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Using Unmanned Helicopters to Assess Vegetation Cover in Sagebrush Steppe Ecosystems
Using Unmanned Helicopters to Assess Vegetation Cover in Sagebrush Steppe Ecosystems
- Source :
- Rangeland Ecology & Management. 65:362-370
- Publication Year :
- 2012
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2012.
-
Abstract
- Evaluating vegetation cover is an important factor in understanding the sustainability of many ecosystems. Remote sensing methods with sufficient accuracy could dramatically alter how biotic resources are monitored on both public and private lands. Idaho National Laboratory (INL), in conjunction with the University of Idaho, evaluated whether unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are sufficiently accurate and more efficient than the point-frame field method for monitoring vegetative cover and bare ground in sagebrush steppe ecosystems. These values are of interest to land managers because typically there are limited natural resource scientists and funding for comprehensive ground evaluations. In this project, unmanned helicopters were used to collect still-frame imagery to determine vegetation cover during June and July 2005. The images were used to estimate percent cover for six vegetative cover classes (shrub, dead shrub, grass, forbs, litter, and bare ground). Field plots used to collect imagery and on-the-ground measurements were located on the INL site west of Idaho Falls, Idaho. Ocular assessments of digital imagery were performed using SamplePoint, and the results were compared with field measurements collected using a point-frame method. The helicopter imagery evaluation showed a high degree of agreement with field cover class values for grass, litter, and bare ground and reasonable agreement for dead shrubs. Shrub cover was often overestimated, and forbs were generally underestimated. The helicopter method took 45% less time than the field method. This study demonstrates that UAV technology provides a viable method for monitoring selective types of cover on rangelands and could save time and resources.
- Subjects :
- Hydrology
Idaho National Laboratory
geography
geography.geographical_feature_category
Ecology
Steppe
ved/biology
ved/biology.organism_classification_rank.species
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Shrub
Remote sensing (archaeology)
Litter
Environmental science
Forb
Animal Science and Zoology
Ecosystem
Rangeland
Nature and Landscape Conservation
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15507424
- Volume :
- 65
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Rangeland Ecology & Management
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........819adedf2cbdccc4c60911f194152515
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.2111/rem-d-10-00031.1