A Review of Unoccupied Aerial Vehicle Use in Wetland Applications: Emerging Opportunities in Approach, Technology, and Data

A Review of Unoccupied Aerial Vehicle Use in Wetland Applications: Emerging Opportunities in Approach, Technology, and Data

Recent developments in technology and data processing for Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have revolutionized the scope of ecosystem monitoring, providing novel pathways to fill the critical gap between limited-scope field surveys and limited-customization satellite and piloted aerial platforms. T...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Drones (Basel) Vol. 5; no. 2; p. 45
Main Authors: Dronova, Iryna, Kislik, Chippie, Dinh, Zack, Kelly, Maggi
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-06-2021
Subjects:
Aerial surveys
Case studies
Data processing
drone
Ecological monitoring
Ecosystems
Environmental management
Environmental monitoring
Environmental research
Hydrology
Landscape preservation
Literature reviews
management
Remote sensing
Sensors
UAS
UAV
Unmanned aerial vehicles
unoccupied aerial vehicle
Vegetation mapping
wetland
Wetlands
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Summary:Recent developments in technology and data processing for Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have revolutionized the scope of ecosystem monitoring, providing novel pathways to fill the critical gap between limited-scope field surveys and limited-customization satellite and piloted aerial platforms. These advances are especially ground-breaking for supporting management, restoration, and conservation of landscapes with limited field access and vulnerable ecological systems, particularly wetlands. This study presents a scoping review of the current status and emerging opportunities in wetland UAV applications, with particular emphasis on ecosystem management goals and remaining research, technology, and data needs to even better support these goals in the future. Using 122 case studies from 29 countries, we discuss which wetland monitoring and management objectives are most served by this rapidly developing technology, and what workflows were employed to analyze these data. This review showcases many ways in which UAVs may help reduce or replace logistically demanding field surveys and can help improve the efficiency of UAV-based workflows to support longer-term monitoring in the face of wetland environmental challenges and management constraints. We also highlight several emerging trends in applications, technology, and data and offer insights into future needs.
ISSN:2504-446X
2504-446X
DOI:10.3390/drones5020045