Agisoft Metashape for Agriculture and Forestry

For the workflows described on this page, Professional is the appropriate edition. It provides georeferencing, control points, orthomosaics, elevation models, measurements, multispectral processing, raster calculations and advanced automation capabilities. Standard is designed for core 3D reconstruction and does not provide the complete geospatial and multispectral toolset required here.

No. An index maps a mathematical relationship between selected spectral bands. A low or high value can be influenced by plant density, crop stage, exposed soil, illumination, sensor response, calibration and other factors. Use vegetation maps to identify patterns and prioritize scouting, then interpret them with field observations, sampling and qualified agronomic knowledge.

It is important when the objective requires reflectance products or comparison across changing illumination, dates or sites. Use valid calibration-panel data and supported sensor or irradiance metadata where available, and document the method. Uncalibrated imagery may still support visual inspection, but quantitative comparison becomes less defensible.

Only after controlling and documenting the factors that affect comparability. Keep the sensor, settings, altitude, ground sampling distance, time of day, illumination, calibration method, coordinate reference, processing version and formula as consistent as practical. Validate that apparent change exceeds spatial, radiometric and reconstruction uncertainty before interpreting it as biological change.

Yes, a canopy height model can be derived by comparing an appropriate canopy surface model with a suitable ground-terrain model. The quality of the result depends on georeferencing, surface reconstruction, ground classification and whether the ground is actually visible beneath the canopy. Dense vegetation can conceal the terrain, so field or external elevation data may be required.

Metashape can produce orthomosaics, point clouds and surface models that feed external tree-detection or predictive workflows. The count or estimate is not created by photogrammetry alone and should be validated with field plots and a method appropriate to species, canopy closure and sensor resolution. Aerial imagery primarily describes the visible upper canopy and may not reveal understory or obscured stems.

Accurate RTK or PPK positions can reduce the amount of ground control required, but they do not remove the need for independent validation. Use well-distributed checkpoints to test the complete system, including camera calibration, time synchronization, coordinate transformations, lever-arm offsets and processing choices. The required evidence depends on the accuracy claimed for the deliverable.

A Professional Node-Locked license suits one assigned workstation at a time. Professional Floating licenses support shared concurrent access across configured workstations, with one seat required for each simultaneous session. Qualifying accredited institutions and eligible students or staff may use Educational Professional licenses only for permitted non-commercial education and research.