A Pilot Study to Estimate Forage Mass from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in a Semi-Arid Rangeland

The application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the monitoring and management of rangelands has exponentially increased in recent years due to the miniaturization of sensors, ability to capture imagery with high spatial resolution, lower altitude platforms, and the ease of flying UAVs in remot...

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Main Authors: Alexandria M. DiMaggio, Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso, J. Alfonso Ortega-S., Chase Walther, Karelys N. Labrador-Rodriguez, Michael T. Page, Jose de la Luz Martinez, Sandra Rideout-Hanzak, Brent C. Hedquist, David B. Wester
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/15/2431
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author Alexandria M. DiMaggio
Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso
J. Alfonso Ortega-S.
Chase Walther
Karelys N. Labrador-Rodriguez
Michael T. Page
Jose de la Luz Martinez
Sandra Rideout-Hanzak
Brent C. Hedquist
David B. Wester
author_facet Alexandria M. DiMaggio
Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso
J. Alfonso Ortega-S.
Chase Walther
Karelys N. Labrador-Rodriguez
Michael T. Page
Jose de la Luz Martinez
Sandra Rideout-Hanzak
Brent C. Hedquist
David B. Wester
author_sort Alexandria M. DiMaggio
collection DOAJ
description The application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the monitoring and management of rangelands has exponentially increased in recent years due to the miniaturization of sensors, ability to capture imagery with high spatial resolution, lower altitude platforms, and the ease of flying UAVs in remote environments. The aim of this research was to develop a method to estimate forage mass in rangelands using high-resolution imagery derived from the UAV using a South Texas pasture as a pilot site. The specific objectives of this research were to (1) evaluate the feasibility of quantifying forage mass in semi-arid rangelands using a double sampling technique with high-resolution imagery and (2) to compare the effect of altitude on forage mass estimation. Orthoimagery and digital surface models (DSM) with a resolution <1.5 cm were acquired with an UAV at altitudes of 30, 40, and 50 m above ground level (AGL) in Duval County, Texas. Field forage mass data were regressed on volumes obtained from a DSM. Our results show that volumes estimated with UAV data and forage mass as measured in the field have a significant relationship at all flight altitudes with best results at 30-m AGL (r<sup>2</sup> = 0.65) and 50-m AGL (r<sup>2</sup> = 0.63). Furthermore, the use of UAVs would allow one to collect a large number of samples using a non-destructive method to estimate available forage for grazing animals.
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spelling doaj.art-4de32794d23f44c091fd9358a146d90f2023-11-20T08:19:13ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922020-07-011215243110.3390/rs12152431A Pilot Study to Estimate Forage Mass from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in a Semi-Arid RangelandAlexandria M. DiMaggio0Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso1J. Alfonso Ortega-S.2Chase Walther3Karelys N. Labrador-Rodriguez4Michael T. Page5Jose de la Luz Martinez6Sandra Rideout-Hanzak7Brent C. Hedquist8David B. Wester9Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, 700 University Blvd. MSC 218, Kingsville, TX 78363, USACaesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, 700 University Blvd. MSC 218, Kingsville, TX 78363, USACaesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, 700 University Blvd. MSC 218, Kingsville, TX 78363, USACaesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, 700 University Blvd. MSC 218, Kingsville, TX 78363, USACaesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, 700 University Blvd. MSC 218, Kingsville, TX 78363, USACaesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, 700 University Blvd. MSC 218, Kingsville, TX 78363, USANatural Resources Conservation Service, 100 E. Kleberg Ave. #204, Kingsville, TX 78363, USACaesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, 700 University Blvd. MSC 218, Kingsville, TX 78363, USADepartment of Physics and Geosciences, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, 700 University Blvd. MSC 175, Kingsville, TX 78363, USACaesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, 700 University Blvd. MSC 218, Kingsville, TX 78363, USAThe application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the monitoring and management of rangelands has exponentially increased in recent years due to the miniaturization of sensors, ability to capture imagery with high spatial resolution, lower altitude platforms, and the ease of flying UAVs in remote environments. The aim of this research was to develop a method to estimate forage mass in rangelands using high-resolution imagery derived from the UAV using a South Texas pasture as a pilot site. The specific objectives of this research were to (1) evaluate the feasibility of quantifying forage mass in semi-arid rangelands using a double sampling technique with high-resolution imagery and (2) to compare the effect of altitude on forage mass estimation. Orthoimagery and digital surface models (DSM) with a resolution <1.5 cm were acquired with an UAV at altitudes of 30, 40, and 50 m above ground level (AGL) in Duval County, Texas. Field forage mass data were regressed on volumes obtained from a DSM. Our results show that volumes estimated with UAV data and forage mass as measured in the field have a significant relationship at all flight altitudes with best results at 30-m AGL (r<sup>2</sup> = 0.65) and 50-m AGL (r<sup>2</sup> = 0.63). Furthermore, the use of UAVs would allow one to collect a large number of samples using a non-destructive method to estimate available forage for grazing animals.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/15/2431forage estimationDSMorthomosaicphotogrammetryPix4DSouth Texas Plains
spellingShingle Alexandria M. DiMaggio
Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso
J. Alfonso Ortega-S.
Chase Walther
Karelys N. Labrador-Rodriguez
Michael T. Page
Jose de la Luz Martinez
Sandra Rideout-Hanzak
Brent C. Hedquist
David B. Wester
A Pilot Study to Estimate Forage Mass from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in a Semi-Arid Rangeland
Remote Sensing
forage estimation
DSM
orthomosaic
photogrammetry
Pix4D
South Texas Plains
title A Pilot Study to Estimate Forage Mass from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in a Semi-Arid Rangeland
title_full A Pilot Study to Estimate Forage Mass from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in a Semi-Arid Rangeland
title_fullStr A Pilot Study to Estimate Forage Mass from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in a Semi-Arid Rangeland
title_full_unstemmed A Pilot Study to Estimate Forage Mass from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in a Semi-Arid Rangeland
title_short A Pilot Study to Estimate Forage Mass from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in a Semi-Arid Rangeland
title_sort pilot study to estimate forage mass from unmanned aerial vehicles in a semi arid rangeland
topic forage estimation
DSM
orthomosaic
photogrammetry
Pix4D
South Texas Plains
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/15/2431
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