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Riparian zones fulfill diverse ecological and economic functions. Sustainable management requires detailed spatial information about vegetation and hydromorphological properties. In this study, we propose a machine learning classification workflow to map classes of the thematic levels Basic surface types (BA), Vegetation units (VE), Dominant stands (DO) and Substrate types (SU) based on multispectral imagery from an unmanned aerial system (UAS). A case study was carried out in Emmericher Ward on the river Rhine, Germany. The results showed that: (I) In terms of overall accuracy, classification results decreased with increasing detail of classes from BA (88.9%) and VE (88.4%) to DO (74.8%) or SU (62%), respectively. (II) The use of Support Vector Machines and Extreme Gradient Boost algorithms did not increase classification performance in comparison to Random Forest. (III) Based on probability maps, classification performance was lower in areas of shaded vegetation and in the transition zones. (IV) In order to cover larger areas, a gyrocopter can be used applying the same workflow and achieving comparable results as by UAS for thematic levels BA, VE and homogeneous classes covering larger areas. The generated classification maps are a valuable tool for ecologically integrated water management.

Over the Hahnöfer Nebenelbe, a part of the Elbe estuary near Hamburg, Germany, a combined aerial survey with an unmanned aerial system (UAV) and a gyrocopter was conducted to acquire information about the water surface temperatures. The water temperature in the estuary is important for biological processes and living conditions of riverine organisms. This study aimed to develop a workflow that allows for comparing and analysing surface temperatures acquired by two different remote sensing systems. The thermal infrared (TIR) datasets were compared with in situ measurements gathered during the data acquisition, where both TIR datasets showed a varying bias. Potential error sources regarding the absolute and relative accuracy were investigated and modelled based on the available measurements, including emissivity, atmosphere, skin effect at the water surface, camera flat field correction and calibration. The largest effects on the observed TIR water temperature had the camera calibration and the modelled atmospheric effects. After the correction steps, both datasets could be combined to create a multitemporal representation of the temperature pattern and profiles over the survey area’s wadden flats.

UAV-based multispectral multi-camera systems are widely used in scientific research for non-destructive crop traits estimation to optimize agricultural management decisions. These systems typically provide data from the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) domain. However, several key absorption features related to biomass and nitrogen (N) are located in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) domain. Therefore, this study investigates a novel multi-camera system prototype that addresses this spectral gap with a sensitivity from 600 to 1700 nm by implementing dedicated bandpass filter combinations to derive application-specific vegetation indices (VIs). In this study, two VIs, GnyLi and NRI, were applied using data obtained on a single observation date at a winter wheat field experiment located in Germany. Ground truth data were destructively sampled for the entire growing season. Likewise, crop heights were derived from UAV-based RGB image data using an improved approach developed within this study. Based on these variables, regression models were derived to estimate fresh and dry biomass, crop moisture, N concentration, and N uptake. The relationships between the NIR/SWIR-based VIs and the estimated crop traits were successfully evaluated (R2: 0.57 to 0.66). Both VIs were further validated against the sampled ground truth data (R2: 0.75 to 0.84). These results indicate the imaging system’s potential for monitoring crop traits in agricultural applications, but further multitemporal validations are needed.