Agricultural systems to protect animal species

Abstract

The present invention relates to the protection of an animal species present in an animal protection zone (202). A life stage of the animal species is identified based on an animal life cycle model configured to simulate the life cycle of the animal species. Based on the life stage of the animal species, an animal protection time window is determined during which agricultural treatments that may have a detrimental effect on the animal species should not be carried out in said animal protection zone (202) in order to protect the animal species. Furthermore, based on a spatial overlap between the agricultural zone (200) and the animal protection zone (202), an overlap zone (210) is determined and a safety time window for agricultural treatments in the overlap zone (210) is determined. The safety time window does not overlap in time with the animal protection time window. This allows for the provision of a safety time window during which the animal species is protected in the overlap zone (210).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an agricultural system for conserving animal species, a method for conserving animal species, and a corresponding computer program product for conserving animal species. [Background technology]

[0002] It is known that some animal species, such as amphibians, especially their metamorphic juveniles, can be adversely affected by certain chemical products that are regularly applied in agricultural zones, such as crop fields. Such chemical products include certain fertilizers and plant protection products that support crop growth, yield, and quality. The application of these chemical products in certain animal protection zones, such as around water bodies, is often restricted by law to protect certain animal species present in these animal protection zones. Furthermore, potential adverse effects on wildlife should be limited as much as reasonably possible when carrying out agricultural treatments, including sowing, fertilizing, applying plant protection products, harvesting, or any other agricultural treatments in fields.

[0003] For example, Swiss Patent Application Publication No. 701643A2 discloses a method and device for detecting animals, including hidden eggs, in fields and pastures used for agriculture. The animals are searched for in two independent phases. The first phase is related to the breeding season and is not related to agricultural processing. In the first phase, at the start of the breeding season, the animals are searched for and the whole area is monocultured using a detection method, and the detected young animals are marked with a signal providing technology device to detect them over a longer distance. The second phase is related to agricultural processing and is carried out just before the agricultural processing is carried out in the field. In the second phase, a receiver device is used to detect the marked animals in order to move the animals out of the field to allow the agricultural processing to be carried out unhindered. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] It can be seen that the object of the present invention is to provide an agricultural system for protecting animal species, making it possible to protect the animals while carrying out agricultural processes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In a first aspect of the present invention, an agricultural system for protecting animal species present in an animal protection zone is provided. The agricultural system comprises: - obtaining or generating agricultural zone data indicating an agricultural zone in which an agricultural treatment is planned; - obtaining or generating protection zone data indicative of animal protection zones associated with animal species present; Providing an animal life cycle model configured to simulate a life cycle of an animal species; - Identifying the life stages of an animal species based on an animal life cycle model; - determining, based on the life stage of the animal species, an animal protection time window during which agricultural processes that may have an impact, in particular a negative impact, on the animal species should not be carried out in the animal protection zone in order to protect the animal species; - determining an overlap zone as a spatial overlap between the agricultural zone and the animal protection zone based on the agricultural zone data and the protection zone data; determining a safety time window for agricultural processing within the overlap zone in response to the animal protection time window, the safety time window not overlapping in time with the animal protection time window; The present invention is configured to:

[0006] In the framework of this description, the term "simulate" should be understood in a broad sense, including predicting, estimating, calculating, estimating, modeling, etc. Thus, simulating the life cycle of an animal species may be achieved by predicting, estimating, calculating, modeling, etc. of the life cycle of the animal species.

[0007] Since the safety time windows of agricultural treatments in the overlap zone are determined according to the animal protection time windows, and the safety time windows do not overlap in time with the animal protection time windows, adverse effects on animals in the overlap zone can be avoided by carrying out agricultural treatments (which may have adverse effects on animal species) in the overlap zone only during the safety time windows, which can reduce costs or labor, for example, by not requiring marking, tracking, and moving individual animals out of the agricultural zone, e.g., crop fields.

[0008] The agricultural system according to the invention has the further advantage that a higher degree of automation can be achieved. In particular, with the agricultural system, a person does not need to frequently visit the agricultural zone to find out when agricultural operations can be carried out without unacceptable effects on the animal species potentially present in the agricultural zone. Furthermore, it is not necessary to periodically check the life stages of animal species in order to assess whether agricultural operations can be carried out without unacceptable effects on the animal species according to their current life stages.

[0009] The agricultural system according to the invention has the further advantage that the protection of animal species and agricultural treatments can be better coordinated with each other. The coordination of animal protection and agricultural treatments can even be reliably achieved on a specific number of days throughout the year. It is therefore possible to plan well in advance the execution of agricultural treatments on the specific crop fields constituting the agricultural zones. This makes it possible to plan which agricultural zones of the several agricultural zones should be treated and in which order, in order to best meet the requirements for protecting the animal species present in at least one of the agricultural zones.

[0010] The agricultural system according to the invention has the further advantage that it allows to increase the precision of agricultural treatments. In particular, it is possible with the present agricultural system to reliably determine time ranges, for example favorable time windows, during which agricultural treatments are particularly favorable for the growth, yield and quality of the crop, while at the same time reducing the risk of adverse effects on the animal species. This can be achieved with the present agricultural system, since the current life stage of the animal species in the animal protection zone and / or the current growth stage of the crops in the agricultural zone can be taken into account in order to determine the time suitable for the agricultural treatment.

[0011] The agricultural zone data and / or protection zone data may be technical data, in particular meteorological data, geographical data, agronomic data, sensor, camera or satellite data, GPS data, location data, etc.

[0012] The agricultural zone data may represent the location and spatial extent of an agricultural zone in which an agricultural treatment is planned, for example in terms of geographic coordinates.

[0013] The protection zone data may represent the type of animal, ie, animal species, to be protected and the spatial extent of the animal protection associated with the animal species.

[0014] The agricultural zone data and / or protection zone data may be generated, e.g., automatically generated, by the agriculture system, e.g., when a particular area is selected on the digital map. The selection of a particular area on the digital map may be performed based on user input, publicly available or commercially available geographic information. The agricultural zone data and / or protection zone data may be generated when particular information is provided to the agriculture system. For example, a user may input a location name, a location geographic coordinate, or geographic information to the agriculture system, which then generates the respective agricultural zone data and / or protection zone data based on this information. As described in more detail below, the geographic information may include the location of each zone and area information for each zone.

[0015] Additionally or alternatively, the agricultural zone data and / or protection zone data may be acquired by the agricultural system from a database stored, for example, on an external server. Acquiring may include actively requesting data with the agricultural system from the database, i.e. data transfer is initiated by the agricultural system. Acquiring data may also include retrieving data from the database to the agricultural system, i.e. data transfer is initiated by the external server storing the database.

[0016] The animal species may be, for example, a bird species or an amphibian species, preferably a toad species such as the common toad, a frog species, a newt species, or a salamander species. The animal species may be, for example, an amphibian species that starts as a larva in a water body and develops into an adult through metamorphosis. All of these amphibian species have similar life cycles, some of which are time-shifted relative to each other. The life cycle generally includes a first stage in which the animal of the animal species exists in the form of an egg and then lives as a tadpole in a water body. The metamorphosis then migrates to live on land close to the birth pond, for example in the case of the common toad within a zone of about 290 meters around the birth pond.

[0017] The present invention includes the recognition that some animal species may be adversely affected by certain agricultural treatments during certain life stages of their life cycle. For example, the common toad, when young and small, i.e., metamorphic larvae, may be adversely affected under certain circumstances during certain life stages of their life cycle by the application of chemical products such as plant protection products. This is mainly likely due to the relatively high surface-to-mass ratio. Depending on the life cycle, the toad metamorphic larvae are present in or near the birth pond. Typically, the common toad metamorphic larvae remain within a zone of about 290 meters around the birth pond until they are strong enough to begin migrating to their winter habitat. The animal protection zone of the pond, where the common toad metamorphic larvae survive, may be defined as the surrounding zone of the pond or water body, extending up to about 290 meters from the water body. For other animal species, other animal protection zones may be defined. For example, for other animal species, the animal protection zone may be defined with respect to a forest and may include the surrounding zone of the forest. The perimeter zone around the forest or pond may extend only a few metres from the forest or pond, for example 10 metres, or in other cases may extend more than 290 metres, such as up to 500 metres, depending on the particular animal species potentially living in each animal protection zone.

[0018] In certain cases, an agricultural zone, such as a crop field, may at least partially overlap with an animal protection zone. In the agricultural zone, various forms of agricultural treatments need to be carried out in order to grow crops. In order to protect animal species, agricultural treatments that may adversely affect the animal species, more particularly certain life stages, should not be carried out within the overlap zone during the animal protection time window. The overlap zone may be defined by a spatial overlap between the agricultural zone, for example the crop field, and the animal protection zone.

[0019] However, if animal species, such as toad metamorphs, have left the overlap zone or are not yet present, agricultural treatments that adversely affect the metamorphs may be carried out in such overlap zones. Furthermore, agricultural treatments may be carried out in overlap zones even if animal species to be protected are potentially present, for example, if the soil load is expected to be below a predefined ecotoxicity threshold. This may be the case when crop coverage is sufficiently high. Crop coverage is characterized as the relative amount of, for example, chemical products that do not reach the soil surface. This means that if coverage is high, the soil load is low. For example, crops in the overlap zone may have reached a growth stage that covers a large amount of soil so that the amount of chemical products that actually reaches the soil and potentially present animals is sufficiently low. Thus, a large crop cover may lead to a large crop coverage and a small soil load.

[0020] The agricultural system may be used to determine a safe time window based on the life stage of the animal species. The safe time window may correspond to a time range, such as, for example, the number of days, suitable for carrying out an agricultural treatment in the overlap zone. The agricultural system may thereby provide a user with knowledge of when an agricultural treatment can be carried out in the agricultural zone without taking an unacceptable risk of adversely affecting the animal species. For example, the agricultural system may be configured to provide a prediction, such as a 10-day prediction, of when an agricultural treatment can be carried out with an acceptable risk of adversely affecting the animal species, more particularly, a particular life stage of the animal species.

[0021] This is achieved by the agricultural system by identifying a life stage of the animal species and determining an animal protection time window based on the life stage, the overlap zone, and a safety time window for agricultural treatments in the overlap zone. In particular, from the life stage of the animal species, the agricultural system may derive, for example, whether metamorphic larvae of the animal species are currently present in the overlap zone. Thus, based on the life stage of the animal species, the agricultural system may determine an animal protection time window that represents a time range during which agricultural treatments that may have a negative effect on the animal species should not be carried out in the overlap zone. During the animal protection time window, for example, metamorphic larvae of the animal species are expected to be present in the overlap zone. Based on the animal protection time window, the agricultural system determines a safety time window for agricultural treatments in the overlap zone. The overlap zone is determined from a spatial overlap between the agricultural zone and the animal protection zone. During the safety time window, agricultural treatments in the overlap zone can be carried out without negatively affecting the animals of the animal species, more particularly the specific life stage of the animal species.

[0022] Agricultural treatments relate to all operations carried out in an agricultural zone, e.g. a crop field, to grow crops and to harvest crops. Agricultural treatments that may adversely affect an animal species, more particularly a specific life stage of an animal species, may include, for example, sowing, application of chemical products, harvesting, or any other agricultural treatment that may adversely affect an animal species. Whether a specific agricultural treatment may adversely affect an animal species depends on the animal species, its life stage, and the specific agricultural treatment. For example, applying a specific chemical product in the overlap zone may adversely affect a specific animal species, while other animal species may not be affected by the chemical product. Furthermore, whether the application of a specific chemical product in the overlap zone adversely affects a specific animal species may depend on the concentration and / or amount of the applied chemical product. In other words, since the implementation of agricultural treatments that do not adversely affect an animal species can be carried out even during the animal protection time window, preferably only agricultural treatments that may adversely affect an animal species are taken into account to determine the safety time window.

[0023] An animal protection zone may correspond to a zone in which an animal species that may be adversely affected by agricultural treatments is at least temporarily present. An animal species may temporarily live in different animal protection zones, different groups of an animal species may live in different animal protection zones, and an animal protection zone may have an overlap zone with an agricultural zone. Two different life stages of an animal species may be, for example, an adult and a metamorphic juvenile. An animal protection zone may, for example, include one or more of a forest and a water body and a surrounding zone of the water body and / or the forest. The extent of the surrounding zone of the water body may be fixed for a particular animal species, for example, 290 m surrounding the water body for metamorphic juveniles of the common toad, or may further depend on further parameters, for example environmental parameters such as weather conditions, for example temperature, humidity or precipitation, or any other environmental parameter that is indicative of, for example, the life stage of the animal species.

