Arid and Hyper Arid Regions cover about 40% of total land area. Low vegetation cover levels and low SOC concentrations complicate the assessment of land condition in these environments, both from EO and in the field. Advanced EO datasets and methods show great promise, but their coverage and availability across arid regions is often not consistent, complete or guaranteed. More awareness of these emerging opportunities is required.

This event will include a series of short presentations from some of the world's leading data providers, followed by an interactive panel Q&A session. We will review the key challenges in assessing soil organic carbon, land productivity / plant conditions and related biophysical variables in hyper-arid environments, and showcase new methods, data and data products.

Welcome and Introduction (Moderator: Neil Sims)

Presentations

Panel Discussion and Q&A (moderator; all presenters)

Closing Remarks (moderator)