Assessment of forest plantation growth by drone, Colombia

Large-scale forestry projects are challenging to map and monitor from the field. Therefore, data collection by drone flying was provided to establish a forest inventory of the plantation area. High resolution areal images were collected and analyzed to determine plantation outlines and standing timber volume. Common field plot measurements were conducted additionally for checkpoint data and further verification of the data gained by drone data collection and analysis. This facilitated a precise orthorectification of the landscape mosaic picture as well as statistical validation of the drone data. Based on that a digitial model of canopy, surface and terrain could be created. For monitoring and as a Basis for future Management activities Features such as Standing timber volume, number of trees, tree height, DBH (Diameter breast height) and mean annual increment (MAI) were determined.

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