# Biodiversity monitoring with satellite data Satellite data shows how habitats change and how clear and nutrient-rich lakes are. Land cover maps record grassland, wetland and woodland in protected areas and how they change between mapping years. For selected lakes, Copernicus publishes turbidity, chlorophyll and a trophic state index every ten days. Species records and samples from small waters still need fieldwork. ## How it works Satellites do not see species. They see the land cover that habitats depend on, and the colour of the water that reveals what it carries. EUSPA describes Earth observation as a source of the parameters needed to assess the condition and the equilibrium of water ecosystems, and as a way to monitor ecosystem conditions such as water quality and soil health [1]. **Habitats.** Land cover maps record which areas are grassland, wetland, woodland or farmland, and repeated maps show where that changes. The Copernicus N2K product, made from very high resolution satellite data, maps land cover and land use in 55 classes for 4,790 grassland-rich Natura 2000 sites and a 2 km buffer around each, for the reference years 2006, 2012 and 2018. It lets users monitor the status of these sites and how they change over time [2]. Optical satellites such as Sentinel-2 add frequent images with bands designed for vegetation [6]. **Water quality.** Algae and suspended sediment change the light that leaves the water. Optical satellites measure this water-leaving light, and algorithms turn it into parameters such as turbidity and chlorophyll-a [3]. ESA lists the quality and level of water in reservoirs and rivers among the uses of satellite data [5]. For wildlife, satellite positioning adds the movements of tagged animals: GNSS supports the tracking of threatened species [1]. ## Which data and satellites | Question | Data | Example | | ---------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | Is a protected habitat shrinking or changing? | Land cover maps of several years | Copernicus N2K, 2006, 2012 and 2018 | | How turbid is a lake? | Turbidity and suspended matter | Copernicus Lake Water Quality, from Sentinel-3 | | Is a lake rich in nutrients, or is an algal bloom forming? | Chlorophyll-a, trophic state index, cyanobacteria index | Copernicus Lake Water Quality, from Sentinel-3 | | Where do tagged animals move? | GNSS positions | Tracking collars and tags | The Copernicus lake products cover more than 4,200 inland water bodies that are among the largest in the world or of specific monitoring interest, mostly natural lakes but also reservoirs, lagoons and wide river sections. Values are published for 10-day periods on a grid of about 300 m [3]. **Figure:** How the Copernicus lake products resolve a lake: one value per grid cell of about 300 m for each 10-day period. For lake averages, the manual advises masking cells along the shore. Small lakes and narrow rivers are not resolved. Illustrative values, not real data. ## What you get - **Land cover and change maps** of protected sites and their surroundings [2]. - **Time series of turbidity, chlorophyll-a and trophic state** for each covered lake, every ten days [3]. - **A floating cyanobacteria index**, which points to blooms at the water surface [3]. - **Places to check in the field**, where the data shows an imbalance in an ecosystem parameter [1]. ## Limits **Limits** - **Small lakes and shorelines:** At about 300 m per grid cell, small water bodies and narrow rivers are not resolved, and only the selected water bodies are covered. For Europe and Africa, a version on a 100 m grid based on Sentinel-2 provides data from 2024 onwards \[4]. Near shorelines the retrieval is hard to control, so the product manual advises users interested in lake averages to mask a buffer from the shore \[3]. - **Cloud, haze and ice:** The retrieval may fail at cloud borders, under thin cloud or on lake ice, and observations near land under haze are less reliable. For highly turbid lakes, version 2.0.0 of the product underestimates the water's reflectance \[3]. - **Habitat maps are snapshots:** The N2K maps exist for the reference years 2006, 2012 and 2018 \[2]. They show the trend between those years, not this season's state, and they do not replace surveys of species on site \[1]. ## How we help Some indicators in environmental reporting may already be covered, in part, by free Copernicus products such as those above. In a [strategy engagement](https://leto.space/consulting/strategy/) we check which of your indicators satellite data can support, which product covers your sites and waters, and where a dedicated service or fieldwork is needed. We then write the requirements for choosing a provider. [More on requirements and procurement](https://leto.space/consulting/procurement/) To see who offers such services, use [Spacegraph](https://leto.space/spacegraph/), our discovery platform. Its marketplace has use-case categories for biodiversity and ecosystems and for water resource monitoring. ## Related use cases - [Monitoring forest health and deforestation](https://leto.space/use-cases/forest-monitoring/): Damage, stress and clearings in forests. - [Monitoring air quality](https://leto.space/use-cases/air-quality-monitoring/): What satellites measure in the air above a region. - [Crop monitoring and precision farming](https://leto.space/use-cases/crop-monitoring/): Vegetation data on farmland next to protected sites. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which satellite data is available on water quality, and how often is it updated? The Copernicus Land Monitoring Service publishes lake water quality for more than 4,200 inland water bodies worldwide: turbidity, suspended matter, chlorophyll-a, a floating cyanobacteria index and a trophic state index. The values are delivered for 10-day periods on a grid of about 300 m, based on Sentinel-3 in near real time [3]. Like all Copernicus data, they are free of charge [7]. ### Can satellite data replace biodiversity surveys? No. According to EUSPA, biodiversity monitoring still relies heavily on observations on site, and Earth observation is increasingly used to assess ecosystem conditions, habitat change, water quality and soil health at scale [1]. Satellite data shows where habitats change and where a closer look is needed; it does not count species. ### How do we start a pilot for habitat or water monitoring? Start with the sites or water bodies you are responsible for and the indicator you already report, for example the extent of a habitat type or the trophic state of a lake. Then check whether a Copernicus product covers it or whether a dedicated service is needed. ## Sources 1. [EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 1, EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 2026-05-26](https://www.euspa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/EU_Space_Market_Report_2026.pdf) 2. [Natura 2000 (N2K) / Protected Areas Land Cover/Land Use (product page), Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, accessed 2026-10-07](https://land.copernicus.eu/en/products/n2k) 3. [Product User Manual: Lake Waters 300 m product, version 2.0.0 (Copernicus Global Land Operations, issue I1.01), Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, 2024-07-24](https://land.copernicus.eu/en/technical-library/product-user-manual-lake-water-quality-v2/@@download/file) 4. [Lake Water Quality 2024-present (raster 100 m), global, 10-daily, version 2, Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, accessed 2026-10-08](https://land.copernicus.eu/en/products/water-bodies/lake-water-quality-v2-2-100m) 5. [ESA Space Solutions: Space for the bioeconomy, European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 2026-10-06](https://business.esa.int/bioeconomy) 6. [Sentinel-2 mission, European Space Agency (ESA), SentiWiki, accessed 2026-10-06](https://sentiwiki.copernicus.eu/web/s2-mission) 7. [Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of 28 April 2021 establishing the Union Space Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme, European Union, EUR-Lex, 2021-05-12](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/696/oj/eng) Page: