Benefits

Drones are capable of increasing efficiency and decreasing costs. They are a scalable solution to data collection for many different conservation and restoration efforts including environmental monitoring, erosion mitigation, storm water runoff, protecting endangered species, and much more. “Recent advances in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) technology have created an alternative monitoring platform that provides an opportunity to capture the spatial, spectral, and temporal requirements across a range of applications. Drones offer high versatility, adaptability, and flexibility compared with manned airborne systems or satellites, and have the potential to be rapidly and repeatedly deployed for high spatial and temporal resolution data (Manfreda et al., 2018). Very simply put, the benefits of having this data is to provide better insight over changing conditions.

Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) have rapidly growing roles in precision agriculture and natural resource management (Alsalam, et al., 2017; McCabe et al., 2016; Müllerová et al., 2017; Pande-Chhetri et al., 2017), because of several advantages of UAS over other remote sensing platforms. For example, compared to space-borne platforms, UAS can fly at much lower altitudes, and thus are able to generate remote sensing images with sub-decimeter resolution. (Rango et al., 2006)

Drone data is a more efficient means to monitor, measure, and analyze data over large distances. The drone is a superior platform for moving a sensor into positions that were previously unavailable. There are many different designs of drones made for different uses. Fixed-wing drones are used for long-range, extended flights. However, they typically carry lighter payloads. Multirotor drones are used for shorter flight distances, but provide better stability and maneuverability while typically being able to carry heavier payloads. The benefit of using a drone is the control of its positioning in the airspace it offers.

Drones are capable of carrying different sensors, which can then be used to record useful data. Multispectral sensors can record photosynthetic activity, and can show indications of the health of a plant. “Many natural resource management applications require timely and accurate mapping techniques to monitor landscape scale changes such as non-native plant invasions, insect outbreaks or disease, and to develop and apply management efforts” (Mulla, 2013; Zhang et al., 2002). Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) camera sensors can collect imagery that can be used for creating maps and 3D models. When processed, the data can be converted into topography maps through a process called photogrammetry. The topography of the land is important because it can show the contours of the landscape and changes in elevation. From my experience, most architects, civil engineers, and land surveyors prefer topographic outputs for their project planning, and to help determine cost estimates for materials or manpower.

Figure 1. This image shows the Digital Surface Model (DSM) layered on top of satellite imagery with integrated tools for measuring and inspecting site conditions.

This can help provide a general direction that runoff water will take during heavy rainfall. This is useful for tracking the path that contaminants will travel. The containment could be captured or slowed down, giving the earth more time to absorb them. This is important for protecting our local waterways. Septic leaks and stormwater runoff depositing excess nutrients in the water can cause algal blooms, which unfortunately lead to dead zones. Dead zones are areas where oxygen is depleted from the water and becomes inhabitable to fish and other marine life. The major cause of dead zones are fertilizers getting into waterways through storm water runoff. If the direction of stormwater can be determined in an agriculture area where high amounts of fertilizers are used, a system of step pools can be installed to slow the flow of water and collect some of the excess nutrients from entering the waterways. Fast moving water carries more sediment and particles. The sediment and particles that enter the water cause the clarity of the water to decrease. Seagrass relies on sunlight to grow, and when water is murky, less light is able to penetrate the water. Without the necessary energy provided by sunlight, the seagrass cannot function normally by photosynthesizing and growing. Drones capture useful elevation data that is being used to reshape and form landscapes for a more eco-friendly terrain.

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