Existing and emerging uses of drones in restoration ecology

Robinson, Jake M.; Harrison, Peter A.; Mavoa, Suzanne; Breed, Martin F.

doi:10.1111/2041-210x.13912

Cited by 48 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 92 publications

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“…Among the nonterrestrial active remote sensing tools, stateor-the-art UAV-borne active payloads now enable capturing up to >1000 points/m 2 point densities, which is on the way to being effectively used for ecological applications like restoration (see novel insights in Robinson et al, 2022) Fedrowitz et al, 2014). This can be of practical value in, for example, Nordic Europe, with country-wide aerial data regularly acquired by forest services.…”

Section: F I G U R Ementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among the nonterrestrial active remote sensing tools, state‐or‐the‐art UAV‐borne active payloads now enable capturing up to >1000 points/m 2 point densities, which is on the way to being effectively used for ecological applications like restoration (see novel insights in Robinson et al, 2022). Blanchard et al (2023) applied UAV‐borne laser scanner data to relate edge effects to forest structure, composition, function and microclimate, and showed correlations between distance to forest edge and canopy structure.…”

Section: Thematic Groups Being Covered In the Sfmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Towards complex applications of active remote sensing for ecology and conservation

2023

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Remote sensing (RS) and geospatial sciences already amount to a long history of fostering research in topics related to ecology. Data and methods have mainly been subject to research and experiments, but trends are now emerging that suggest the use of RS in practical applications like nationwide monitoring programs and assisting global conservation goals. However, use of active remote sensing for ecological and conservation is in its infancy, and the implications of active sensor data, including light detection and ranging and radio detection and ranging that mostly deliver three‐dimensional (3D) information, are still relatively primitive and have largely been limited to indirect use of their extracted proxies for ecological modelling. This cross‐journal special feature between Methods in Ecology and Evolution, Journal of Animal Ecology, Journal of Applied Ecology and Journal of Ecology includes 18 papers that include full research papers, reviews and technical applications. They are mostly novel in either or both their interpretation of proxies derived from active RS data and the direct usage of 3D RS techniques (terrestrial, airborne, UAV borne and spaceborne) to address ecological topics. We categorized the published contributions into the following thematic groups, with some degree of overlap: (i) ecosystem structural analysis by active data (nine studies); (ii) response of animal populations to climate dynamics as shown by active data; (iii) interactive effects of forest structure and wildlife monitoring (five studies); (iv) forest inventories assisted by active data (one study) and (v) tree type classification by active data (one study). Synthesis. The studies in this Special Feature and trends shown by other recent works at the interface of ecology and active RS confirm the ongoing shift from indirect and solely proxy‐based approaches to direct and more data‐science driven methods in approaching ecology and conservation problems by means of active sensors. Relatively affordable and accessible drone and citizen science‐based on‐demand active RS data acquisition are becoming common practice, and the future of sensor development is hypothesized to go beyond the current domination of very high spatial resolution data and towards multiple spaceborne platforms. These tools and methods will support spatial upscaling, uncertainty analysis, large‐scale mapping and monitoring of wildlife dynamics, among other topics that can take advantage of multitemporal/time series data. Nevertheless, access to demanding and costly very high‐resolution data sources may still be maintained and optimized by establishing international and public–private partnered data pools.

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Section: F I G U R Ementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Thematic Groups Being Covered In the Sfmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards complex applications of active remote sensing for ecology and conservation

2023

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“…success) of forest restoration interventions in reinstating target species, functions and “services” (Camarretta et al 2020), and reducing further disturbance. Indeed, ecosystem restoration can be viewed as a continuum of stages from planning to implementation to monitoring (Robinson et al 2022). The monitoring stage plays a crucial role in quantifying the effectiveness of restoration interventions by measuring recovery and potential ongoing disturbance (de Almeida et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The sound of restored soil: using ecoacoustics to measure soil biodiversity in a temperate forest restoration context

