Unmanned aircraft in nature conservation: an example from plant invasions

0477518 - BÚ 2018 RIV GB eng C - Konferenční příspěvek (zahraniční konf.)
Müllerová, Jana - Bartaloš, T. - Brůna, Josef - Dvořák, P. - Vítková, Michaela
Unmanned aircraft in nature conservation: an example from plant invasions.
International Journal of Remote Sensing. Oxon: Taylor & Francis LTD., 2017, Roč. 38, 8-10 (2017), s. 2177-2198. ISSN 0143-1161. E-ISSN 1366-5901.
[Conference on Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) for Environmental Research. Worcester (GB), 28.07.2016-29.07.2016]
Grant CEP: GA TA ČR TA04020455
Grant ostatní: AV ČR(CZ) AP1002
Program: Akademická prémie - Praemium Academiae
Institucionální podpora: RVO:67985939
Klíčová slova: remote sensing * unmanned aircraft * invasion monitoring
Obor OECD: Environmental sciences (social aspects to be 5.7)

We assess its potential to map invasive black locust (BL, Robinia pseudoaccacia), testing imagery of different origin (satellite, UAV), spectral (multispectral, red, green, and blue (RGB) + near-infrared (NIR)) and spatial resolution, and various technical approaches to choose the best strategy for the species monitoring balancing between precision of detection and economic feasibility. Using purposely designed low-cost UAV with tailless fixed wing design for two consumer cameras (RGB and modified NIR) ensures robustness and repeatable field performance while maintaining high aerodynamic efficiency, with resulting mapping capacity over 10 km2 per day. Several challenges exist in UAV application, such as lower spectral resolution, geometrical and radiometric distortions, and significant amount of data (necessity of automatic processing). In our study, we tested different options of UAV data processing and present comparison of resulting orthomosaic accuracies. For repeated measurements, it is extremely important to ensure spatial co-registration of pixels/objects from different phenological phases. Investment in GPS receiver in the UAV and GPS post-processing eliminated laborious collection of ground control points, while maintaining the coregistration of objects across multiple flights. In our study we provide evidence of benefit of the low cost unmanned system for species monitoring with high classification accuracies of target species from UAV orthomosaic outcompeting WorldView-2 satellite data, and describe methodology that can be used for practical management of invasions.
Trvalý link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0277009