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Abstract
Tree canopy sampling is critical in many forestry-related applications, including ecophysiology, foliar nutrient diagnostics, remote sensing model development, genetic analysis, and biodiversity monitoring and conservation. Many of these applications require foliage samples that have been exposed to full sunlight. Unfortunately, current sampling techniques are severely limited in cases where site topography (e.g., rivers, cliffs, canyons) or tree height (i.e., branches located above 10 m) make it time-consuming, expensive, and possibly hazardous to collect samples. This paper reviews the recent developments related to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based tree sampling and presents the DeLeaves tool, a new device that can be installed under a small UAV to efficiently sample small branches in the uppermost canopy (i.e., <25 mm stem diameter, <500 g total weight, any orientation). Four different sampling campaigns using the DeLeaves tool are presented to illustrate its real-life use in various environments. So far, the DeLeaves tool has been able to collect more than 250 samples from over 20 different species with an average sampling time of 6 min. These results demonstrate the potential of UAV-based tree sampling to greatly enhance key tasks in forestry, botany, and ecology.
Highlights
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are poised to play a major role in plant biodiversity conservation and sustainable forest management
DeLeaves was involved in four sampling campaigns for different projects: propagule sampling during the University of British Columbia (UBC) Botanical Garden’s yearly expeditions, assessment of tree fertilization effects through foliar sampling and nutrient analysis, sampling of sun-lit foliage for measurement of spectral-optical properties with Canadian Airborne Biodiversity Observatory (CABO), and canopy sampling to support the assessment of ecosystem changes with National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)
We explored the viability of tree sampling with UAVs, including forestry application requirements
Summary
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are poised to play a major role in plant biodiversity conservation and sustainable forest management. Their use is becoming ubiquitous due to decreasing purchase prices and increasing applications (Wing et al 2013; Tang and Shao 2015). For many forestry and conservation applications, UAVs that could efficiently sample foliage from the tree canopy would be invaluable Such a flight platform could be used to optimize the productivity of fast-growing tree species plantations (e.g., pine, eucalyptus, and hybrid poplars). Foliar samples are useful for accurately interpreting spectral data toward mapping nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus (Clevers and Kooistra 2012; Sammons 2019)
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