[0024] An animal protection zone is preferably a zone in which an animal species lives or exists for a certain period of time during the life cycle of the animal species. An animal protection zone may also include a migration route of the animal species. Preferably, the animal protection zone is defined by a boundary enclosing a zone including at least one water body and the land surrounding one or more water bodies. An animal protection zone may be defined, for example, as a zone in which an animal species, in particular a certain life stage, such as a metamorphic juvenile, exists with a certain likelihood, for example 80% or 90%, during a certain life stage of the animal species. The boundary of the animal protection zone may be determined, for example, based on a certain distance from the shore of the water body. For example, the animal protection zone may extend radially up to 290 meters or up to 300 meters from the shore of the water body. The surrounding zone associated with one water body may overlap with the surrounding zone of another water body, thus forming a unified animal protection zone from two or more surrounding zones.

[0025] The overlap zone is a zone in which agricultural treatments are planned to be carried out since it is part of the agricultural zone. At the same time, the overlap zone is a zone in which an animal species may potentially be present. If an animal species is present in the overlap zone, generally, in order to protect the animal species, agricultural treatments that may have a negative effect on the animal species should not be carried out in the overlap zone. This may still include agricultural treatments being carried out despite the potential presence of the animal species to be protected in the overlap zone. For example, agricultural treatments may be carried out with adapted agricultural treatment parameters such that the animal species potentially present in the overlap zone are not unacceptably affected. Furthermore, agricultural treatments may still be carried out without a negative effect on the animal species, for example, if crop coverage is sufficiently high. For example, crops in the overlap zone may have reached a growth stage that covers a large amount of soil so that the soil load of chemical products is sufficiently reduced. In order to identify when an animal species is most likely to be present in the overlap zone, the agricultural system is configured to employ an animal life cycle model for the animal species that allows for identifying a current life stage within the life cycle of the animal species.

[0026] The animal protection time window corresponds to a particular time range during which the animal species, in particular a particular life stage, for example its metamorphic larvae, may be adversely affected by agricultural treatments. The animal life cycle model depends on the animal species, for example an amphibian species, such as the common toad. The animal life cycle model may be a statistical model, for example a regression model. The animal life cycle model may, for example, in the case of an amphibian, include three life stages of a juvenile animal, namely a first life stage which is an egg or tadpole in a water body, a second life stage which is a metamorphic larvae on land close to the birth pond, for example within a distance of 290 m from the birth pond, and a third life stage which is a grown metamorphic larvae or juvenile animal that migrates through a large part of the agricultural zone. The animal protection time window may, for example, include the second and / or third life stages. An additional 10 days may be added, for example, after the metamorphic larvae start to disappear.

[0027] For example, a farming system may comprise: an agricultural zone data providing unit configured to obtain or generate agricultural zone data indicative of an agricultural zone in which an agricultural treatment is planned; an animal protection zone data providing unit configured to obtain or generate protection zone data indicative of animal protection zones associated with present animal species; an animal life cycle model providing unit configured to provide an animal life cycle model configured to simulate a life cycle of an animal species; a life stage identification unit configured to identify one or more life stages of an animal species based on an animal life cycle model; an animal protection time window determination unit configured to determine, based on the life stage of the animal species, an animal protection time window during which agricultural processes that may have an impact, in particular a negative impact, on the animal species should not be carried out in the animal protection zone in order to protect the animal species; an overlap zone determination unit configured to determine an overlap zone as a spatial overlap between an agricultural zone and an animal protection zone based on the agricultural zone data and the protection zone data; a safety time window determination unit configured to determine a safety time window for an agricultural treatment in the overlap zone depending on the animal protection time window, the safety time window not overlapping in time with the animal protection time window.

[0028] The agricultural system may further comprise an output unit configured for providing or generating a safety time window signal based on the determined safety time window. Preferably, the provided safety time window signal is suitable for controlling the agricultural equipment to perform an agricultural treatment within the determined overlap zone during the determined safety time window. In particular, it is preferred that the provided safety time window signal is suitable for controlling the agricultural equipment not to perform an agricultural treatment within the overlap zone during the determined animal protection time window or to perform the agricultural treatment differently by modifying agricultural treatment parameters.

[0029] For example, the agricultural zone data providing unit, the protection zone data providing unit, and / or the output unit may be part of a communication interface configured to receive and / or transmit agricultural zone data, protection zone data, and / or a safety time window signal, respectively. The safety time window signal may represent safety time window data indicative of the determined safety time window. The agricultural zone data providing unit and / or the protection zone data providing unit may be implemented as a memory component or cloud that stores and provides the respective agricultural zone data and / or protection zone data. The animal life cycle model providing unit may be a memory component or cloud that stores and provides the animal life cycle model. The agricultural system may further comprise a pre-run agricultural growth model providing unit that provides the agricultural growth model. The agricultural growth model providing unit may be a memory component or cloud that stores and provides the agricultural growth model. The agricultural system may further comprise growth stage identification data configured to identify a growth stage of a crop growing or to be grown in the agricultural zone based on the agricultural growth model. Preferably, the agricultural system, e.g., the growth stage identification unit, is configured to identify a crop infestation indicative of the relative amount of the chemical product reaching the soil surface within the overlap zone, and the system is configured to determine the animal protection time window in response to the identified crop infestation. Furthermore, the agricultural system, e.g., the growth stage identification unit, may be further configured to identify a growth stage of a crop growing or to be grown in the agricultural zone, the growth stage being identified based on an agricultural growth model, and the agricultural system may be further configured to determine the animal protection time window in response to the identified growth stage. Additionally or alternatively, the agricultural system, e.g., the growth stage identification unit, may be configured to identify the crop infestation based on the growth stage of the crop using an agricultural growth model, and to identify the soil load using the identified crop infestation, and to determine the animal protection time window, the agricultural system, e.g., the growth stage identification unit, is configured to evaluate the identified soil load in relation to a predefined ecotoxicity threshold.

[0030] The life stage identification unit, the growth stage identification unit, the animal protection time window determination unit, the overlap zone determination unit and the safety time window determination unit may be implemented as one or more processors or processing units. The one or more processors may be part of the same computing device or may be distributed across several different processing devices.

[0031] Thus, the agricultural system may include a communication interface, a processor, and a memory component. The communication interface may include a transceiver and one or more antennas for exchanging data, such as agricultural zone data, protection zone data, safety time window signals, and / or weather data. Alternatively or additionally, the communication interface may include a user interface for interacting with a user, such as a keyboard, a display, a mouse, a touch display, and the like. The processor may be configured to process data, such as agricultural zone data, protection zone data, and / or weather data, for example, by performing calculations. The processor may be configured to identify overlapping zones and determine safety time windows. The memory component may be configured to store the data, for example, in a database.

[0032] The animal life cycle model may be configured to simulate the life cycle of an animal species based on environmental parameters, in particular based on weather data. The weather data may be used as an input to the animal life cycle model to identify life stages within the life cycle of the animal species. The agricultural system may be configured, for example, to use the animal life cycle model to estimate the life stages of the animal species based on weather data. The animal life cycle model may be generated or may use as input weather data, including, for example, soil temperature at a particular depth, air temperature, and precipitation, as well as tracking data of the animal species depending on the weather data, in particular the location of adult animals and the capture location of young animals, based, for example, on fences placed at different distances to the birth location of the animals.

[0033] The weather data may be stored, for example, in a database of the agricultural system. The weather data may also be stored in any other database accessible by the agricultural system on one or more external servers connected to the agricultural system. For example, the external server may include a weather satellite network or a weather station network. The external server may receive data from sensors that sense weather information including, for example, precipitation, temperature, and humidity. The weather information may include, for example, soil temperature, air temperature, humidity, and precipitation. The external server may collect the weather information and form weather data from the weather information.

[0034] The weather data may include historical weather data, including, for example, weather information for one or more past years, such as the last two, three, four, or five years. The weather information may also be used to provide weather forecasts, i.e., future expected weather, for example a 10-day weather forecast, which may be included in the weather data. The agricultural system may be configured, for example, to simulate future life cycles of animal species based on the weather forecasts included in the weather data.

[0035] The weather data may include measured air and / or soil temperatures, e.g. a temperature profile for the most recent two years, or a weather forecast, e.g. an expected temperature profile for the next 10 days. The weather data may alternatively or additionally include measured precipitation, e.g. a precipitation profile representing the amount of precipitation during the most recent two years. The weather data may also include a weather forecast, e.g. a 10 day forecast of expected precipitation.

[0036] The agricultural system, e.g., the animal protection time window determination unit, may be configured to use the animal life cycle model to identify, based on weather data, when an animal species will begin migrating, when an animal species will breed, and / or when offspring of an animal species will be born, one or more of these events may be influenced by specific air, water, and / or soil temperatures and precipitation.

[0037] The agricultural system may further be configured to acquire weather data, for example via a communication interface, based on the geographic information of the agricultural zone, based on the geographic information of the animal protection zone, or based on the geographic information of the agricultural zone and the geographic information of the animal protection zone.

[0038] The geographic information for each zone may include, for example, a location of each zone and area information for each zone. The location of each zone may correspond to a particular point in each zone, such as, for example, the center of each zone or any other point in each zone. The area information may include an area indicating a quantity indicating the extent of each zone in two dimensions. The area information may further include boundary information for each zone including, for example, boundary coordinates for each zone indicating the area or boundary of each zone, respectively.

[0039] The agricultural system may be configured to acquire weather data based on the location of the animal protection zone, the agricultural zone, or the animal protection zone and the agricultural zone. For example, the weather data may be acquired by a weather station, for example, near or within the animal protection zone. This may enable more accurate weather data to be provided, which may in turn enable more accurate prediction of life stages of animal species.

[0040] The geographic information may be provided by a user, for example, via a communication interface. For example, the user may provide a location. Area information of the zones may then be selected from a database based on the location. Additionally or alternatively, geographic information for the agricultural zones and / or animal protection zones may be provided by or received from a database. The database may be included in the agricultural system, for example in a memory component. Alternatively, the database may be separate from the agricultural system and may be stored in one or more external servers, such as a weather station or weather satellite. The geographic information of the animal protection zones may be received, for example, from the same database or from a different database. The geographic information of the agricultural zones and the geographic information of the animal protection zones may be stored in the same database or in different databases. The database may include, as geographic information, a list of each zone and respective area information related to each location of each zone.

[0041] Additionally or alternatively, the database may include geographic information in the form of image data associated with each location, including, for example, satellite imagery or other images taken from above, for example, from an aircraft, balloon, or drone. The image data may include, for example, digital maps, such as topographical maps or maps. The agricultural system may be configured to identify the location of each zone and area information for each zone based on the image data for each location, for example, by performing image recognition. For example, each zone may be identified based on one or more characteristics of each zone. The characteristics of the agricultural zone may include different colors and specific shape characteristics compared to neighboring zones. The characteristics of the animal protection zone may include irregular boundary shapes, characteristics indicative of bodies of water, forests, or mountains, such as blue color, or irregularly shaped objects within the zone, such as trees or rocks.

[0042] Each location may be, for example, a place name, a geographic location provided, for example, in spherical coordinates, map coordinates projected onto a flat surface, geocentric earth fixed (ECEF) Cartesian coordinates, or a geocode. Each location may be provided, for example, by a user as a Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinate or a place name.

[0043] The agricultural system, e.g. the agricultural zone data providing unit, may also be configured to select an agricultural zone based on geographic information and to receive image data of the environment around the agricultural zone. The agricultural system, e.g. the animal protection zone data providing unit, may be configured to identify the animal protection zone from the image data, e.g. based on image recognition. This allows to select a particular agricultural zone and to automatically detect animal protection zones close to the agricultural zone, in particular animal protection zones that spatially overlap with the agricultural zone. For example, the agricultural system may be configured to automatically identify the animal protection zone by identifying a water body. The agricultural system may further be configured to identify a perimeter zone of one or more water bodies according to predefined criteria, e.g. a zone having a boundary at a certain distance calculated from the shore of the water body. This zone may have a larger extent in one direction, e.g. with respect to the water body, compared to the other direction. For example, if there is no agricultural zone on one side of the water body and a forest is present, the perimeter zone may not extend into the forest, whereas this is the case on another side of the water body where the agricultural zone is present.

[0044] Alternatively or additionally, the animal protection zone may be defined by a user, for example using a communication interface including a display on which a digital map is visualized. The user may provide the boundaries of the animal protection zone as input to the agricultural system.

[0045] Alternatively or additionally, animal protection zones may be identified automatically, for example by the animal protection zone data providing unit, based on the habitats of the animal species depicted on the digital map. The habitats may be assigned to different life stages of the animal species, for example based on a homogenous life cycle model. To visualize overlapping zones, the digital map may be overlaid with a topographical map, for example showing agricultural zones.

