Eyes in the sky: Using drones for forest monitoring

Hannah Farrell; Wade Tinkham; Andrew T. Hudak; Michael A. Battaglia; Lauren Lad; Amanda West Forma; Nic Kotlinskl; Ethan Bucholz

Treesearch

Eyes in the sky: Using drones for forest monitoring

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Hannah Farrell, Wade Tinkham, Andrew T. Hudak, Michael A. Battaglia, Lauren Lad, Amanda West Forma, Nic Kotlinskl, Ethan Bucholz

Year:

2023

Type:

Science Bulletins and Newsletters

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Source:

Science You Can Use Bulletin, Issue 63. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 12 p.

Download (PDF 14.02 MB)

Download (PDF 14.02 MB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/67027.pdf

Abstract

Imagine being able to take a bird’s eye view of the forest: you could see the forest structure, how the trees are grouped, the height and size of each tree in a matter of moments as you cruise over. You could fly over the stand today, then again next year and examine the effects of a treatment or a wildfire or an insect outbreak. Uncrewed aerial systems (UAS - aka drones) are starting to allow managers to do just that.

Keywords

uncrewed aerial systems, UAS, drones, forest monitoring

Citation

Farrell, Hannah; Tinkham, Wade; Hudak, Andy; Battaglia, Mike; Lad, Lauren; Forma, Amanda West; Kotlinskl, Nic; Bucholz, Ethan. 2023. Eyes in the sky: Using drones for forest monitoring. Science You Can Use Bulletin, Issue 63. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 12 p.