A Practical Assessment of Using sUASs (Drones) to Detect and Quantify Wright Fishhook Cactus (<i>Sclerocactus wrightiae</i> L.D. Benson) Populations in Desert Grazinglands
Obtaining accurate plant population estimates has been integral in listing, recovery, and delisting species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973 and for monitoring vegetation in response to livestock grazing. Obtaining accurate population estimates remains a daunting and labor-intensive tas...
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/5/655 |
| _version_ | 1797498525141958656 |
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| author | Thomas H. Bates Val J. Anderson Robert L. Johnson Loreen Allphin Dustin Rooks Steven L. Petersen |
| author_facet | Thomas H. Bates Val J. Anderson Robert L. Johnson Loreen Allphin Dustin Rooks Steven L. Petersen |
| author_sort | Thomas H. Bates |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Obtaining accurate plant population estimates has been integral in listing, recovery, and delisting species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973 and for monitoring vegetation in response to livestock grazing. Obtaining accurate population estimates remains a daunting and labor-intensive task. Small unmanned aircraft systems (sUASs or drones) may provide an effective alternative to ground surveys for rare and endangered plants. The objective of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of sUASs (DJI Phantom 4 Pro) for surveying the Wright fishhook cactus (<i>Sclerocactus wrightiae</i>), a small (1–8 cm diameter) endangered species endemic to grazinglands in the southwest desert of Utah, USA. We assessed sUAS-based remotely sensed imagery to detect and count individual cacti compared to ground surveys and estimated optimal altitudes (10 m, 15 m, or 20 m) for collecting imagery. Our results demonstrated that low altitude flights provided the best detection rates (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and counts (<i>p</i> < 0.001) compared to 15 m and 20 m. We suggest that sUASs can effectively locate cactus within grazingland areas, but should be coupled with ground surveys for higher accuracy and reliability. We also acknowledge that these technologies may have limitations in effectively detecting small, low-growing individual plants such as the small and obscure fishhook cactus species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:34:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-37109638eacb44aa987ffd5a7272e985 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:34:33Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
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| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-37109638eacb44aa987ffd5a7272e9852023-11-23T11:46:56ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2022-04-0111565510.3390/land11050655A Practical Assessment of Using sUASs (Drones) to Detect and Quantify Wright Fishhook Cactus (<i>Sclerocactus wrightiae</i> L.D. Benson) Populations in Desert GrazinglandsThomas H. Bates0Val J. Anderson1Robert L. Johnson2Loreen Allphin3Dustin Rooks4Steven L. Petersen5Tuscarora Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, Elko District 3900 E Idaho Street, Elko, NV 89801, USADepartment of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, 4105 LSB, Provo, UT 84602, USADepartment of Biology, Brigham Young University, 4102 LSB, Provo, UT 84602, USADepartment of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, 4105 LSB, Provo, UT 84602, USARichfield Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, 150 E 900 N, Richfield, UT 84701, USADepartment of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, 4105 LSB, Provo, UT 84602, USAObtaining accurate plant population estimates has been integral in listing, recovery, and delisting species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973 and for monitoring vegetation in response to livestock grazing. Obtaining accurate population estimates remains a daunting and labor-intensive task. Small unmanned aircraft systems (sUASs or drones) may provide an effective alternative to ground surveys for rare and endangered plants. The objective of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of sUASs (DJI Phantom 4 Pro) for surveying the Wright fishhook cactus (<i>Sclerocactus wrightiae</i>), a small (1–8 cm diameter) endangered species endemic to grazinglands in the southwest desert of Utah, USA. We assessed sUAS-based remotely sensed imagery to detect and count individual cacti compared to ground surveys and estimated optimal altitudes (10 m, 15 m, or 20 m) for collecting imagery. Our results demonstrated that low altitude flights provided the best detection rates (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and counts (<i>p</i> < 0.001) compared to 15 m and 20 m. We suggest that sUASs can effectively locate cactus within grazingland areas, but should be coupled with ground surveys for higher accuracy and reliability. We also acknowledge that these technologies may have limitations in effectively detecting small, low-growing individual plants such as the small and obscure fishhook cactus species.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/5/655sUASdronesplant surveysfishhook cactusendangered plantshigh resolution remote sensing |
| spellingShingle | Thomas H. Bates Val J. Anderson Robert L. Johnson Loreen Allphin Dustin Rooks Steven L. Petersen A Practical Assessment of Using sUASs (Drones) to Detect and Quantify Wright Fishhook Cactus (<i>Sclerocactus wrightiae</i> L.D. Benson) Populations in Desert Grazinglands Land sUAS drones plant surveys fishhook cactus endangered plants high resolution remote sensing |
| title | A Practical Assessment of Using sUASs (Drones) to Detect and Quantify Wright Fishhook Cactus (<i>Sclerocactus wrightiae</i> L.D. Benson) Populations in Desert Grazinglands |
| title_full | A Practical Assessment of Using sUASs (Drones) to Detect and Quantify Wright Fishhook Cactus (<i>Sclerocactus wrightiae</i> L.D. Benson) Populations in Desert Grazinglands |
| title_fullStr | A Practical Assessment of Using sUASs (Drones) to Detect and Quantify Wright Fishhook Cactus (<i>Sclerocactus wrightiae</i> L.D. Benson) Populations in Desert Grazinglands |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Practical Assessment of Using sUASs (Drones) to Detect and Quantify Wright Fishhook Cactus (<i>Sclerocactus wrightiae</i> L.D. Benson) Populations in Desert Grazinglands |
| title_short | A Practical Assessment of Using sUASs (Drones) to Detect and Quantify Wright Fishhook Cactus (<i>Sclerocactus wrightiae</i> L.D. Benson) Populations in Desert Grazinglands |
| title_sort | practical assessment of using suass drones to detect and quantify wright fishhook cactus i sclerocactus wrightiae i l d benson populations in desert grazinglands |
| topic | sUAS drones plant surveys fishhook cactus endangered plants high resolution remote sensing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/5/655 |
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