Abstract
The aim of this investigation was to compare tree crown area obtained by the classical ground survey methods (GS) and by the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology. The study was carried out in Prioksko-Terrasny Biosphere Natural Reserve (Moscow region, Russia) on permanent sampling plot of 1 ha. All trees with DBH at least of 5 cm (779 ind.) were mapped and measured during ground survey in 2016. For each alive tree the radii of crown horizontal projection in four cardinal directions were measured, and the total area of all projections was calculated. The aerial photography by a quadcopter DJI Phantom 4 was conducted in 2017 on August, 2 from altitude of 58 m and on October, 12 (68 m). Obtained two orthophotomaps were used for manual vectorization of visible crown projections by means of QGIS and the total area of all projections was calculated. The total area of tree crown projections and the number of trees obtained by GS and UAV methods were matched well. Coniferous trees clearly differed from deciduous trees in aerial photography, also pine was different from spruce. Broadleaf trees (lime and oak) were difficult to detect. For pine the individual crown area obtained by UAV methods was significantly higher and slightly lower for birch and oak. There were no differences for other species. Our results confirmed that UAV technology could be used to obtaining of spatial information on forest characteristics, but tree species identification is still challenging.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
James, M.R., Robson, S., d’Oleire-Oltmanns, S., Niethammer, U.: Optimising UAV topographic surveys processed with structure-from-motion: ground control quality, quantity and bundle adjustment. Geomorphology 280, 51–66 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.11.021
van Iersel, W., Straatsma, M., Addink, E., Middelkoop, H.: Monitoring height and greenness of non-woody floodplain vegetation with UAV time series. ISPRS J. Photogrammetry and Remote Sens. 141, 112–123 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2018.04.011
Rossini, M., Di Mauro, B., Garzonio R., Baccolo, G., Cavallini, G., Mattavelli., M., Colombo R.: Rapid melting dynamics of an alpine glacier with repeated UAV photogrammetry. Geomorphology 304, 159–172 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.12.039
Zhang, H., Sun, Y., Chang, Li., Qin, Y., Chen, J., Qin, Y., Du, J., Yi, S., Wang, Y.: Estimation of grassland canopy height and aboveground biomass at the quadrat scale using unmanned aerial vehicle. Remote sensing 10(6), 851 (2018). https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10060851
Otero, V., Van De Kerchove, R., Satyanarayana, B., Martnez-Espinosa, C., Fisol, M.A.B., Ibrahim, M.R.B., Sulong, I., Mohd-Lokman, H., Lucas, R., Dahdouh-Guebas, F.: Managing mangrove forests from the sky: Forest inventory using field data and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imagery in the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve, peninsular Malaysia. For. Ecol. Manage 411, 35–45 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2017.12.049
Zahavi, R.A., Dandois, J.P., Holl, K.D., Nadwodny, D., Reid, J.L., Ellis, E.C.: Using lightweight unmanned aerial vehicles to monitor tropical forest recovery. Biol. Conserv. 186, 287–295 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2015.03.031
Zhang, J., Hu, J., Lian, J., Fan, Z., Ouyang, X., Ye, W.: Seeing the forest from drones: testing the potential of lightweight drones as a tool for long-term forest monitoring. Biol. Conserv. 198, 60–69 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.03.027
Komarov, A.S., Chertov, O.G., Zudin, S.L., Nadporozhskaya, M.A., Mikhailov, A.V., Bykhovets, S.S., Zudina, E.V., Zoubkova, E.: EFIMOD 2–a model of growth and elements cycling of boreal forest ecosystems. Ecol. Model. 170, 373–392 (2003)
Shanin, V.N., Shashkov, M.P., Ivanova, N.V., Grabarnik, P.Y.: The effect of aboveground competition on spatial structure and crown shape of the dominating canopy species of forest stands of European Russia. Russian J. Ecosyst. Ecol. 1(4) (2016). https://doi.org/10.21685/2500-0578-2016-4-5. (in Russian)
Smirnova, O.V., Shaposhnikov, E.S. (eds.): Forest successions in protected areas of Russia and problems of biodiversity conservation. Russian Bot. Soc., St-Petersburg (1999). (in Russian)
Lakatos, F., Mirtchev, S.: Manual for visual assessment of forest crown condition. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Pristina (2014). http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4214e.pdf
Eichhorn, J., Roskams, P., Potočić, N., Timmermann, V., Ferretti, M., Mues, V., Szepesi, A., Durrant, D., Seletković, I., Schröck, H-W., Nevalainen, S., Bussotti, F., Garcia, P., Wulff, S.: Manual on methods and criteria for harmonized sampling, assessment, monitoring and analysis of the effects of air pollution on forests. Thünen Institute of Forest Ecosystems, Eberswalde, Germany (2016). https://www.icp-forests.org/pdf/manual/2016/ICP_Manual_2017_02_part04.pdf
Lemon, J.: Plotrix: a package in the red light district of R. R-News. 6(4), 8–12 (2006)
QGIS Development Team. QGIS Geographic Information System. Open Source Geospatial Foundation Project, http://qgis.osgeo.org. Last accessed 31 Aug 2018
DroneDeploy, https://www.dronedeploy.com/. Last accessed 31 Aug 2018
R Core Team. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria, URL https://www.R-project.org/. Last accessed 31 Aug 2018
Acknowledgements
The work was supported by Russian Science Foundation (project No. 18-14-00362).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Shashkov, M., Ivanova, N., Shanin, V., Grabarnik, P. (2019). Ground Surveys Versus UAV Photography: The Comparison of Two Tree Crown Mapping Techniques. In: Bychkov, I., Voronin, V. (eds) Information Technologies in the Research of Biodiversity. Springer Proceedings in Earth and Environmental Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11720-7_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11720-7_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-11719-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-11720-7
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)