Abstract
This study examines the potential and limits of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) applicability for the monitoring of stream restoration in an urban environment. UAV imaging was used for long-term post-restoration monitoring of an urban stream. The monitoring was aimed to track the stream changes significant for the assessment of the restoration success, such as the compliance of the restoration to the plan, stability and evolution of the stream channel, or changes in stream and riparian habitats. The recurrent imaging campaigns in the restored segment of Hostavicky brook in Prague, The Czech Republic, were undertaken for three years since the restoration using the DJI Inspire 1 Pro platform. The UAV monitoring revealed that the new stream pattern substantially differs from the proposed restoration plan. Despite this, the new channel has proved stability, supported by intense grassing of the floodplain, resulting in only marginal evolution of the restored channel. The new channel proved the ability to mitigate the course of a significant flood event without significant flood spills outside the riparian zone. The UAV monitoring also revealed intense eutrophication in newly created shallow ponds with insufficient drainage. The research proved that UAV imaging is a unique source of spatial data, providing reliable information for quantitative and qualitative assessment of the stream restoration progress and success.
Highlights
Recent advances in the accessibility and quality of remote sensing data products accelerate the number of their applications in landscape studies, including water management
The typical interval for a geodetic survey is in years, while the monitoring of the stream restoration projects requires higher frequency and flexibility to capture the data on demand
The aim of this study was to identify the aspects of stream restoration, where the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) imaging can bring qualitatively new information, applicable for the monitoring and evaluation of stream restorations in an urban landscape and test the appropriate photogrammetric and geoinformatic methods
Summary
Recent advances in the accessibility and quality of remote sensing data products accelerate the number of their applications in landscape studies, including water management. The low spatial resolution of the imagery, limits applications of the satellite data to large rivers, where the potential of the multispectral and hyperspectral imagery is used mainly for classification of vegetation properties of the riverscape [4,5]. The substantial shift of the applicability of the remotely sensed data has been brought by the increasing availability of high-resolution aerial orthoimagery, allowing the distinction of basic hydromorphological properties of the physical stream habitat [6,7]. The imagery resolution, continuously increasing, still does not allow the analysis of the physical habitat and structural properties of small streams, typical in the urban and suburban environment, that are the subjects of restoration. The typical interval for a geodetic survey is in years, while the monitoring of the stream restoration projects requires higher frequency and flexibility to capture the data on demand
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