[0046] The agricultural zone may be defined by user input using the communication interface, e.g., obtained by the same protection zone data providing unit. For example, the display may show a digital map showing the location based on the input by the user. The user may select the boundaries of the agricultural zone on the map, and the agricultural system may be configured to identify the agricultural zone and its location and area information based on the user input. Alternatively, the geographic location of the boundaries of the agricultural zone may be provided as latitude and longitude.

[0047] The agricultural system, for example the overlap zone identification unit, may be configured to identify the overlap zone and its geographic information based on the geographic information of the animal protection zone and the geographic information of the agricultural zone.

[0048] The agricultural system, for example the animal protection time window determination unit, may be configured to determine the likelihood of the presence of the animal species in the agricultural zone, in particular the overlap zone, based on the simulated life cycle of the animal species. For example, while the animal species lives as a tadpole in the birth water body or birth pond, the animal species is not present in the overlap zone. However, as the tadpoles develop into metamorphic larvae, the metamorphic larvae leave the birth water body and potentially migrate into an adjacent crop field. Thus, depending on the life stages determined from the simulated life cycle of the animal species, the likelihood of the presence of the animal species in the agricultural zone, in particular the overlap zone, may be determined, for example, by the animal protection time window determination unit.

[0049] The animal life cycle model may be a statistical model configured to determine a spatio-temporal score indicative of the likelihood of the presence of an animal species in an agricultural zone, particularly an overlap zone, based on the life stage of the animal species. The likelihood of the presence of an animal species in an agricultural zone, particularly an overlap zone, may alternatively or additionally depend on meteorological data.

[0050] The agricultural system, for example the safety time window determination unit, may be configured to determine the safety time window based on the determined presence likelihood of the animal species in the agricultural zone, in particular the overlap zone. For example, a threshold value of the presence likelihood of the animal species in the agricultural zone, in particular the overlap zone, may be defined, below which the animal species is expected to be absent or present with a very low probability in the agricultural zone. Since the animal species migrates to a winter habitat at some point in time, the presence likelihood of the animal species in the agricultural zone will be below the threshold value after the animal species migrates to the winter habitat. Furthermore, the presence likelihood of the animal species in the agricultural zone, in particular the overlap zone, is below the threshold value even before the metamorphic larvae are present in the agricultural zone, in particular the overlap zone. The animal protection time window may be determined, for example, as a time range between the occurrence of metamorphic larvae in the agricultural zone, in particular the overlap zone, and the migration to the winter habitat. In that case, the safety time window corresponds, for example, to a time range that does not overlap with the animal protection time window, i.e. all times before the occurrence of metamorphic larvae and all times after the migration to the winter habitat.

[0051] The agricultural system, e.g., the output unit, may be configured to provide a safety time window signal based on the determined safety time window. The safety time window signal may include or be a control signal that can be used to control an agricultural device, e.g., a robot, such as an aerial drone, a tractor, an application robot, or an agricultural application robot, to perform an agricultural process in the overlap zone during the safety time window. This allows controlling the agricultural device, e.g., a robot, to reduce the risk of adversely affecting an animal species during the agricultural process.

[0052] Agricultural equipment may include any machine capable of performing agricultural processes including seeding, fertilizing, applying plant protection products, harvesting, or performing any other agricultural process in an agricultural zone, such as a crop field.

[0053] The agricultural equipment may include or be a tractor, a robot, an aerial drone, an application robot, or an agricultural application robot.

[0054] The agricultural device may be configured to perform agricultural operations completely autonomously. A trained agricultural device that performs agricultural operations completely autonomously is preferably configured to sense its environment and navigate and perform agricultural operations with little, if any, human input.

[0055] The agricultural equipment may be configured to perform agricultural operations primarily upon human input, i.e., the agricultural equipment is primarily human controlled, in which case an operator or user of the agricultural equipment may be instructed by the agricultural system when to perform agricultural operations in specific agricultural zones without adversely affecting animal species.

[0056] The agricultural equipment may comprise a data input unit, which may be configured to receive a safety time window signal usable for controlling the agricultural equipment. The agricultural equipment may further comprise a control unit, which is configured to process the received safety time window signal and to control the agricultural equipment according to information contained in the safety time window signal. Thereby, it is possible to remotely control the agricultural equipment by transmitting the safety time window signal received by the data input of the agricultural equipment. The agricultural equipment may further comprise a data output, which provides an agricultural equipment signal, which may be generated, for example, by a control unit of the agricultural equipment. The agricultural equipment signal may represent status information of the agricultural equipment, such as an error message. The agricultural equipment signal may be generated such that it may be usable to be received by the agricultural system, in particular by an electronic device of the agricultural system. For example, the agricultural equipment signal may be provided to be received by an antenna array or a transceiver of a communication interface of the electronic device of the agricultural system. The provided agricultural equipment signal may be processed by a processor of the agricultural system and the information contained in the agricultural equipment signal may be displayed to a user, for example, by a display of the electronic device.

[0057] The safety time window signal may be transmitted by the agricultural system, e.g. by its electronic device, e.g. by its output unit, and processed by the agricultural equipment. The safety time window signal may include or be an information signal that can be used to provide information about the safety time window, e.g. to the agricultural equipment or to a user. The safety time window signal may be a display signal for displaying the safety time window on a display or an audio signal for audibly providing information about the safety time window by a speaker. The agricultural equipment may be configured to present information about the safety time window to a user, e.g. visually and / or audibly. The agricultural equipment may include, for example, an agricultural equipment communication interface, e.g. a display for visualizing information about the safety time window and / or a speaker for audibly providing information about the safety time window to a user.

[0058] Additionally or alternatively, the agricultural system may be configured to display on a display of the communication interface, for example, a safety time window during which agricultural treatments that may adversely affect the animal species may be carried out in the overlap zone with an acceptable risk of adversely affecting the animal species. The agricultural system may also be configured to display the agricultural zone, the animal protection zone, and the overlap zone on the display.

[0059] The agricultural system may include agricultural equipment, such as a robot, configured to perform agricultural operations in the agricultural zone based on the safety time window signal. Additionally or alternatively, the agricultural system may be configured to control agricultural equipment, such as a robot, outside the agricultural system based on the safety time window signal.

[0060] The safety time window signal may be a control signal that can be used to control an agricultural device such as a robot or may be processed by the agricultural device and used to adapt the operation of the agricultural device according to the information contained in the safety time window signal. The agricultural device such as a robot may be an autonomous flying drone or an autonomous tractor. During the safety time window, the agricultural device such as a robot may be configured to perform agricultural processes in the overlap zone that may have a negative impact on the animal species.

[0061] The agricultural system, for example the agricultural treatment time window determination unit, may be configured to determine an agricultural treatment time window. For example, during the agricultural treatment time window, the agricultural treatment time window may indicate a time range during which agricultural treatment in the agricultural zone is necessary due to high pest control pressure or a time range during which agricultural treatment in the agricultural zone is at least beneficial in terms of yield. The agricultural treatment time window may be within the safety time window or a time range that at least partially overlaps with the safety time window. Alternatively, the safety time window may be a time range within the agricultural treatment time window that does not overlap with the animal protection time window. The agricultural treatment time window may be within the animal protection time window or a time range that at least partially overlaps with the animal protection time window. Preferably, the agricultural treatment is only carried out within the preferred time window, which is a time window defined by the overlap of the agricultural treatment time window and the safety time window. During the preferred time window, the agricultural treatment is beneficial for the crop and at the same time does not unacceptably affect the animal species. Thus, the preferred time window is completely contained within the safety time window. Preferably, agricultural processing is not carried out during an overlap time window defined by the overlap of the animal protection time window and the agricultural processing time window. Information about the preferred time window may be included in a safety time window signal that can be used to control the agricultural equipment.

[0062] The agricultural equipment, such as a robot, may be configured to perform agricultural treatments in the agricultural zone during the agricultural treatment time window that do not adversely affect the animal species. The agricultural equipment, such as a robot, may also be configured to perform agricultural treatments in the agricultural zone, excluding the overlap zone, during the animal protection time window that may adversely affect the animal species. The agricultural system may be configured to adapt the agricultural treatments to the agricultural equipment, such as a robot, in the overlap zone during the animal protection time window such that the agricultural treatments in the overlap zone do not unacceptably affect the animal species or at least have a reduced impact on the animal species to reduce the risk of adversely affecting the animal species. This allows for a reduced risk of adversely affecting the animal species during the agricultural treatments.

[0063] Preferably, the agricultural system is configured to perform or control agricultural treatments in the overlap zone during the safety time window. Preferably, the agricultural system is configured to control an agricultural device, such as a robot, to perform agricultural treatments in the overlap zone during the safety time window.

[0064] The agricultural system may be configured to perform agricultural treatments, such as, for example, application of chemical products, in agricultural zones, including overlap zones, during safe time windows. The agricultural system may cause agricultural equipment, such as, for example, robots, to perform agricultural treatments in agricultural zones, particularly overlap zones, during safe time windows.

[0065] The agricultural system may be configured to adapt agricultural treatments, for example, by controlling agricultural equipment such that agricultural treatments are performed in overlap zones during animal protection time windows in the agricultural zones. This makes it possible to ensure that agricultural treatments that may have a negative impact on the animal species are not performed in the overlap zones during the animal protection time windows, thereby reducing the negative impact of agricultural treatments on the animals. Meanwhile, other agricultural treatments in the overlap zones that do not unacceptably affect the animal species may be performed during the animal protection time windows. Additionally, agricultural treatments that may have a negative impact on the animal species may be performed in the agricultural zones excluding the overlap zones during the animal protection time windows. This may allow optimal zone-based or sub-zone-based agricultural treatments.

[0066] The agricultural system, for example the output unit, may be configured to provide an adaptation signal, for example a control signal that can be used to control an agricultural device such as a robot or an information signal that can be used to provide a user with information to adapt the agricultural treatment to an agricultural treatment that does not unacceptably affect the animal species in the overlap zone during the animal protection time window. For example, if the agricultural treatment is carried out in the form of application of a chemical product, the concentration of the chemical product can be adapted in the overlap zone or another chemical product may be applied in the overlap zone in order not to unacceptably affect the animal species. This makes it possible to reduce the risk of adversely affecting the animal species. Furthermore, some agricultural treatments may be carried out in the overlap zone even during the animal protection time window. This may improve the efficiency of the agricultural treatment and may further increase the yield and / or quality.

[0067] The agricultural system may be configured to obtain a growth stage of a crop growing or to be grown in the agricultural zone, for example using a growth stage identification unit. Obtaining the growth stage of the crop may include obtaining or receiving the growth stage of the crop based on a user input or identifying the growth stage of the crop based on an agricultural growth model configured to simulate the growth of the crop. The agricultural system may be configured to perform or control an agricultural treatment in the overlap zone during the safety time window depending on the growth stage of the crop. Alternatively or additionally, the agricultural system may be configured to determine an agricultural treatment time window based on the growth stage of the crop. The agricultural system may be configured to determine the agricultural treatment time window to be included within the safety time window, for example using an agricultural treatment time window determination unit. In other words, the agricultural treatment time window may be limited to a time range that does not overlap in time with the animal protection time window. Alternatively, the agricultural system may be configured to determine the safety time window further based on the agricultural treatment time window, for example using a safety time window determination unit, such that the safety time window is included in the agricultural treatment time window and does not overlap with the animal protection time window. In particular, the agricultural system may be configured to determine a preferred time window for agricultural treatment, defined by the overlap of a safety time window and an agricultural treatment time window, which makes it possible to provide a safety time window that can provide an improvement in crop yield and / or quality while ensuring the protection of animal species.

[0068] A crop in the context of this text should be understood as any plant that provides a yield that can be harvested in an agricultural zone. Crops may include, for example, wheat, corn, soybeans, grasses, or any other plant that provides a yield, whatever the form. Typically, crops are sown in a field at a first time point to grow and harvest at a later time point. Crops may also include perennials, such as fruit trees, that are sown or planted at a first time point and grown over time to provide fruit over a longer period of time, such as several years. The yield that can be harvested from plants in an agricultural zone depends on the agricultural treatment in the agricultural zone.

[0069] The agricultural treatment time window may correspond to a time range during which an agricultural treatment should be performed to optimize the yield and / or quality provided by the plant. For example, the agricultural treatment time window may indicate a phase of plant growth during which the plant is susceptible to pests. During this phase, damage to the plant by pests needs to be avoided. For example, the plant may be protected using a chemical product that is applied during the agricultural treatment time window to avoid damage to the plant by pests.

