An operational UAV-based approach for stand-level assessment of soil disturbance after forest harvesting |
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Authors: | Bruce Talbot Johannes Rahlf Rasmus Astrup |
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Institution: | 1. Division for Forestry and Forest Products, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, ?s, Norwaybta@nibio.no;3. Division for Forestry and Forest Products, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, ?s, Norway |
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Abstract: | The effectiveness of generating virtual transects on unmanned aerial vehicle-derived orthomosaics was evaluated in estimating the extent of soil disturbance by severity class. Combinations of 4 transect lengths (5–50 m) and five sampling intensities (1–20 transects per ha) were used in assessing traffic intensity and the severity of soil disturbance on six post-harvest, cut-to-length (CTL) clearfell sites. In total, 15% of the 33 ha studied showed some trace of vehicle traffic. Of this, 63% of was categorized as light (no visible surface disturbance). Traffic intensity varied from 787 to 1256 m ha?1, with a weighted mean of 956 m ha?1, approximately twice the geometrical minimum achievable with CTL technology under perfect conditions. An overall weighted mean of 4.7% of the total site area was compromised by severe rutting. A high sampling intensity, increasing with decreasing incidence of soil disturbance, is required if mean estimation error is to be kept below 20%. The paper presents a methodology that can be generally applied in forest management or in similar land-use evaluations. |
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Keywords: | drone aerial survey post-harvest logging wheel rutting site impact |
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