Next-generation technology for forest management monitoring

The need for spatially explicit forest monitoring methods that can evaluate the effectiveness of fuel reduction, prescribed fire, and restoration treatments in dry conifer forests has never been greater. Forest management treatments often need to balance forest structure goals with more traditional fuel reduction principles. For example, restoration treatments may aim to create low-density stands with a matrix of individual trees, groups of trees, and openings that mimic pre-European colonization forest structures of the area. Uncrewed aerial system (UAS) and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) monitoring programs have great potential to inform spatially explicit treatment design and evaluate treatment effectiveness with high levels of accuracy.

In this project, researchers will refine the use of UAS and TLS technologies for monitoring changes in forest structure and surface fuels through a demonstration project within the Colorado Front Range Wildfire Crisis Strategy Landscape where there are planned thinning and prescribed fire treatments. The data collection and processing workflows will be made into documents and training materials for use by National Forest Service units and partners. The research team will integrate UAS/TLS collected data to parameterize fire behavior models and existing tools that managers may already be familiar with using, such as using the data to populate the Forest Vegetation Simulator. The project team will make the training materials and data tools accessible to managers through an automated user-friendly web portal. Making this level of data available can help land managers to inform spatial management objectives, compare treatment alternatives, and evaluate treatment effectiveness with high precision.

Project Location

A map of the Colorado Front Range Wildfire Crisis Strategy Landscape and surrounding public lands

The project team will first demonstrate the use of UAS and TLS technologies for monitoring on planned thinning and prescribed within the Colorado Front Range Wildfire Crisis Strategy Landscape. The project team then anticipates testing the accuracy and utility of their processes on other Wildfire Crisis Strategy Landscapes and forest management operations in dry mixed conifer ecosystems in the Intermountain West.

Objectives:

Photo Credit

USDA photo

Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) drone pilots demonstrate the use of UAS for forest monitoring. 

The overall objective of this project is to demonstrate and document the feasibility of uncrewed aerial system (UAS) and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) monitoring of fuel reduction and forest restoration treatments. The project will refine UAS/TLS measurement accuracy across dry conifer forest systems, to enable parameter tuning for wider adoption. The training materials, data processing guides, and tool integration developed through this project aims to increase familiarity and adoption of these “next generation” monitoring technologies by National Forest Service units and partners. Ultimately, the results of this project will help managers integrate UAS/TLS data into forest treatment design and treatment effectiveness monitoring.

Expected Project Results:

Expected Outputs:

• A publication and General Technical Report that documents the accuracy standards of UAS/TLS tree-level monitoring of common tree and stand-level metrics in dry conifer forests.
• UAS/TLS data processing guides and training materials (written and video recorded) that can be adapted and implemented by other National Forest Service units and partners.
• A web portal that UAS/TLS data can be uploaded to for processing of the raw data with outputs including a shapefile with tree crowns, heights, and DBHs.
• Two (2) web-based tools that link to UAS/TLS-augmented forest inventory data. The first links UAS/TLS data with the Forest Vegetation Simulator to project stand growth and treatment alternatives; the second with next-generation fire behavior models, such as QUICfire for simulating fire behavior.

Expected Outcomes:

This project will increase awareness and use of new monitoring technologies in the National Forest System.

• The project team will provide training for managers on UAS/TLS monitoring of forest structure and fuels.
• Managers will learn the relative benefits and limitations of UAS/TLS forest structure and fuels monitoring.
• Managers will be exposed to a workflow for how UAS/TLS can be integrated into decision-making.

Benefits of demonstrating a UAS monitoring program on Wildfire Crisis Strategy Landscapes include:

• Better understanding of the expertise, personnel, and equipment requirements for UAS-based monitoring allows for the processes to be used more widely and potentially scaled up to the regional or national level.
• Lessons learned developed by the project team will inform future steps for deploying UAS/TLS monitoring.
• Documenting UAS/TLS monitoring accuracy will provide justification and support for its use in management decision-making.