[0070] The agricultural growth model may be configured to use, for example, a crop type and / or a planting date as input. The crop type and / or the planting date may, for example, be obtained from or received by a user. The agricultural growth model may be crop type specific, i.e., may take into account the particularities of the crop type during growth. For example, different crop types may be affected by different pests and may require different agricultural treatments to optimize yields in an agricultural zone. In particular, different agricultural treatments, such as application of chemical products, may need to be performed during different agricultural treatment time windows on different crop types. The agricultural growth model may be configured to identify the growth stage of the crop in an agricultural zone based on the crop type and the planting date. Optionally, the agricultural growth model may be configured to use further input parameters to identify the growth stage of the crop. The further input parameters may include, for example, which chemical product should be applied or environmental parameters, such as soil type of the agricultural zone, actual pest pressure, weather information, such as temperature or precipitation, or any other environmental parameters indicative of the status of the plants. The agricultural growth model may be configured to simulate the growth stage of the crop based on weather data, for example.

[0071] Alternatively, the crop growth stage may be obtained from or received by a user, for example, based on user input. The agricultural growth model may be configured to determine an agricultural treatment time window based on the crop growth stage, during which, for example, an agricultural treatment should be performed to optimize yield. The crop growth stage may be, for example, a BBCH (Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt and Chemical industry) growth stage, and the crop growth stage may be indicated by a BBCH value, for example, as defined in “Growth stages of mono- and dicotyledonous plants BBCH Monograph”, edited by Uwe Meier, published by Quedlinburg, 2018 (DOI:10.5073 / 20180906-074619). For example, for autumn-sown wheat, the agricultural treatment time window for applying fungicides may be BBCH 30-65 due to the high pest control pressure during this time window.

[0072] Preferably, the agricultural system is configured to identify a growth stage of a crop growing or to be grown in the agricultural zone based on the agricultural growth model, and the agricultural system is configured to perform the agricultural treatment in the overlap zone during the safety time window depending on the growth stage of the crop. Alternatively, the agricultural system may be configured to determine an agricultural treatment time window based on the growth stage of the crop, the agricultural treatment time window indicating a time range within which the agricultural treatment should be performed in the agricultural zone.

[0073] The growth stage of the crop can also be used to determine the animal protection time window more accurately. That is, when the crop reaches a certain growth stage, the crop can contribute to the protection of the animal species living on the soil. For example, at a certain growth stage, the crop can cover the ground to such an extent that only a small amount of the chemical product applied to the crop field reaches the soil and thus the animal species. In other words, the crop adhesion, i.e. the relative amount of the chemical product that does not actually reach the soil, can be significantly increased when the crop covers a large part of the soil. Therefore, in order to determine more accurately the extent to which the chemical product actually reaches the soil, it is possible to take into account the growth stage of the crop, and in particular to take into account the crop adhesion on that basis. If the crop adhesion is large enough, it may be possible to apply the chemical product in the overlap zone, even though the animal species to be protected may potentially be present. This means that when the growth stage of the crop, in particular the crop adhesion, is taken into account, it may be possible to determine an animal protection time window that has a shorter duration compared to the animal protection time window determined without taking into account the growth stage of the crop.

[0074] Therefore, it is preferred that the agricultural system is further configured for determining crop attachment in order to determine an animal protection time window depending on the identified growth stage of the crop.

[0075] For example, the agricultural system may be configured to identify a growth stage of a crop growing or to be grown in the agricultural zone based on an agricultural growth model, and to determine an animal protection time window depending on the identified growth stage of the crop. Preferably, the agricultural system is configured to identify a crop infestation based on the identified growth stage. Furthermore, the agricultural system may be configured to identify a soil load using the identified crop infestation. Preferably, in order to determine the animal protection time window, the agricultural system, e.g. the animal protection time window determination unit, is configured to evaluate the identified infestation and / or the soil load with respect to a predefined ecotoxicity threshold. For example, if the identified soil load is above the predefined ecotoxicity threshold, a safety time window signal suitable for controlling the agricultural equipment not to perform an agricultural treatment in the overlap zone may be generated. However, if the identified soil load is below the predefined ecotoxicity threshold, a safety time window signal suitable for controlling the agricultural equipment to perform an agricultural treatment in the overlap zone may be generated.

[0076] In operation of an agricultural system configured to identify crop infestation, for example by identifying the growth stage of a crop growing or to be grown in an agricultural zone, the agricultural system may determine the exposure of a chemical product to an animal species in the overlap zone during an animal protection time window based on a simulated crop infestation, for example using a simulated BBCH stage as a basis. Based on the identified crop infestation, the exposure reaching the soil, i.e. the area where the animal species may be present (for example, in the case of amphibians), (called soil load) may be calculated and compared to an ecotoxicity threshold, which is typically set by a regulatory agency that approves plant protection products. If the soil load is below the ecotoxicity threshold, the animal protection time window may be changed to a safety time window, allowing agricultural treatment in the overlap zone. If the soil load is higher than the ecotoxicity threshold, the agricultural treatment may not be performed or the agricultural system may determine which change in agricultural treatment parameters is needed that can be used to generate a signal, for example a reduction in the concentration or application amount of a chemical product, in order to change the animal protection time window to a safety time window. Thus, it is possible to use the agricultural system to determine a set of one or more agricultural treatment parameters that lead to an agricultural treatment that produces a soil load below the ecotoxicity threshold. If such a set of one or more agricultural treatment parameters can be determined, agricultural treatments may be carried out in overlapping zones even if animal species to be protected are potentially present in the overlapping zones.

[0077] The agricultural system may be configured to adapt agricultural treatments in agricultural zones such that agricultural treatments carried out in the overlapping zones during the animal protection time window do not or do not unacceptably affect the animal species.

[0078] The agricultural system may be configured to provide an agricultural processing time window signal. The agricultural processing time window signal may include information about and / or represent the agricultural processing time window. The agricultural processing time window signal may be used to be transmitted to an agricultural device such as a robot. The agricultural device such as a robot may be configured to perform an agricultural processing within the agricultural processing time window based on the agricultural processing time window signal and / or within the safety time window based on the safety time window signal.

[0079] The database may include several data layers. One of the data layers may include geographic information of the agricultural zones and the animal protection zones. For example, the geographic information may be included in image data such as look-up tables (LUTs) and / or high-resolution maps with marked zones. The image data may include, for example, the boundary coordinates of the zones and the zones such as fields, water bodies, forests, animal habitats, etc., where the agricultural treatments should be performed. The database may also include a data layer in which information about the animal life cycle of an animal species is stored, such as historical data about the animal life cycle. Furthermore, one of the data layers of the database may include crop farming and historical data about the growth of different crops. The database may also include weather data in one data layer, such as current weather data, forecasted weather data, and / or historical weather data. The data layers of the database may be used by the agricultural system to determine safe time windows in which agricultural treatments that may adversely affect the overlapping zones and / or animal species may be performed in the overlapping zones with a low risk of unacceptably affecting the animal species.

[0080] The agricultural system, for example the safety time window determination unit, may be configured to determine the safety time window based on location and area information of the agricultural zone, location and area information of at least one animal protection zone, an agricultural growth model, and / or an animal life cycle model.

[0081] The animal species may in particular be an amphibian species, preferably a toad species.

[0082] In a further aspect, a computer-implemented method for protecting an animal species present in an animal protection zone is provided, the computer-implemented method comprising: - obtaining or generating agricultural zone data indicative of an agricultural zone in which an agricultural treatment is planned; - obtaining or generating protection zone data indicative of animal protection zones associated with present animal species; providing an animal life cycle model configured to simulate a life cycle of an animal species; - identifying the life stages of an animal species based on an animal life cycle model; - determining, based on the life stage of the animal species, an animal protection time window in which agricultural processes that may have an impact, in particular a negative impact, on the animal species should not be carried out in the animal protection zone in order to protect the animal species; - determining an overlap zone as a spatial overlap between an agricultural zone and an animal protection zone based on the agricultural zone data and the protection zone data; - determining a safety time window for agricultural treatments within the overlap zone in response to the animal protection time window, the safety time window not overlapping in time with the animal protection time window; Includes.

[0083] The computer-implemented method may further include one or more of the following steps: - simulating the life cycle of an animal species using an animal life cycle model on meteorological data, obtaining meteorological data based on geographic information of the agricultural zone, based on geographic information of the animal protection zone, or based on geographic location information of the agricultural zone and geographic information of the animal protection zone; - determining the likelihood that an animal species is present in an overlap zone based on a simulated life cycle of the animal species; - determining a safety time window based on the determined likelihood that the animal species is present in the overlap zone; - providing a safety time window signal based on the determined safety time window; - providing a safety time window signal that can be used to control an agricultural device, such as a robot, to perform an agricultural process in the agricultural zone; - causing an agricultural device, such as a robot, to perform an agricultural process in the agricultural zone based on a safety time window signal; - carrying out agricultural treatments in the overlap zone during a safety time window, - adapting agricultural treatments in agricultural zones such that no agricultural treatments are carried out in overlapping zones during the animal protection time window, - acquiring, receiving or generating a growth stage of a crop growing or to be grown in an agricultural zone; - carrying out agricultural treatments in the overlap zone during a safety time window depending on the acquired growth stage of the crop, - determining an agricultural treatment time window based on the crop growth stage, the agricultural treatment time window indicating a time range during which agricultural treatments are performed in the agricultural zone.

[0084] The step of obtaining a growth stage of a crop growing or to be grown in the agricultural zone may include one of the following steps: - obtaining, receiving or generating a growth stage of a crop growing or to be grown in an agricultural zone based on a user input; or - identifying a growth stage of the crop based on an agricultural growth model configured to simulate the growth of the crop.

[0085] The method may further include the steps of: - adapting agricultural practices in the agricultural zones so that agricultural practices carried out in the overlapping zones during the animal protection time window have not or will not have an unacceptable effect on the animal species, - acquiring or receiving meteorological data based on geographic information of agricultural zones, geographic information of animal protection zones, or geographic information of agricultural zones and geographic information of animal protection zones; - providing an agricultural processing time window signal; - adapting agricultural practices in the agricultural zones so that agricultural practices carried out in the overlapping zones during the animal protection time window have a less adverse or do not unacceptably affect the animal species.

[0086] In a further aspect, a computer program product for protecting animal species is presented, comprising program code means for causing a processor to perform the computer implemented method according to claim 12 or 13 or any embodiment of said method when the computer program product is executed on a processor.

[0087] In another aspect, a computer program product according to claim 14 or a computer readable medium having stored thereon any embodiment of said computer program product is presented.

[0088] It is to be understood that the agricultural system of claim 1, the computer implemented method of claim 12, the computer program product of claim 14 and the computer readable medium of claim 15 have similar and / or identical preferred embodiments, in particular as defined in the dependent claims.

[0089] It is to be understood that a preferred embodiment of the invention may also be any combination of the dependent claims or the above-mentioned embodiments with the respective independent claim.

[0090] These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiment(s) described hereinafter. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0091] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an agricultural system in the form of an animal protection tool for protecting an animal species. [Diagram 2] 1 shows, exemplarily and diagrammatically, agricultural zones and animal protection zones highlighted on a section of a topographical map. [Diagram 3]1 shows schematic and exemplary time ranges of a safety time window, an animal protection time window, an agricultural treatment time window, and a preferred time window for carrying out an agricultural treatment. [Figure 4] 1 shows an exemplary and schematic diagram of the annual life cycle of an amphibian using the example of the common toad. [Diagram 5] An exemplary and schematic diagram of the annual migration of the common toad. [Figure 6A] Schematic showing the movement of the common toad at specific distances from a water body at different life stages. [Figure 6B] 1 shows an exemplary cumulative distribution of the common toad around a water body at different life stages, showing the probability of the presence of the animal species in the overlap zone between the animal protection zone and the agricultural zone. [Figure 7] 1 shows agricultural and animal protection zones highlighted on a topographical map. [Figure 8] 1 shows another topographical map with agricultural zones and animal protection zones. [Figure 9] 1 shows a topographical map with an agricultural zone and two animal protection sub-zones that form an animal protection zone that spatially overlaps with the agricultural zone. [Figure 10] The amphibian annual life phases are shown diagrammatically over the following 11 years. [Figure 11] 2 illustrates diagrammatically three layers of data used by the agricultural system of FIG. 1 to determine a safe time window for performing agricultural treatments. [Figure 12] 1 shows a schematic and exemplary flow diagram of one embodiment of a computer-implemented method for protecting animal species present in an animal protection zone. [Figure 13] 1 shows a graphical user interface image showing a digital map of a particular area recorded as a satellite image and an input mask for inputting details of the intended application of a chemical product in a selected crop field. [Figure 14] 13 shows the subsequent graphical user interface images illustrating different growth stages of the winter habitat on several different days of the year. [Figure 15]13 shows the subsequent graphical user interface images for providing information about when to apply a chemical product on a selected day for intended chemical application. [Figure 16] 13 shows a subsequent graphical user interface image for providing information about when to apply a chemical product on different days when application of the chemical product is intended. [Figure 17] 4 shows the subsequent graphical user interface images including crop attachment and soil load information. [Figure 18] 4 shows the following graphical user interface image with a reduced intended application ratio. [Figure 19] 4 shows further graphical user interface images that follow. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0092] Figure 1 shows diagrammatically an embodiment of an agricultural system 100 in the form of an animal conservation tool for protecting an animal species present in an animal conservation zone 202 (see Figure 2). In this embodiment, the agricultural system 100 may be used to protect an amphibian species, in particular a toad species, namely the common toad.

