An operational UAV-based approach for stand-level assessment of soil disturbance after forest harvesting
| Main Authors: | Talbot, Bruce, Rahlf, Johannes, Astrup, Rasmus |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Terbitan: |
, 2018
|
| Online Access: |
https://zenodo.org/record/1226908 |
Daftar Isi:
- The effectiveness of generating virtual transects on unmanned aerial vehicle-derived orthomosaics was evaluated in estimating the extent of soil disturbance by severity class. Combinations of 4 transect lengths (5 – 50 m) and five sampling intensities (1 – 20 transects per ha) were used in assessing traffic intensity and the severity of soil disturbance on six post-harvest, cut-to-length (CTL) clearfell sites. In total, 15% of the 33 ha studied showed some trace of vehicle traffic. Of this, 63% of was categorized as light (no visible surface disturbance). Traffic intensity varied from 787 to 1256 m ha − 1 , with a weighted mean of 956 m ha − 1 , approximately twice the geometrical minimum achievable with CTL technology under perfect conditions. An overall weighted mean of 4.7% of the total site area was compromised by severe rutting. A high sampling intensity, increasing with decreasing incidence of soil disturbance, is required if mean estimation error is to be kept below 20%. The paper presents a methodology that can be generally applied in forest management or in similar land-use evaluations.