Drone vegetation mapping and monitoring at farm level

Drone platforms are fixed wing aircraft powered by small electric or gas powered motor that capture images. These produce very useful products with high accuracy and efficiency of traditional field studies to support restoration projects. The application of drone imagery in vegetation mapping and surveys is a cost effective manner in capturing data required for projects.  Namibia Biomass Industry Group (N-BiG) along with De-bushing Advisory Service (DAS) recently visited a farm in the Dordabis area utilised a drone to survey areas of the farm affected by bush encroachment.

One of the most basic applications for high-resolution drone aerial imagery is mapping vegetation communities. Mapping vegetation communities helps to measure extent coverage of various species, necessary for understanding the baseline conditions of a site for monitoring and bush control activities.

Below is an overview image of the area flown showing sparse distribution of bushes on the farm.

Photo credit :Colin Lindeque