[0093] The agricultural system 100 comprises a portable electronic device 10, such as a mobile phone or a tablet computer. Moreover, in this embodiment, the agricultural system 100 further comprises an agricultural device, for example a robot 50, such as a tractor or a drone, that can perform agricultural operations based on control signals received from the electronic device 10. In other embodiments, the robot 50 may be external to the agricultural system 100. The agricultural system 100 is connected to an external server 150 in the form of a weather station. In other embodiments, the agricultural system may include one or more servers, such as a weather station or a weather satellite.

[0094] The electronic device 10 comprises a control unit 12 and a communication interface 14. The control unit 12 comprises a processor 16 and a computer readable medium in the form of a memory component 18. The processor 16 processes data and performs calculations. The memory component 18 stores data such as agricultural zone data, and / or protection zone data, and / or weather data. The memory component 18 may further store a computer program product for protecting animal species. The computer program product comprises program code means for causing the processor 16 to perform a computer implemented method for protecting animal species, for example an embodiment of the computer implemented method disclosed in FIG. 12, when the computer program product is executed on the processor 16. The memory component may store further programs for operating the electronic device 10 using the processor 16.

[0095] The communication interface 14 includes a user interface in the form of a touch display 20, a transceiver 22, and an antenna array 24. The communication interface 14 is used to communicate, for example, with a user or other devices or servers. The touch display 20 visualizes content to the user and allows the user to interact with the electronic device 10, for example by providing user input. The transceiver 22 and the antenna array 24 are used to exchange data between the electronic device 10, the robot 50, and an external server 150. To exchange data with the robot 50, a data link 28 may be established by the transceiver 22 via the antenna array 24. Additionally, to exchange data with the external server 150, the transceiver 22 may establish a data link 30 via the antenna array 24.

[0096] In the following, the functioning of the agricultural system 100 for protecting amphibians, in particular the common toad, will be explained with reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3. In particular, the agricultural system 100 is used as an animal protection tool to determine the suitable number of days that agricultural treatments that may adversely affect the animal species may be carried out in an agricultural zone 200 in the form of a crop field (see Figure 2) without unacceptably affecting the animal species. In particular, the agricultural system 100 is used to determine when chemical products such as fungicides may be applied in the agricultural zone 200 without unacceptably affecting the metamorphic larvae of the common toad present in a part of the agricultural zone 200, i.e. the overlap zone 210 formed by the spatial overlap of the agricultural zone 200 and the animal protection zone 202.

[0097] In this embodiment, the memory component 18 stores image data representing a topographical map 204 (see FIG. 2) of the Earth or at least a portion of the Earth. The topographical map 204, or at least a section of the topographical map 204, may be visualized on the touch display 20.

[0098] A user may provide as input to the electronic device 10 via the touch display 20 geographic information about the agricultural zone 200 in which the user wants to perform an agricultural process. For example, the user may enter a location in the form of a place name in a text field, based on which the agricultural system generates agricultural zone data. Alternatively or additionally, the user may enter geographic coordinates such as latitude and longitude and / or the user may enter a location by any other means of identifying a location on the topographical map 204, for example by clicking on the location and zooming on the topographical map 204, based on which the agricultural system generates agricultural zone data. The electronic device 10 associates the place name with a particular location in the topographical map 204 and, for example, employs the generated agricultural zone data to show the location and its surroundings via the touch display 20.

[0099] The user may then select a zone in the location and its environment displayed on the topographical map 204 as the agricultural zone 200. For example, the user may touch a point on the topographical map 204 displayed on the touch display 20 to select the boundaries of the agricultural zone 200 that will act as boundaries to the agricultural zone 200 and from which the agricultural system will generate agricultural zone data. Alternatively, the boundaries may be determined automatically by the agricultural system 100 based on image recognition, for example by automatically detecting the agricultural zone 200 or several agricultural zones based on zone specific characteristics. The agricultural system 100 then generates the corresponding agricultural zone data.

[0100] Additionally, the animal protection zone 202 or multiple animal protection zones (see FIG. 9 ) may be automatically determined in the environment of the agricultural zone 200. In this embodiment, the animal protection zone is determined based on information contained in protection zone data from a database stored in the external server 150. In other embodiments, a database containing protection zone data may be included in the agricultural system 100. In yet other embodiments, the animal protection zone may be determined based on image recognition to generate the corresponding protection zone data.

[0101] In this embodiment, the database contains geographic information about the water body. The electronic device 10 receives this information about the environment of the agricultural zone 200 displayed on the touch display 20. In particular, FIG. 2 shows a water body 206 in the environment of the agricultural zone 200. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the processor 16 automatically determines a zone 208 around the water body 206. The surrounding zones 208 together form an animal protection zone 202. An animal species, here a common toad, is present in the animal protection zone 202 during a particular life stage of its life cycle. The zone 208 is determined in this embodiment by using the boundary of the water body 206 and extending the boundary by 290 m in each direction. The extent of the surrounding zone may depend on the animal species present in the water body.

[0102] The processor 16 then determines an overlap zone 210 based on the spatial overlap between the agricultural zone 200 and the animal protection zone 202. In this embodiment, the geographic coordinates of the boundaries of the agricultural zone 200 represented by the agricultural zone data and the animal protection zone 202 represented by the protection zone data are compared to determine whether they overlap. In the context of the topographical map 204 of FIG. 2, it is determined that the upper left corner of the animal protection zone 202 is within the agricultural zone 200. In other embodiments, other geographic coordinates may be used to determine whether there is a spatial overlap between the agricultural zone 200 and the animal protection zone 202. If there is no spatial overlap between the agricultural zone and the animal protection zone (see FIG. 8), agricultural treatments may be performed from time to time in the agricultural zone without adversely affecting the animal species, since the animal species will not be in the agricultural zone during a life stage in which the animal species is susceptible to agricultural treatments.

[0103] However, in the situation of Fig. 2, the spatial overlap between the agricultural zone 200 and the animal protection zone 202 is determined in the form of an overlap zone 210, so that the animal species may be adversely affected within the overlap zone 210 during an animal protection time window 302 (see Fig. 3). The animal protection time window 302 corresponds to the time range during which metamorphic larvae of the common toad may be present in the animal protection zone 202, in particular in the overlap zone 210, and may be affected by agricultural treatments that may adversely affect the animal species. Thus, the agricultural system 100 determines when in the overlap zone 210 the animal species needs to be protected, i.e. the animal protection time window 302, and when it is safe to carry out agricultural treatments that may adversely affect the animal species, i.e. the safety time window 300.

[0104] To determine the safety time window 300, the processor 16 first identifies the life stages of the animal species present in the animal protection zone 202, specifically here the life stages of the common toad, based on an animal life cycle model configured to simulate the life cycle of the animal species. Details regarding the identification of the life stages of the animal species and the animal life cycle model are provided below with respect to the description of Figures 4-6.

[0105] An animal protection time window 302 is then determined based on the life stage of the animal species. In other embodiments, further parameters may be considered, such as deposition, characterized as the relative amount of chemical product that does not reach the soil surface, reducing the exposure of the animal species in the agricultural zone. In fact, the growth stage of the particular crop determines the deposition, which in turn determines the soil load. The higher the deposition, the lower the soil load. Thus, a high deposition is beneficial because it allows the chemical product to still be applied in the overlap zone without adversely affecting the animal species potentially present in the overlap zone. This may lead to a situation where the chemical product can still be applied in the overlap zone even if the animal species to be protected are potentially present in the overlap zone, because the deposition is high enough to provide a sufficiently low soil load.

[0106] Thus, life stages where agricultural treatments do not unacceptably affect the animal species may be affected by crop attachment. This may allow the animal protection time window 302 to be shortened. During the animal protection time window 302, the animal species is expected to be present as metamorphic larvae in the overlap zone 210 according to the life stages identified from the animal life cycle model. The metamorphic larvae may be adversely affected by agricultural treatments. Therefore, in order to protect the animal species, agricultural treatments that may adversely affect the animal species should not be carried out in the animal protection zone 202, especially the overlap zone 210, during the animal protection time window 302. Thus, agricultural treatments that may adversely affect the animal species may be carried out in the agricultural zone 200 except the overlap zone 210. Agricultural treatments with adapted agricultural treatment parameters may still be carried out within the overlap zone if they do not adversely affect the metamorphic larvae present in the overlap zone. Thus, the agricultural treatment may be adapted so as not to unacceptably impact the animal species in the overlap zone 210, for example, by reducing the amount, application pattern, application rate of the chemical product, or by applying a different chemical product that has a less adverse impact on the animal species, or by any other adaptation that may reduce the impact on the animal species in the overlap zone. In this case, the adapted agricultural treatment may still be performed in the overlap zone 210, while any agricultural treatment may be performed in the remainder of the agricultural zone 200.

[0107] In this embodiment, the safety time window 300 is then defined as a time range that does not overlap in time with the animal protection time window 302 (see FIG. 3 ). In other embodiments, the safety time window 300 of the agricultural treatment in the overlap zone 210 can also be determined in any other manner in response to the animal protection time window 302, such that the safety time window 300 does not overlap in time with the animal protection time window 302.

[0108] FIG. 3 discloses a section of a year including different time ranges, in particular an animal protection time window 302 and an agricultural treatment time window 304. The agricultural treatment time window 304 corresponds to a time range during which agricultural treatments should be performed. For example, during the agricultural treatment time window 304, there may be high pest pressure and it may be beneficial to apply a plant protection product during that time range to control pests. The application of a plant protection product or other chemical product may have a negative effect on animal species in the overlap zone 210 during the animal protection time window 302, in particular the metamorphic larvae of the common toad. Therefore, agricultural treatments that may have a negative effect on animal species should not be performed during the overlap time window 306, which is determined as the time overlap between the agricultural treatment time window 304 and the animal protection time window 302. The overlap time window 306 is not within the safety time window 300. However, agricultural treatments, in this case the application of a plant protection product, may be performed during the preferred time window 308. The preferred time window 308 lies within the agricultural treatment time window 304 and within the safety time window 300, in other words the preferred time window 308 is formed as a temporal overlap of the safety time window 300 and the agricultural treatment time window 304. Carrying out the agricultural treatment during the preferred time window 308 allows improving the agricultural treatment while protecting the animal species in the overlap zone 210. The preferred time window 308 can also be considered as a safety time window, i.e. a safety time window determined based on the animal protection time window and the agricultural treatment time window.

[0109] The agricultural treatment time window 304 may be determined based on the growth stage of the crop growing or to be grown in the agricultural zone 200. To determine the agricultural treatment time window 304, the growth stage of the crop needs to be obtained. The growth stage of the crop may be determined using an agricultural growth model configured to simulate the growth of the crop. In particular, a user may input a crop type and a planting date, and the agricultural growth model may identify the growth stage of the crop over time. The agricultural growth model may identify the growth stage of the crop based on further environmental parameters, for example, weather data such as precipitation, temperature, and humidity. The growth stage of the crop may be, for example, a BBCH value. The growth stage of the crop may be used to determine when a particular agricultural treatment should be performed, in other words, the agricultural treatment time window 304 may be determined depending on the growth stage of the crop. Alternatively, the growth stage of the crop may be received as input by a user, for example in the form of a BBCH value.

[0110] The identified growth stage of the crop can also be used to identify the crop coverage. The greater the growth of the crop, the larger the area the crop typically covers on the ground. As a result, the greater the growth of the crop, the less the amount of chemical product that reaches the soil, since most of the applied chemical product is prevented from reaching the ground by the crop. As a result, the crop coverage is greater. Since only a small amount of the chemical product actually reaches the soil, the risk of unacceptable impact on animal species potentially present on the soil can be further reduced. This may allow the chemical product to be applied to the crop, even though animal species to be protected may potentially be present in the overlap zone. Thus, by taking the growth stage of the crop into account, it is possible to more accurately determine the animal protection time window during which agricultural treatments can be performed in the overlap zone. For example, when taking the growth stage of the crop into account to determine the animal protection time window, the animal protection time window may include a relatively short period of time compared to the animal protection time window determined without taking the growth stage of the crop into account. As a result, the safety time window may include a relatively long period of time, since the resulting soil burden may be sufficiently low, i.e., below a predefined ecotoxicity threshold, such that agricultural treatments can be carried out within the overlap zone without adversely affecting animal species potentially present in the overlap zone.

