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clms_vlcc_cropping-seasons-types_europe_10m_yearly_v1·dataset

Crop rotation diversity over three years (Copernicus)

CLMS VLCC Cropping Seasons Types over 3 Years (CPCST) Europe 10m 3-yearly V1
biosphere ESA ESA Copernicus active
In plain English

What it measures. Counts how many different crop types were grown on each field over a rolling three-year window (from 1 to 3), revealing rotation versus monoculture.

How it's made. ESA Copernicus derives it from three consecutive years of its crop-type maps at 10-metre resolution across the EEA-38 countries.

How & where you'd use it. Helps track whether farmers practise crop rotation, informing soil-health and sustainable-agriculture policy.

What's measured

CLMSCopernicusEuropeRasterLand coverCroplandCropping SeasonsCrop RotationCPLand use

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2017-01-01 → ongoing
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90

What you can do with it

  • Map vegetation, forests and biomass
  • Monitor ecosystem productivity and carbon
  • Support habitat and biodiversity studies
Official description

The Cropping Seasons Types over 3 Years (CPCST) dataset indicates the number of unique crop types grown in the main agricultural season over a rolling three-year period (values: 1–3). It is derived from the crop diversity count based on CTY data from three consecutive years and does not rely on the delineation of parcel complexes. Permanent crops are excluded from the diversity count. Information on crop rotation provides valuable insights for monitoring the application of monoculture or rotation cycles in specific regions. This dataset is available for the periods 2017–2019, 2018–2020, and 2019–2021 in 10-metre rasters (fully conformant with the EEA reference grid) in 100 × 100 km tiles covering the EEA-38 countries. The HRL Cropping Seasons Types product is part of the European Union's Copernicus Land Monitoring Service. This dataset includes data from the French Overseas Territories (DOMs).

Get the data

copernicus_access.py
# ESA Copernicus Data Space — open STAC API (free account)
from pystac_client import Client

cat = Client.open("https://stac.dataspace.copernicus.eu/v1")
search = cat.search(
    collections=["clms_vlcc_cropping-seasons-types_europe_10m_yearly_v1"],   # add _cog or _nc for a format variant
    bbox=(-10, 35, 30, 60),             # your area (W,S,E,N)
    datetime="2024-01-01/2024-12-31",
)
items = list(search.items())            # then read assets with rioxarray / xarray
Browsing the Copernicus STAC is open; downloading bytes needs a free Copernicus Data Space account.