City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/625396
18 City Trees Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones as they are commonly known, are all the rage these days. While this technology is making a splash in the media on a daily basis (not always for good reasons) it is also quietly making progress in the practice of professional forestry here in the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada. BC is home to some of the world's most productive and diverse forests, draped across some of the most rugged and unforgiv- ing terrain. Drone technology is being used to provide foresters with a new perspective of the forested landbase and helping to gather data to inform stewardship decisions. This information can even be incorporated into Google Earth or ArcGIS software for more intensive analysis. There are many different types of drone platforms that come in all shapes, sizes, and costs. They can differ in the way they fly (fixed wing vs. rotary wing), their flying time (from a few minutes to nearly an hour), their stability and maneuverability, and their payload capacity (which will determine what kind of cameras and sensors they can carry). A Little Help From Above: Using Drones in BC's Forests by Jonathan Lok, RFT Photos Courtesy Strategic Natural Resource Consultants A consulting forester I know uses his drone and camera plat- form to visually assess plantations for mortality, brush issues, landslides, and areas of low stocking. The ability to perform close proximity inspections allows for estimation of heights (using photogrammetry) and even investigation of potential pest damage. This information is used to assess and forecast forest cover descriptions which help to monitor the status of BC's future forests. Our firm, Strategic Natural Resource Consultants, has focused on using our larger drone platform (octocopter) to carry multiple sensors in order to collect additional data such as thermal and near infrared, survey grade GPS, active remote sensing capabil- ities (like LiDAR), and high-resolution photo and videography. (top) Octocopter returning to launch site following eagle nest inspection • (above) Octocopter drone being readied for takeoff