Across the world, natural ecosystems are being subjected to change in various ways, be it through direct change in land use or changes in local climate. Airborne sensors provide a unique set of tools to help study these changes. Our resources have been widely used alongside both ground based measurements and satellite systems to study a wide variety of ecosystems including tropical rainforests, upland peat bogs, boreal forests to artic tundra. The latest technology allows us to capture changes in vegetation both sptially and over time at the individual plant or even leaf level over wide study sites at regular intervals during the course of growing seasons, shedding light on the extent that specifc species are able (or unable) to cope with and adapt to change. Ultra-high resolution data from UAS and light aircraft platforms can be vital in understanding the signals that we see in coarser, but global, data from satellites, and for scaling our knowledge of fine scale ground measurements to landscape and regional scales. Image ECO-Dimona imagery of a wetland ecosystem field study area (sample chambers and boardwalks visible) near Hyytiala research station, Finland. Image Iris+ UAS with S110 Launching for a mission over Daintree Rainforest Observatory, Queensland. Photo credit Ed Mitchard. This article was published on 2024-06-25
