UAV – a useful tool for monitoring woodlands

Unmanned aerial systems are in many countries one of the most dynamically developing branches of technology. They have also been recognized and are being utilized by scientists who find remote sensing indispensable in their work. Today, it is increasingly common to find research teams utilizing so-called drones in field research. Unmanned systems are becoming ever more important for environment monitoring by, on the one hand, providing data from inaccessible or remote areas, and, on the other hand, reducing the human costs required by traditional large field teams while also increasing the efficiency of the work. This paper presents the possibility of utilizing UAVs for image data collection in woodland areas.

Flights over Głuchów and an Arboretum were performed using two different UAVs (Mentor, AVI). The flights were made in 2010 in the middle of the growing season. Images were taken with Sigma DP2 digital cameras in four spectral channels: R (red), G (green), B (blue) and IR (infrared). Images were saved in 8-bit. The Głuchów forest complex is located in the Głuchów forest district, which forms a part of the Rogów forest division. From the administrative viewpoint, the forest division is located in the Łódzkie province, Skierniewicki Poviat. The Arboretum is a park with a collection of trees and shrubs from different regions of the world. The area is characterized by a high variability of species and trees of varying heights. It is located in the Łódzkie province, Skierniewicki Poviat.