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Is sub-metre resolution necessary for cocoa mapping? A landscape-stratified evaluation of very high resolution imagery, decametric Earth Observation inputs, and operational products in Cote d'Ivoire

Summary

A study in Côte d'Ivoire comparing very high resolution (0.5m) with decametric satellite imagery for cocoa mapping finds VHR achieves F1=0.92, while foundation-model embeddings like TESSERA (F1=0.86) offer scalable alternatives. Performance differences increase in fragmented landscapes.

SourcearXiv Computer VisionAuthor: Kasimir Orlowski, Filip Sabo, Michele Meroni, Astrid Verhegghen, Mariana Belgiu, Felix Rembold
Is sub-metre resolution necessary for cocoa mapping? A landscape-stratified evaluation of very high resolution imagery, decametric Earth Observation inputs, and operational products in Cote d'Ivoire
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[Submitted on 9 Jul 2026]

Title:Is sub-metre resolution necessary for cocoa mapping? A landscape-stratified evaluation of very high resolution imagery, decametric Earth Observation inputs, and operational products in Cote d'Ivoire

View a PDF of the paper titled Is sub-metre resolution necessary for cocoa mapping? A landscape-stratified evaluation of very high resolution imagery, decametric Earth Observation inputs, and operational products in Cote d'Ivoire, by Kasimir Orlowski and 5 other authors

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Abstract:Accurate cocoa mapping is increasingly important for deforestation monitoring, supply-chain transparency, and regulatory applications. Spatial aggregation in conventional medium-resolution Earth observation (EO) imagery may limit cocoa detection in heterogeneous smallholder landscapes. In Cote d'Ivoire, we therefore evaluated how mapping performance varies across landscape conditions, whether very high resolution (VHR) imagery provides a meaningful advantage, and whether foundation-model embeddings improve decametric cocoa mapping. We developed models using 0.5 m Pleiades VHR imagery, a 10 m Sentinel-2 annual composite, and embeddings from TESSERA and AlphaEarth Foundations (AEF), and additionally assessed four publicly available cocoa mapping products. Performance was evaluated through a landscape-stratified accuracy assessment using 2,821 independently interpreted reference points distributed across gradients of tree cover density and landscape fragmentation. The VHR model achieved the highest performance (F1 = 0.92) and maintained F1-scores above 0.90 across all strata. Among the decametric inputs, TESSERA performed best (F1 = 0.86), followed by AEF (F1 = 0.82) and Sentinel-2 (F1 = 0.76). Of the existing cocoa products, the Kalischek product performed best (F1 = 0.83), comparable to the internally trained AEF model. Performance differences between VHR and decametric approaches increased with fragmentation and under low and high tree cover density conditions. Targeted VHR acquisition may therefore be particularly beneficial in complex cocoa landscapes, while foundation-model embeddings offer a scalable alternative for large-area mapping.

Subjects:

Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (cs.CV)

Cite as: arXiv:2607.08945 [cs.CV]

(or arXiv:2607.08945v1 [cs.CV] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2607.08945

arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

Submission history

From: Kasimir Orlowski [view email] [v1] Thu, 9 Jul 2026 21:15:03 UTC (1,436 KB)

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Key points

  • VHR imagery (0.5m) achieves F1=0.92 for cocoa mapping.
  • Foundation-model embeddings (TESSERA) reach F1=0.86, outperforming Sentinel-2 (F1=0.76).
  • Kalischek product (F1=0.83) comparable to AEF embeddings.
  • VHR advantage grows in fragmented and extreme tree cover areas.

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