[0111] The electronic device 10 then generates a safety time window signal based on the determined safety time window 300. In this embodiment, the safety time window signal is a control signal that can be used to control the operation of the robot 50. In other embodiments, the safety time window signal can be an information signal, e.g. a display signal, that can be used to provide a user with information about the safety time window 300. The safety time window signal in the form of an information signal can be used to be displayed to a user, e.g. via the touch display 20, to provide the user with knowledge of the number of days during which agricultural treatments that may adversely affect the animal species can be performed without the risk of unacceptably affecting the animals in the overlap zone 210. In other embodiments, an agricultural treatment time window signal and / or an animal protection time window signal can be generated in addition or instead. The robot 50 can be controlled based on these signals or information about the agricultural treatment time window and / or the animal protection time window can be displayed to the user.

[0112] In this embodiment, the robot 50 performs agricultural treatments in the agricultural zone 200, in particular in the overlap zone 210, based on the safety time window signal. In particular, the robot 50 performs agricultural treatments that may have a negative impact on the animal species in the overlap zone 210 during the safety time window 300. In other embodiments, the robot 50 may perform adapted agricultural treatments in the agricultural zone 200 such that no agricultural treatments are performed in the overlap zone 210 during the animal protection time window 302. In other words, in this case, agricultural treatments that may have a negative impact on the animal species are performed in the agricultural zone 200 except for the overlap zone 210 where no agricultural treatments are performed. In yet other embodiments, adapted agricultural treatments that do not have an unacceptable impact on the animal species may be performed in the overlap zone 210 during the animal protection time window 302, for example by changing or reducing the concentration of the applied chemical products.

[0113] In a further embodiment, the agricultural system 100 may be configured to perform agricultural treatments in the overlap zone 210 during the safety time window 300 depending on the growth stage of the crop.

[0114] To protect animal species, there is no need to search for animals in the agricultural zone 200, especially the overlap zone 210, since the agricultural system 100 can determine a safe time window 300 during which agricultural treatments can be performed without the risk of unacceptably affecting amphibians. Furthermore, agricultural treatments may be performed during the agricultural treatment time window, i.e. while the agricultural treatments are beneficial, for example to increase the yield of crops in the agricultural zone.

[0115] In other embodiments, more than one animal species may be considered in determining the safety time window, in which case different safety time sub-windows may be determined for each animal species, and overlapping time ranges may be used as safety time windows to ensure that all animal species are protected.

[0116] The animal life cycle model is described below with respect to Figures 4, 5 and 6. The animal life cycle model is used by the agricultural system 100 to identify the life stages of an animal species. In this embodiment, the animal life cycle model is configured to simulate the life cycle of an animal species based on weather data. This embodiment relates to a common toad. Other embodiments include other animal species, particularly amphibian species. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the animal life cycle model is a statistical model that identifies a spatiotemporal score indicative of the likelihood of the presence of an animal species in the agricultural zone 200, particularly the overlap zone 210 (see Figure 2), based on the life stages of the animal.

[0117] The agricultural system 100 receives weather data from a weather station that monitors weather at or near the animal protection zone 202 and the agricultural zone 200. For example, the weather data may be received from a database stored on the external server 150 via the data link 30. The weather data may then be stored in the memory component 18 for further processing by the processor 16. In other embodiments, the agricultural system 100 may be configured to obtain weather data based on geographic information of the agricultural zone 200, or based on geographic information of the animal protection zone 202, or based on geographic location information of the agricultural zone 200 and geographic information of the animal protection zone 202.

[0118] The weather data may include temperature profiles of soil and air temperatures, for example at a depth of 10 cm. The weather data may include historical data, for example over the last two years. Additionally or alternatively, the weather data may include weather forecasts, for example in the form of temperature profiles of soil and air temperatures expected over the next 10 days. Alternatively or additionally, the weather data may include precipitation profiles representing precipitation measured over the last two years and / or over some future time horizon as weather forecast, for example over the next 10 days.

[0119] The life stages of an animal species can be related to meteorological data, since soil and air temperatures, as well as precipitation, affect each life stage of the species. For example, toad metamorphs can only leave their natal pond if certain soil and air temperatures are maintained for several days. In addition, there must be a certain amount of precipitation over these days to allow the toad metamorphs to leave the natal pond.

[0120] In this embodiment, the farming system 100 uses weather data and an animal life cycle model to identify the likelihood of the presence of an animal species, here the common toad, in the overlap zone 210 based on the simulated life cycle of the animal species.

[0121] Figure 4 shows a schematic representation of the yearly life cycle 400 of a common toad 402 from January to December with different life stages of the common toad 402, namely adult toad 404, toad metamorph tadpole 408 and juvenile toad 412. Figure 5 shows a schematic representation of the yearly movement or migration, respectively, of a common toad 402 on a topographical map 500 with a schematic distance indication 501. In figure 4 a probability distribution 406 of each movement of the common toad 402 is shown, indicating the probability that the common toad 402 will move at a certain point in the year. The probability distribution 406 depends on meteorological data, in particular soil temperature, air temperature and precipitation.

[0122] During the spring migration period 410 (see Figures 4 and 5), typically beginning in March, adult toads 404 begin their spring migration 510 from their winter habitat 502 to the breeding pond 504. Once in the breeding pond 504, for example, typically in April, the adult toads 404 spawn in the breeding pond 504.

[0123] Subsequently, the adult toads 404 begin their summer migration 520 from the breeding ponds 504 to summer habitats 506 during the summer migration period 420 .

[0124] Meanwhile, the next generation of toads are growing in the breeding pond 504. After becoming metamorphic larvae 408, the metamorphic larvae 408 start migrating 530 from the breeding pond 504 to the surrounding zone of the breeding pond 504 during the metamorphic larvae migration period 430. The common toad metamorphic larvae 408 migrate from the breeding pond 504 to a distance of about 290 m. The metamorphic larvae migration period 430 may overlap with an agricultural protection time window 440 during which agricultural treatments may be beneficially performed in an agricultural zone that may overlap with the zone in which the metamorphic larvae are present. Thus, the common toad metamorphic larvae 408 may need to be protected during the migration period 430, which may correspond to an animal protection time window. That is, if the surrounding zone of the breeding pond 504 overlaps with the agricultural zone, performing agricultural treatments during the migration period 430 may have a negative impact on the common toad.

[0125] Later in the year, after metamorphosis is complete, typically after June 20, the metamorphic larvae 408 develop into juvenile toads 412. The juvenile toads 412 begin migrating to winter habitats 502 in another migration 550 during animal migration period 450. Adult toads 404 also migrate to winter habitats 502 in a fall migration 560.

[0126] In the winter habitat, the common toads 402 remain hibernating until they spring migrate 510 to breeding ponds 504 during the spring migration period 410 to repeat the annual life cycle the following year.

[0127] The animal life cycle model simulates the life cycle of an animal species based on the above understanding of the amphibian life cycle presented in the example of the common toad. The animal life cycle model further considers the likelihood or probability of presence, respectively, of an animal species in the overlap zone based on the likelihood of migrating a particular distance from the breeding pond 504.

[0128] Fig. 6A shows a schematic topographical map 600 illustrating distributions 602, 603, 604, 605, and 606 of the common toad 402 in different life stages at specific distances from the breeding pond 504 during different migration periods. Fig. 6B shows an example of a cumulative distribution 610 on the vertical axis and an example of a distance 620 of the common toad 402 in different life stages from the breeding pond 504 on the horizontal axis. Different distributions 602, 603, 604, 605, and 606 are shown for each migration period. The cumulative distribution of the distance of the common toad 402 from the breeding pond 504 shows the probability of presence of an animal species, here the common toad, in the overlap zone of the animal protection zone and the agricultural zone 601.

[0129] Common toads 402 migrate to the breeding pond 504 during spring migration 510 such that they are in the breeding pond 504 for spawning. In particular, distribution 602 shows that adult toads 404 are in the breeding pond 504 with the shore defined at zero distance. The adult toads 404 then migrate to the summer habitat 506 during summer migration 520, which is shown by distribution 606 (see Figures 5, 6A, and 6B). Distribution 606 shows, for example, that only about 20% of the adult toads 404 are expected to be within a 500m radius of the breeding pond 504, while essentially 100% of the adult toads 404 are expected to be within a 1500m radius of the breeding pond 504.

[0130] Meanwhile, metamorphic larvae 408 are developing from the eggs. The metamorphic larvae 408 move from the breeding pond 504 to the surrounding zone of the breeding pond 504 in migration 530 during the migration period 430, which is shown by distribution 603. According to distribution 603, essentially 100% of the metamorphic larvae 408 remain within a 290 m radius of the breeding pond 504.

[0131] Over time, metamorphosing larvae 408 develop into juveniles 412. The juveniles 412 begin to migrate further distances, as indicated by distribution 605, until they eventually migrate to winter habitat 506 for hibernation.

[0132] The animal life cycle model is used to identify the life stages of the animal species to identify the likelihood of the presence of the animal species in the overlap zone 210. The agricultural system 100 then finally determines a safety time window 300 based on the identified likelihood of the presence of the animal species in the overlap zone 210.

[0133] In the following, spatially overlapping or non-overlapping agricultural zones in different situations are presented on topographical maps 704, 804 and 904 with respect to Figs.

[0134] 7 shows a situation in which an agricultural zone 700 in the form of a crop field and an animal protection zone 702 including a water body 706 are highlighted in a topographical map 704. The topographical map 704 can for example be displayed on a display, for example the touch display 20 of the agricultural system 100 shown in FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the agricultural zone 700 does not include a protection zone, since the animal species to be protected are only present in the water body 706. Furthermore, the agricultural zone 700 does not spatially overlap with the animal protection zone 702. Thus, any agricultural treatment can be carried out in the agricultural zone 700 at any time without the risk of adversely affecting the animal species present in the animal protection zone 702.

[0135] 8 shows another situation with an agricultural zone 800 in the form of a crop field and an animal protection zone 802 including a water body 806 and a zone 808 surrounding the water body 806. The size of the zone 808 depends on the animal species present in the animal protection zone 802 to be protected, e.g. a frog species. In this embodiment, the animal protection zone 802 and the agricultural zone 800 do not overlap spatially. Thus, still in this situation, any agricultural treatment can be carried out in the agricultural zone 800 at any time without the risk of adversely affecting the animal species present in the animal protection zone 802.

[0136] 9 shows yet another situation with an agricultural zone 900 in the form of a crop field and an animal protection zone 902 formed by two animal protection subzones 902a and 902b. Each of the animal protection zones 902a and 902b is formed by a respective water body 906a and 906b and a respective zone 908a and 908b. The animal protection zone 902 spatially overlaps with the agricultural zone 900 in overlap subzones 910a and 910b. The overlap subzones 910a and 910b form an overlap zone 910 where animal species need to be protected from agricultural treatments. For example, the agricultural system 100 presented in FIG. 1 can be used to determine a safe time window 300 during which agricultural treatments can be carried out in the overlap zone 910.

[0137] 10 shows a schematic of amphibian annual life phases 1000 for 11 successive years, from year 1 to year 11. The horizontal axis 1020 represents the months of the year, while the vertical axis 1030 represents each year. In each year, the different life cycle phases are represented with the same color scheme so that the time shift of a particular life cycle phase can be observed from year to year.

[0138] As can be seen from the color scheme, different life cycle phases including hibernation 1002, spring migration 1004, breeding 1006, metamorphosis 1008, and summer habitat 1010 shift in time from year to year. These shifts may be caused by different weather conditions such as different soil temperatures, different air temperatures, and different precipitation. Particular weather conditions may affect or trigger some of the different life cycle stages 1002, 1004, 1006, 1008, 1010. Historical data may be considered in the animal life cycle model to simulate the life cycle of an animal species.

[0139] Crop farming is also generally highly dependent on weather conditions. Therefore, the agricultural processing time window also shifts from year to year depending on the weather conditions. The agricultural processing time window is indicated by a solid black vertical line 1012. For each year, the start 1014 and end 1016 of the agricultural processing time window are indicated.

[0140] By knowing the agricultural treatment time window during which the agricultural treatment in the agricultural zone is beneficial for improving the crop yield, it is possible to select the time of the agricultural treatment according to the life stage of the animal species so that the yield can be increased without negatively affecting the animal species. It is preferable to carry out the agricultural treatment when the animal species leaves the animal protection zone and migrates, for example, to a winter habitat or when the adults leave the animal protection zone after spawning and the young metamorphs have not yet dispersed to the surrounding zone of the birth pond.

