productivity under current and future conditions.

Field surveys combined with crop growth models allow highly accurate yield estimates in surveyed areas, but accuracy decreases outside these areas.

MODIS: near-daily, 500–1000 m resolution, coarse
LandSat TM / Sentinel: finer spatial resolution but lower temporal frequency

Advanced statistical techniques combine multiple datasets to create superior hybrid datasets. This includes new data from Sentinel and Chinese GF satellites and allows predictive modelling under future climate scenarios.

Project Outputs and Tools

Crop yield estimation explained

Learn how the Sentinels of Wheat project estimates crop yields using remote sensing and advanced data assimilation techniques.

Crop yield explainer

Project outputs and findings

Explore the latest data, results, and research outputs from the Sentinels of Wheat project, including open-source tools and visualisations.

Project outputs

Tools and Codes

"Monitoring crop yields accurately across the North China Plain is essential to understanding food security, climate impacts, and supporting sustainable agriculture in China."