Robinson

Breed

Abrahams

2023

Restoration Ecology

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Forest restoration requires monitoring to assess above‐ and belowground communities, which is challenging due to practical and resource limitations. Ecological acoustic survey methods––also known as “ecoacoustics”––are increasingly available and provide a rapid, effective, and non‐intrusive means of monitoring biodiversity. Aboveground ecoacoustics is widespread, but soil ecoacoustics has yet to be utilized in restoration despite its demonstrable effectiveness at detecting soniferous soil meso‐ and macrofauna. This study applied ecoacoustic tools and indices (Acoustic Complexity Index, Normalized Difference Soundscape Index, and Bioacoustic Index) to measure belowground (and aboveground as secondary) biodiversity in a forest restoration site spanning two age classes. We collected n = 198 belowground acoustic samples and n = 180 aboveground samples from three recently deforested (felled <3 years ago) and three deciduous forest plots undergoing restoration (for the last 30–51 years) across three monthly visits in South Yorkshire, U.K. We used a belowground sampling device and sound‐attenuation chamber to record soil communities and passive acoustic monitoring to record aboveground sounds. We found that restored plot acoustic complexity and diversity were significantly higher than deforested plots in the sound‐attenuation chamber, but there were no inter‐plot differences in in‐situ soil or aboveground samples. We also found that restored plots had a significantly greater high‐frequency to low‐frequency ratio (suggesting higher biophony to anthrophony ratios) for in‐situ and sound chamber soil but no association for aboveground samples. Our results suggest that ecoacoustics has immense potential to monitor belowground biodiversity, adding to the restoration ecologist's toolkit and supporting global ecosystem recovery.

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“…success) of forest restoration interventions in reinstating target species, functions and ‘services’ (Camarretta et al 2020), and reducing further disturbance. Indeed, ecosystem restoration can be viewed as a continuum of stages from planning to implementation to monitoring (Robinson et al 2022). The monitoring stage plays a crucial role in quantifying the effectiveness of restoration interventions by measuring recovery and potential ongoing disturbance (de Almeida et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The sound of restored soil: Measuring soil biodiversity in a forest restoration chronosequence with ecoacoustics

Robinson

Breed

Abrahams

2023

Preprint

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Forest restoration requires monitoring to assess changes in above- and below-ground communities, which is challenging due to practical and resource limitations. With emerging sound recording technologies, ecological acoustic survey methods - also known as ecoacoustics - are increasingly available. These provide a rapid, effective, and non-intrusive means of monitoring biodiversity. Above-ground ecoacoustics is increasingly widespread, but soil ecoacoustics has yet to be utilised in restoration despite its demonstrable effectiveness at detecting meso- and macrofauna acoustic signals. This study applied ecoacoustic tools and indices (Acoustic Complexity Index, Normalised Difference Soundscape Index, and Bioacoustic Index) to measure above- and below-ground biodiversity in a forest restoration chronosequence. We hypothesised that higher acoustic complexity, diversity and high-frequency to low-frequency ratio would be detected in restored forest plots. We collected n = 198 below-ground samples and n = 180 ambient and controlled samples from three recently degraded (within 10 years) and three restored (30-51 years ago) deciduous forest plots across three monthly visits. We used passive acoustic monitoring to record above-ground biological sounds and a below-ground sampling device and sound-attenuation chamber to record soil communities. We found that restored plot acoustic complexity and diversity were higher in the sound-attenuation chamber soil but not in situ or above-ground samples. Moreover, we found that restored plots had a significantly greater high-frequency to low-frequency ratio for soil, but no such association for above-ground samples. Our results suggest that ecoacoustics has the potential to monitor below-ground biodiversity, adding to the restoration ecology toolkit and supporting global ecosystem recovery.

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Existing and emerging uses of drones in restoration ecology

Cited by 48 publications

References 92 publications

Towards complex applications of active remote sensing for ecology and conservation

Towards complex applications of active remote sensing for ecology and conservation

The sound of restored soil: using ecoacoustics to measure soil biodiversity in a temperate forest restoration context

The sound of restored soil: Measuring soil biodiversity in a forest restoration chronosequence with ecoacoustics

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