[0141] Thus, for example, a time range of agricultural processing shared by the agricultural processing time window 304 and the safe time window 300 determined using the agricultural system 100 described with reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3, i.e., a preferred time window 308, can be determined.

[0142] Figure 11 shows a schematic of three data layers that may be used by the agricultural system 100 described with reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3 to determine the safety time window 300. The first data layer 1100 represents a high resolution map showing amphibian habitats. The second data layer 1102 represents an animal life cycle model for an animal species. The third data layer 1104 represents a growth model of crops growing in an agricultural zone in the form of crop fields that may spatially overlap with an animal protection zone.

[0143] As further inputs weather data are preferably used, representing for example air temperature, soil temperature and precipitation, representing a 10 day forecast and 2 years of historical values. For example a spatial resolution of 12 km or less may be used for the weather data.

[0144] FIG. 12 shows a schematic exemplary flow chart of one embodiment of a computer-implemented method 1200 for protecting animal species present in an animal protection zone.

[0145] The computer-implemented method 1200 described below may be performed by an embodiment of an agricultural system, such as the agricultural system 100 shown in FIG.

[0146] In particular, the computer implemented method 1200 described below may be performed by a computer program product for protecting animal species, executed on a processor, such as the processor 16 of the agricultural system 100. The computer program product comprises program code means for causing a processor, such as the processor 16 of the agricultural system 100, to perform the computer implemented method.

[0147] The computer program product may be stored on a computer readable medium, such as the memory component 18 of the agricultural system 100.

[0148] The computer-implemented method may in particular be used for the conservation of amphibian species such as toad species, particularly common toads, present in an animal conservation zone that includes a body of water and a surrounding zone.

[0149] In step S1 overlap zones of agricultural zones and animal protection zones are determined based on their spatial overlap, for this purpose agricultural zone data indicating agricultural zones in which agricultural treatments are planned and protection zone data indicating animal protection zones associated with the animal species present are processed.

[0150] In step S2, the life stages of the common toad are identified based on a life cycle model configured to simulate the life cycle of the common toad, in this embodiment the animal life cycle model is based on the animal life cycle described with respect to Figures 4 to 6.

[0151] In particular, in this embodiment, the life cycle of the common toad is determined by an animal life cycle model based on meteorological data received from a meteorological station in or near the animal protection zone. In other embodiments, the meteorological data may be obtained based on geographic information of the strike zone, or based on geographic information of the animal protection zone, or based on geolocation information of the agricultural zone and geographic information of the animal protection zone.

[0152] The simulated life cycle of the common toad is used to determine the likelihood of the common toad's presence in the overlap zone, i.e. the probability of the common toad's presence somewhere in the overlap zone over different time ranges is determined, for example in the form of a spatiotemporal score based on a statistical model.

[0153] In step S3, an animal protection time window is determined according to the likelihood of the presence of the common toad in the overlap zone. The animal protection time window corresponds to a time range during which agricultural treatments that may adversely affect the common toad should not be carried out in the animal protection zone in order to protect the common toad, since the likelihood of the common toad being present in the overlap zone, particularly in the form of metamorphic larvae, exceeds a threshold likelihood level. In other embodiments, the animal protection time window may be determined based on the life stage of the animal species in any other manner. Furthermore, it is possible to take into account the growth stage of the crop growing or to be grown in the overlap zone in order to determine the animal protection time window. In particular, based on the growth stage of the crop, a crop cover may be identified that indicates the relative amount of the chemical product that reaches the soil when the chemical product is applied to the crop. That is, the higher the crop cover, the lower the amount of the chemical product that reaches the soil. Furthermore, the lower the amount of the chemical product that reaches the soil, the lower the risk that the animal species will be adversely affected by the chemical product. Thus, determining the animal protection time window may include identifying the exposure of animal species potentially present in the overlap zone to the chemical product during the animal protection time window based on the identified crop attachment, for example using the simulated BBCH stage as a basis.

[0154] Furthermore, it is possible to determine the exposure reaching the soil, i.e. the soil load, for example based on the determined crop coverage, in order to determine the animal protection time window. The determined soil load, i.e. the exposure reaching the soil, can be compared with an ecotoxicity threshold value.

[0155] If the soil load may be below the ecotoxicity threshold, each day contributes to a safety time window such that agricultural treatment is permitted, but if the soil load is higher than the ecotoxicity threshold, each day may contribute to an animal protection time window such that agricultural treatment is not carried out, or alternatively, agricultural treatment parameters are adapted such that in overlap zones where animal species are potentially present, the soil load is below the ecotoxicity threshold so that agricultural treatment can still be carried out with the adapted agricultural treatment parameters.

[0156] Therefore, after determining whether or not the application of chemical products in the overlap zone should be carried out with a particular set of agricultural treatment parameters, it is possible to determine which changes in the agricultural treatment are necessary, such as reducing the concentration or application rate of the chemical, to change the animal protection time window to a safe time window. It is therefore possible to determine how to modify the agricultural treatment so that the soil load falls below the ecotoxicity threshold. The agricultural treatment can then be adapted accordingly so that the agricultural treatment can still be carried out with modified agricultural treatment parameters that achieve an acceptable risk of the chemical adversely affecting the animal species potentially present in the overlap zone.

[0157] In step S4, a safety time window for agricultural treatment in the overlap zone is determined. The safety time window is determined so as not to overlap in time with the animal protection time window. In other words, the safety time window is determined as a time range that does not overlap with the animal protection time window. In this embodiment, the animal protection time window is determined based on the likelihood of the presence of the common toad in the overlap zone, so the safety time window is also determined based on the likelihood of the presence of the common toad in the overlap zone.

[0158] Optionally, in step S5, a safety time window signal is provided based on the determined safety time window. The safety time window signal is in this embodiment a control signal usable to control an agricultural device, such as a robot. In particular, the safety time window signal is configured to cause the agricultural device, such as a robot, to perform an agricultural process in the agricultural zone, in particular the overlap zone, based on the likelihood of a common toad's presence in the overlap zone. In other embodiments, the safety time window signal may be an information signal, such as an indication signal usable to provide a user with information about the safety time window. The user may then adapt the agricultural process in the agricultural zone based on the safety time window signal.

[0159] Further, optionally, in step S6, an agricultural device such as a robot, for example a drone or a tractor, is caused to perform an agricultural treatment in the agricultural zone based on the safety time window signal. In particular, the agricultural treatment is adapted based on the safety time window signal. In this embodiment, during the animal protection time window, no agricultural treatment is performed in the overlap zone, in other words, the agricultural treatment is performed in the overlap zone only during the safety time window. In other embodiments, the agricultural treatment may be adapted in a different manner so that an agricultural treatment that may adversely affect the animal species is not performed in the overlap zone. For example, an agricultural treatment, for example the application of a chemical product, may be adapted towards the overlap zone in that a different chemical product that does not unacceptably affect the animal species is applied, or in that the application concentration or amount is reduced so that the animal species is not unacceptably affected or is at least less adversely affected.

[0160] In other embodiments, the order of steps S1-S6 may be different. Furthermore, additional steps may be performed between steps S1 and S6 or after steps S1-S6.

[0161] For example, a growth stage of a crop growing or to be grown in the agricultural zone may be obtained. The growth stage of the crop may be obtained, for example, by receiving the growth stage as a user input in the form of a BBCH value or may be determined based on an agricultural growth model configured to simulate the growth of the crop. The agricultural treatment in the overlap zone can then be performed during a safe time window depending on the obtained growth stage of the crop, for example during a suitable time window of the agricultural treatment to increase the yield. The agricultural treatment time window may be determined based on the growth stage of the crop. The agricultural treatment time window indicates a time range during which the agricultural treatment should be performed in the agricultural zone, in particular in the overlap zone. Preferably, an agricultural treatment time window signal is provided, for example a control signal or an information signal having information about the agricultural treatment time window.

[0162] 13-19 illustrate an exemplary use of an agricultural system, such as any of the agricultural systems described with reference to FIGS. 1-12, in the following example graphical user interface images.

[0163] 13 shows a graphical user interface image 1300 showing a digital map 1302 of a particular area recorded as a satellite image. The digital map 1302 shows several crop fields as well as a forest, a village, and a pond. The particular location shown on the digital map 1302 has been selected by user input 1304 in an input mask 1306 which is shown overlaid on the digital map 1302. The input mask 1306 further allows the user to specify the crop to be planted 1308, in this case autumn wheat. Additionally, a planting date can be selected (1310).

[0164] Additionally, the chemical product 1312 to be applied may be selected, as well as the application rate 1314 in liters per hectare.

[0165] The graphical user interface image 1300 allows for enabling or disabling of several map options 1320, such as highlighting bodies of water 1316, 1318 on the digital map 1302 and displaying potential habitats 1322, 1324 of animal species to be protected, such as habitats for metamorphic larvae.

[0166] In the digital map 1302, two crop fields 1326, 1328 are highlighted. The first crop field 1326 does not overlap with any habitat 1322, 1324 of the animal species to be protected. Therefore, the application of chemical products in that crop field 1326 can be carried out at any time without potential risk of affecting the animal species to be protected. However, the second crop field 1328 has an overlap zone 1330 with one of the habitats 1322, 1324. To reduce the risk of adversely affecting the animal species when carrying out agricultural treatments within the overlap zone 1330, the agricultural treatments should be carried out within a safety time window by the agricultural system.

[0167] FIG. 14 shows a subsequent graphical user interface image 1400 that provides information about when to apply the chemical product selected in the graphical user interface image 1300 to a second crop field 1328 having an overlap zone 1330 with the habitat 1322.

[0168] The graphical user interface image 1400 shows, in a schematic way, different growth stages 1402 of autumn wheat on several different days 1404 of the year. In particular, the growth stages 1402 of autumn wheat on different days 1404 of the year are shown together with calculated BBCH values ​​1406, for example, determined using an agricultural growth model for autumn wheat. Furthermore, the application rate 1408 of 1.25 / ha selected in the graphical user interface image 1300 is shown. As shown by the illustrated box 1410, December 12 is exemplarily selected. Since the selected date is outside the application window 1412 of autumn wheat with the selected chemical product, a corresponding message 1416 may be provided. Therefore, the agricultural system does not perform an agricultural treatment in the second crop field 1328 on the selected date.

[0169] FIG. 15 shows a subsequent graphical user interface image 1500 that provides information about when to apply the chemical product selected in the graphical user interface image 1300 to a second crop field 1328 having an overlap zone 1330 with the habitat 1322.

[0170] The graphical user interface image 1500 shows different growth stages 1502 of winter wheat on several different days 1504 of the year with corresponding BBCH values ​​1506, similar to that described with reference to the graphical user interface image 1400. However, in the graphical user interface image 1500, instead of December 12 being selected as in the graphical user interface image 1400, May 18 is selected as indicated by the box 1508. May 18 is within the application window 1510 of the selected chemical product. Thus, the application of the chemical product is according to the growth stage of the winter wheat during that time of the year. However, since the second crop field 1328 has an overlap zone 1330 with the habitat 1322, it is further determined whether the selected date is within the determined animal protection time window 1512. For this purpose, a 10 day spray forecast 1514 is visualized in the graphical user interface image 1500, showing the coming 10 days starting from the selected date, May 18, and the corresponding contribution to either the safety time window 1516 or the animal protection time window 1512. The user can then know from the graphical user interface image 1500 when application of chemical products in the overlap zone 1330 is and is not permitted. Furthermore, agricultural equipment can be controlled such that agricultural treatments are performed during the safety time window 1516.

[0171] FIG. 16 shows a subsequent graphical user interface image 1600 that provides information about when to apply the chemical product selected in the graphical user interface image 1300 to a second crop field 1328 having an overlap zone 1330 with a habitat 1322.

[0172] In contrast to the graphical user interface image 1500, May 25th has been selected in the graphical user interface image 1600. The corresponding growth stage of autumn wheat is indicated by a box 1602 surrounding the diagrammatically shown growth stage of autumn wheat on May 28th. As obtained from the 10-day spraying forecast 1604, only May 25th and June 3rd belong to the safety time window 1606, while the days between these dates are within the animal protection time window 1608.

