Airborne sensing provides a means to study the health and productivity of forests at very high spatial and temporal resolution, and to monitor the impacts of human activity on these vital ecosystems. Our systems have been widely used in forest studies from the arctic to the tropics. Simple RGB cameras can provide information on canopy structure and composition, while more advanced multi- and hyper-spectral systems can tell us a great deal about the photo-chemistry taking place within the leaves. These advanced spectral techniques can inform us about the rate at which the trees are taking carbon dioxide from the air, as well as how they respond to changing climate factors such as extended draught. They can also help to identify the very earliest signs of disease or infestation, allowing more timely, effective and efficient treatment. Image Forest in northern Finland under snow, from a Mavic 2 Pro UAS. photo credit Clare Webster. Image Daintree Rainforest Observatory, Queensland, captured by an Iris+ UAS with S110 camera. Photo credit Ed Mitchard, UoE. This article was published on 2024-06-25
