SenseFuture Dataset: Novel Agronomy for Resilient Farming Systems

Data acquired in Australia through the EU Horizon2020 MSCA-Global fellowship by Dr Eusun Han, project number 884364.

Funding: EU Horizon 2020, MSCA-IF (SenseFuture: 884364)

High-resolution RGB, multispectral, and thermal drone imagery from the Iandra field site (2021–2023), supporting crop monitoring, grazing trials, and digital agronomy research.

FULL DESCRIPTION

This dataset contains raw and processed UAV imagery collected at the CSIRO Iandra field site (Greenethorpe, NSW) as part of the SenseFuture: Novel Agronomy for Resilient Farming Systems project. The imagery captures crop and pasture responses to experimental treatments (including grazing, mowing, and plot management) over multiple growing seasons.

The Iandra field site, located at Iandra Castle near Greenethorpe, NSW, is a key CSIRO farming systems research site. It hosts long-term experiments evaluating crop sequences, soil health, and water use efficiency under varying management practices. Trials include wheat–canola rotations and integration of legumes such as fababean to improve nitrogen fixation and sustainability. The site combines small-plot trials with farm-scale demonstrations and provides critical data on productivity, soil fertility, and system resilience in southern NSW.

The dataset includes flights taken with different sensor configurations:

RGB imagery collected using a DJI Phantom 4 Pro at ~30 m altitude, providing high-resolution (centimetre scale) orthomosaics.
Multispectral imagery from a Micasense camera, used to generate reflectance-calibrated bands and vegetation indices (e.g. NDVI, NDRE).
Thermal imagery from DJI M2EA test flights, used to explore canopy temperature variation.

TEMPORAL COVERAGE

June–September 2021 (pre-grazing, post-grazing, mowing, and multiple growth stages)
July–September 2022 (RGB and thermal test flights)
2023 imagery [details to confirm]

SPATIAL COVERAGE

Iandra research trial, near Greenethorpe, NSW, Australia
Approx. 34°31′21.698″ S, 148°18′6.484″ E (WGS84)
Experimental plots within grazing and cropping trials.

FILE CONTENTS

The collection contains:
Raw project files (.p4d) for Pix4DMapper workflows
Processed reports (.pdf) describing Pix4D processing outputs and quality checks
Stitched datasets (.zip archives, 15–70 GB each) containing orthomosaics, reflectance maps, and metadata
Ancillary GIS outputs for integration into QGIS and other geospatial software

See files for more information.