[0173] 17 shows a subsequent graphical user interface image 1700 that shows the same features as the graphical user interface image 1600. In addition, the graphical user interface image 1700 shows dashed lines 1702 that indicate the crop attachment associated with each of the illustrated growth stages 1704 of winter wheat. Furthermore, the graphical user interface image 1700 shows solid lines 1706 that represent the soil load associated with each crop attachment 1702. The dashed and dotted lines 1708 indicate the ecotoxicity thresholds. The ecotoxicity thresholds 1708 are typically set by regulatory agencies that approve plant protection products. The soil loads 1706 represent the exposure that reaches the soil. The exposure can be determined based on the attachment 1702 determined using the simulated BBCH stages 1710. The attachment 1702 and the soil loads 1706 can be compared to the ecotoxicity thresholds 1708 to more accurately determine whether the selected date is within a safety time window 1712 or an animal protection time window 1714. If the soil load 1706 is below the ecotoxicity threshold 1708, then application of the chemical product may be performed without risk of adversely affecting animal species present in the overlap zone. Because the selected soil load 1706 is above the ecotoxicity threshold 1708 on the selected date, May 25, and falls below the ecotoxicity threshold 1708 only beginning June 2, with respect to the graphical user interface image 1600, only May 25 and June 3 contribute to the safety time window 1712, and the days during the 10 day spray forecast 1716 contribute to the animal protection time window 1714.

[0174] 18 shows a subsequent graphical user interface image 1800. In contrast to graphical user interface image 1700, the intended application rate 1802 has been lowered from 1.25 l / ha to 1.00 l / ha in the input mask 1306 of graphical user interface image 1300. As a result, the soil load is lowered from solid line 1806 (also shown as solid line 1706 in graphical user interface image 1700) to dashed line 1804. As a result, dashed line 1804 crosses the ecotoxicity threshold represented by dash-dotted line 1808 already on May 28, and thus earlier than in graphical user interface image 1700.

[0175] Thus, as the solid line 1804 falls below the ecotoxicity threshold 1808 beginning on May 28, the duration of the animal protection time window 1810 is shortened relative to the animal protection time window 1714 of the graphical user interface image 1700. Thus, the safety time window 1812 is longer than in the graphical user interface image 1700 during the 10 day spray forecast 1814. Thus, the concentration or application rate of the chemical can be reduced to shorten the duration of the animal protection time window 1810.

[0176] 19 shows a further subsequent graphical user interface image 1900 in which a different day has been selected, namely June 6th, as indicated by the box 1902 surrounding the schematic illustrated growth stage 1904 of winter wheat. As obtained from a 10 day spray forecast 1907 beginning on June 6th, each of these 10 days is within a safety time window 1908 and therefore chemical products may be applied without restrictions.

[0177] Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.

[0178] In the claims, the words "comprise" and "include" do not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality.

[0179] A single unit or device may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

[0180] The computer program product may be stored / distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium, may be supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, for example via the Internet or other wired / wireless communication systems.

[0181] Any unit described herein may be a processing unit that is part of a classical computing system. The processing unit may include a general-purpose processor, but may also include a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or any other dedicated circuit. Any memory may be a physical system memory, which may be volatile, non-volatile, or some combination of the two. The term "memory" may include a computer-readable storage medium, such as a non-volatile mass storage. If the computing system is distributed, the processing and / or storage capabilities may also be distributed. The computing system may include multiple structures as "executable components". The term "executable components" is a well-understood structure in the computing field, which may be software, hardware, or a combination thereof. For example, when implemented in software, one skilled in the art will understand that the executable component structure may include software objects, routines, methods, etc. that may be executed on the computing system. This may include both executable components in the heap of the computing system or executable components on a computer-readable storage medium. The executable component structure may reside on a computer-readable medium that, when interpreted by one or more processors, e.g., processor threads, of the computing system, causes the computing system to perform certain functions. Such structures may be directly computer readable by a processor, e.g., where the executable components are binary, or may be interpretable and / or compilable, e.g., in either a single step or multiple steps, to generate such binaries that are directly interpretable by a processor. In other examples, the structures may be hard-coded or hard-wired logic gates that are implemented exclusively or nearly exclusively in hardware, such as in a field programmable gate array (FPGA), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or any other dedicated circuit. Thus, the term "executable components" is a term for structures that are well understood by those of ordinary skill in the art of computing, whether implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof.Any embodiment herein will be described with reference to acts performed by one or more processing units of a computing system. When such acts are implemented in software, one or more processors direct the operation of the computing system in response to executing computer-executable instructions that constitute the executable components. A computing system may also include communication channels that allow the computing system to communicate with other computing systems, for example, via a network. A "network" is defined as one or more data links that allow the transmission of electronic data between computing systems and / or modules and / or other electronic devices. When information is transferred or provided to a computing system via a network or another communication connection, for example, either hard-wired, wireless, or a combination of hard-wired and wireless, the computing system properly considers the connection as a transmission medium. A transmission medium may include a network and / or data links that may be used to carry desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computing system or combination thereof. Although not all computing systems require a user interface, in some embodiments, the computing system includes a user interface system for use in interfacing with a user. The user interface serves as an input or output mechanism to the user, for example, via a display.

[0182] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that at least a portion of the present invention may be implemented in a networked computing environment having many types of computing system configurations, including personal computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, message processors, handheld devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, cell phones, PDAs, pagers, routers, switches, data centers, wearable devices such as glasses, etc. The present invention may also be implemented in a distributed system environment where tasks are performed by both local and remote computing systems that are linked, for example, by either hardwired data links, wireless data links, or a combination of hardwired and wireless data links over a network. In a distributed system environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

[0183] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that at least a portion of the present invention may be implemented in a cloud computing environment. A cloud computing environment may be distributed, but this is not required. When distributed, a cloud computing environment may be distributed internationally within an organization and / or may have components held across multiple organizations. In this specification and in the claims that follow, "cloud computing" is defined as a model that allows on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources, e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications and services. The definition of "cloud computing" is not limited to any of the many other advantages that may be obtained when such a model is deployed. The computing system of the figure includes various components or functional blocks that may implement various embodiments disclosed herein, as described. The various components or functional blocks may be implemented on a local computing system or may be implemented on a distributed computing system that includes elements that reside in the cloud or implement aspects of cloud computing. The various components or functional blocks may be implemented as software, hardware or a combination of software and hardware. The computing system shown in the figure may include more or fewer components than those shown in the figure and may combine some of the components as circumstances permit.

[0184] Any reference signs in the claims shall not be construed as limiting the scope.

[0185] The present invention relates to the protection of an animal species present in an animal protection zone. A life stage of the animal species is identified based on an animal life cycle model configured to simulate the life cycle of the animal species. In order to protect the animal species, an animal protection time window is determined based on the life stage of the animal species, during which agricultural treatments that may have a negative effect on the animal species should not be carried out in the animal protection zone. Furthermore, an overlap zone is determined based on a spatial overlap between the agricultural zone and the animal protection zone, and a safety time window for agricultural treatments in the overlap zone is determined. The safety time window does not spatially overlap with the animal protection time window. This allows providing a safety time window during which the animal species is protected in the overlap zone.

Claims

1. An agricultural system (100) for protecting an animal species (402) present in an animal protection zone (202), the agricultural system (100) comprising: - obtaining or generating agricultural zone data indicating the agricultural zone (200) in which the agricultural treatment is planned; - obtaining or generating protection zone data indicating the animal protection zones (202) associated with the animal species (402) present; - providing an animal life cycle model adapted to simulate the life cycle of said animal species (402); - identifying the life stages of said animal species (402) based on said animal life cycle model; - determining an animal protection time window (302) based on the life stage of the animal species (402) during which agricultural treatments that may have a negative impact on the animal species (402) should not be carried out in the animal protection zone (202); - determining an overlap zone (210) as a spatial overlap of said agricultural zone (200) and said animal protection zone (202) based on said agricultural zone data and said protection zone data; - determining a safety time window (300) for agricultural treatments within the overlap zone (210) according to the animal protection time window (302), wherein the safety time window (300) does not overlap in time with the animal protection time window (302); A farming system (100) configured to:

2. The agricultural system (100) of claim 1, wherein the animal life cycle model is configured to simulate the life cycle of the animal species (402) based on meteorological data.

3. 3. The agricultural system (100) of claim 2, further configured to acquire the weather data based on geographic information of the agricultural zone (200), based on geographic information of the animal protection zone (202), or based on the geographic location information of the agricultural zone (200) and the geographic information of the animal protection zone (202).

4. 2. The agricultural system (100) of claim 1, configured to: determine a likelihood that the animal species (402) is present in the overlap zone (210) based on the simulated life cycle of the animal species (402); and determine the safety time window (300) based on the determined likelihood that the animal species (402) is present in the overlap zone (210).

5. 2. The agricultural system (100) of claim 1, further configured to provide or generate a safety time window signal based on the determined safety time window (300), the safety time window signal being or including a control signal configured to control agricultural equipment (50), the control signal being configured to control the agricultural equipment (50) to perform agricultural processing within the overlap zone (210) during the safety time window (300).

6. 6. The agricultural system (100) of claim 5, further comprising the agricultural equipment (50) configured to perform the agricultural treatment in the agricultural zone (200) based on the safety time window signal.

7. 2. The agricultural system (100) of claim 1, further configured to adjust the agricultural operations in the agricultural zone (200) so that no agricultural operations are performed in the overlap zone (210) during the animal protection time window (302).

8. 2. The agricultural system (100) of claim 1, configured to identify a growth stage of a crop growing or to be grown in the agricultural zone (200) based on an agricultural growth model, and to determine the animal protection time window (302) according to the identified growth stage of the crop.

9. 2. The agricultural system (100) of claim 1, wherein the agricultural system (100) is configured to identify a crop coverage indicative of the ability of a chemical product to reach a soil surface within the overlap zone, and the agricultural system is configured to determine the animal protection time window (302) in response to the identified crop coverage.

10. 10. The agricultural system (100) of claim 1, configured to identify a crop burden of the crop based on the growth stage of the crop using an agricultural growth model and identify a soil load using the identified crop burden, and to determine the animal protection time window (302), the agricultural system (100) is configured to evaluate the identified soil load with respect to a predefined ecotoxicity threshold.

11. the agricultural system (100) is configured to identify a growth stage of a crop being grown or to be grown in the agricultural zone (200) based on an agricultural growth model, and the agricultural system (100) is configured to perform the agricultural treatment in the overlap zone (210) during the safety time window (300) according to the growth stage of the crop; Or, The agricultural system (100) according to at least one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the agricultural system (100) is configured to determine an agricultural treatment time window (304) based on the growth stage of the crop, the agricultural treatment time window (304) indicating a time range during which agricultural treatments should be carried out in the agricultural zone (200).

12. 1. A computer-implemented method (1200) for protecting an animal species present in an animal protection zone, the computer-implemented method comprising: - obtaining or generating agricultural zone data indicating the agricultural zone in which the agricultural treatment is planned; - obtaining or generating protection zone data indicative of the animal protection zone associated with the animal species present therein; - providing an animal life cycle model adapted to simulate the life cycle of said animal species (402); - identifying the life stages of said animal species based on said animal life cycle model (S1); - determining (S2) an animal protection time window, based on the life stage of the animal species, during which agricultural treatments that may have a negative effect on the animal species should not be carried out in the animal protection zone; - determining (S3) an overlap zone as a spatial overlap of said agricultural zone and said animal protection zone based on said agricultural zone data and said protection zone data; - determining a safety time window for agricultural treatments within the overlap zone in response to the animal protection time window, wherein the safety time window does not overlap in time with the animal protection time window (S4); A computer-implemented method (1200) comprising:

13. - simulating the life cycle of the animal species by means of the animal life cycle model on meteorological data, - obtaining or generating said meteorological data based on geographical information of said agricultural zones, or based on geographical information of said animal protection zones, or based on said geographical location information of said agricultural zones and said geographical information of said animal protection zones; - determining the likelihood that said animal species is present in said overlap zone based on said simulated life cycle of said animal species; - determining the safety time window based on the determined likelihood that the animal species is present in the agricultural zone; - providing a safety time window signal based on said determined safety time window; - providing a safety time window signal that can be used to control agricultural equipment, such as a robot, to perform said agricultural treatment in said agricultural zone; - causing an agricultural device, such as a robot, to perform said agricultural treatment in said agricultural zone based on said safety time window signal; - carrying out said agricultural treatment in said overlap zone during said safety time window, - adapting the agricultural treatments in the agricultural zones so that no agricultural treatments are carried out in the overlapping zones during the animal protection time window; - obtaining, receiving or generating growth stages of crops growing or to be grown in said agricultural zone; - carrying out said agricultural treatment in said overlap zone during said safety time window depending on said obtained growth stage of said crop, - determining an agricultural treatment time window based on the growth stage of the crop, the agricultural treatment time window indicating a time range during which agricultural treatments are carried out in the agricultural zone; 13. The computer-implemented method (1200) of claim 12, comprising one or more of:

14. 14. A computer program product for protecting animal species, said computer program product comprising program code means which, when executed on a processor (16), causes said processor (16) to perform the computer-implemented method of claim 12 or 13.

15. A computer readable medium (18) having stored thereon a computer program product according to claim 14.

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