Unmanned aircraft systems help to map aquatic vegetation

• Published in: Applied Vegetation Science
• Main Authors: Husson, Eva, Hagner, Olle, Ecke, Frauke
• Other Authors: Schmidtlein, Sebastian, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2013
• Subjects: Northern Sweden
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12072; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Favsc.12072; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/avsc.12072; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/avsc.12072

Abstract Questions Do high‐resolution (sub‐decimetre) aerial images taken with unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) allow a human interpreter to recognize aquatic plant species? Can UAS images be used to (1) produce vegetation maps at the species level; and (2) estimate species abundance? Location One river and two lake test sites in northern Sweden, middle boreal sub‐zone. Methods At one lake and at the river site we evaluated accuracy with which aquatic plant species can be identified on printouts of UAS images (scale 1:800, resolution 5.6 cm). As assessment units we used homogeneous vegetation patches, referred to as vegetation stands of one or more species. The accuracy assessment included calibration and validation based on field controls. At the river site, we produced a digital vegetation map based on an UAS orthoimage (geometrically corrected image mosaic) and the results of the species identification evaluation. We applied visual image interpretation and manual mapping. At one of the lake sites, we assessed the abundance (four‐grade scale) of the dominating Phragmites australis and produced a cover map. Results We identified the species composition of vegetation stands at the lake and the river site with an overall accuracy of 95.1% and 80.4%, respectively. It was feasible to produce a digital vegetation map, albeit with a slight reduction in detail compared to the species identification step. At the site for abundance assessment, P. australis covered 20% of the total lake surface area, and 70% of the covered area had cover ≤25%. Conclusions The tested UAS facilitates lake and river vegetation identification and mapping at the species level, as well as abundance estimates.