UAV photogrammetry for mapping vegetation in the low-Arctic
Plot-scale field measurements are necessary to monitor changes to tundra vegetation, which has a small stature and high spatial heterogeneity, while satellite remote sensing can be used to track coarser changes over larger regions. In this study, we explored the potential of unmanned aerial vehicle...
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/as-2016-0008 2024-06-23T07:48:17+00:00 UAV photogrammetry for mapping vegetation in the low-Arctic Fraser, Robert H. Olthof, Ian Lantz, Trevor C. Schmitt, Carla 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2016-0008 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/as-2016-0008 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/as-2016-0008 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Arctic Science volume 2, issue 3, page 79-102 ISSN 2368-7460 2368-7460 journal-article 2016 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2016-0008 2024-06-13T04:10:47Z Plot-scale field measurements are necessary to monitor changes to tundra vegetation, which has a small stature and high spatial heterogeneity, while satellite remote sensing can be used to track coarser changes over larger regions. In this study, we explored the potential of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photographic surveys to map low-Arctic vegetation at an intermediate scale. A multicopter was used to capture highly overlapping, subcentimetre photographs over a 2 ha site near Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories. Images were processed into ultradense 3D point clouds and 1 cm resolution orthomosaics and vegetation height models using Structure-from-Motion (SfM) methods. Shrub vegetation heights measured on the ground were accurately represented using SfM point cloud data (r 2 = 0.96, SE = 8 cm, n = 31) and a combination of spectral and height predictor variables yielded an 11-class classification with 82% overall accuracy. Differencing repeat UAV surveys before and after manually trimming shrub patches showed that vegetation height decreases in trimmed areas (− 6.5 cm, SD = 21 cm). Based on these findings, we conclude that UAV photogrammetry provides a promising, cost-efficient method for high-resolution mapping and monitoring of tundra vegetation that can be used to bridge the gap between plot and satellite remote sensing measurements. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Northwest Territories Tuktoyaktuk Tundra Canadian Science Publishing Arctic Northwest Territories Tuktoyaktuk ENVELOPE(-133.006,-133.006,69.425,69.425) Arctic Science 2 3 79 102 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
Plot-scale field measurements are necessary to monitor changes to tundra vegetation, which has a small stature and high spatial heterogeneity, while satellite remote sensing can be used to track coarser changes over larger regions. In this study, we explored the potential of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photographic surveys to map low-Arctic vegetation at an intermediate scale. A multicopter was used to capture highly overlapping, subcentimetre photographs over a 2 ha site near Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories. Images were processed into ultradense 3D point clouds and 1 cm resolution orthomosaics and vegetation height models using Structure-from-Motion (SfM) methods. Shrub vegetation heights measured on the ground were accurately represented using SfM point cloud data (r 2 = 0.96, SE = 8 cm, n = 31) and a combination of spectral and height predictor variables yielded an 11-class classification with 82% overall accuracy. Differencing repeat UAV surveys before and after manually trimming shrub patches showed that vegetation height decreases in trimmed areas (− 6.5 cm, SD = 21 cm). Based on these findings, we conclude that UAV photogrammetry provides a promising, cost-efficient method for high-resolution mapping and monitoring of tundra vegetation that can be used to bridge the gap between plot and satellite remote sensing measurements. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Fraser, Robert H. Olthof, Ian Lantz, Trevor C. Schmitt, Carla |
spellingShingle |
Fraser, Robert H. Olthof, Ian Lantz, Trevor C. Schmitt, Carla UAV photogrammetry for mapping vegetation in the low-Arctic |
author_facet |
Fraser, Robert H. Olthof, Ian Lantz, Trevor C. Schmitt, Carla |
author_sort |
Fraser, Robert H. |
title |
UAV photogrammetry for mapping vegetation in the low-Arctic |
title_short |
UAV photogrammetry for mapping vegetation in the low-Arctic |
title_full |
UAV photogrammetry for mapping vegetation in the low-Arctic |
title_fullStr |
UAV photogrammetry for mapping vegetation in the low-Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
UAV photogrammetry for mapping vegetation in the low-Arctic |
title_sort |
uav photogrammetry for mapping vegetation in the low-arctic |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2016-0008 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/as-2016-0008 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/as-2016-0008 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-133.006,-133.006,69.425,69.425) |
geographic |
Arctic Northwest Territories Tuktoyaktuk |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Northwest Territories Tuktoyaktuk |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Northwest Territories Tuktoyaktuk Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Northwest Territories Tuktoyaktuk Tundra |
op_source |
Arctic Science volume 2, issue 3, page 79-102 ISSN 2368-7460 2368-7460 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2016-0008 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
container_volume |
2 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
79 |
op_container_end_page |
102 |
_version_ |
1802638700601933824 |