Using Unmanned Helicopters to Assess Vegetation Cover in Sagebrush Steppe Ecosystems |
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| Authors: | Robert P Breckenridge Maxine Dakins Stephen Bunting Jerry L Harbour Randy D Lee |
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| Institution: | 1. Environmental Scientist, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83415, USA;2. Associate Professor, Environmental Science Program, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA;3. Professor, Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA;4. Senior Scientist, Epsilon System Solutions, Inc., Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA;5. Geospatial Scientist, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83415, USA;1. Department of Geosciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malta Tal-Qroqq campus, Msida MSD 2080, Malta;2. Station de Corse - IFREMER - Immeuble Agostini- Z.I. Furiani, 20600 Bastia, Corsica, France;1. Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN), University of Hamburg, Bundesstraße 55, 20146 Hamburg, Germany;2. State Agency for Environment, Nature Conservation and Geology, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (LUNG), Goldberger Straße 12, 18273 Güstrow, Germany;1. Former Graduate Research Assistant, Animal and Range Sciences Department, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA;2. Professor, Animal and Range Sciences Department, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA |
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| 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. |
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