Monitoring Seedling Emergence, Growth, and Survival Using Repeat High-Resolution Imagery

Environmental factors often limit plant establishment and survival through increased seedling mortality. Understanding plant growth and the causes of mortality can be helpful in developing solutions that enhance seeding success and improve restoration monitoring. The purpose of our research was to assess the efficacy of time lapse and motion sensing cameras for monitoring seedling height, density, and fate. We conducted this study in a salt desert shrub community in northwest Utah, USA. In spring 2017, we placed 28 cameras in fenced and unfenced plots seeded with bottlebrush squirreltail and collected hourly images of the seedlings’ development for the initial four months post-seeding. The seedling attributes were recorded in-field and compared with camera images to determine accuracy and reliability. We found that the optimal period for capturing imagery occurred near the sun’s zenith when shadows were minimized. We were able to detect both the timing of the plant emergence, plant height, density, growth rate, and seedling death. The average seedling height and density were underestimated by 14% and 30% between the camera and field estimates, respectively. We recognize that it could be beneficial to adjust for the effect of the date. The reduced seedling density improved the measurement accuracy through a lower visual obscurity. Managers can utilize remote cameras to effectively measure vegetation that can provide an insight into environmental influences.