TY - JOUR

T1 - The conservation impact of botanical drones

T2 - Documenting and collecting rare plants from vertical cliffs and other hard-to-reach areas

AU - Nyberg, Ben

AU - Bairos, Célia

AU - Brimhall, Marcela

AU - Deans, Susan M.

AU - Hanser, Sholeh

AU - Heintzman, Scott

AU - Hillmann Kitalong, Ann

AU - Menezes de Sequeira, Miguel

AU - Nobert, Niro

AU - Rønsted, Nina

AU - Soaladaob, Naito

AU - Wood, Kenneth R.

AU - Williams, Adam M.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors. Ecological Solutions and Evidence published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - A high percentage of island floras are at risk of extinction and have been reduced to relic populations, often in remote hard-to-reach areas. Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS aka drones) are now being utilized to assist in the survey and collection of rare plants in inaccessible areas or vertical cliff habitats. Here, we test the application of this technology for conservation of 23 plant taxa in three oceanic island hotspots: Hawaiʻi, Madeira and the Republic of Palau. We collect high-resolution imagery using a small UAS to document the distribution and abundance of vascular flowering plants. Location information is then used to map and assess plant populations. Depending on the terrain, collections are completed using either traditional rope techniques or newly developed remote drone-based collection methods. Over the course of 6 years, we have greatly expanded our knowledge of rare and endangered species, while increasing survey efficiency and staff safety. Most importantly, this work has had a large impact on the conservation of critically endangered plants. Although using drones for botanical conservation comes with limits and challenges, we see great potential in the continued employment of these techniques wherever plants are growing on cliffs or in other hard-to-reach areas.

AB - A high percentage of island floras are at risk of extinction and have been reduced to relic populations, often in remote hard-to-reach areas. Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS aka drones) are now being utilized to assist in the survey and collection of rare plants in inaccessible areas or vertical cliff habitats. Here, we test the application of this technology for conservation of 23 plant taxa in three oceanic island hotspots: Hawaiʻi, Madeira and the Republic of Palau. We collect high-resolution imagery using a small UAS to document the distribution and abundance of vascular flowering plants. Location information is then used to map and assess plant populations. Depending on the terrain, collections are completed using either traditional rope techniques or newly developed remote drone-based collection methods. Over the course of 6 years, we have greatly expanded our knowledge of rare and endangered species, while increasing survey efficiency and staff safety. Most importantly, this work has had a large impact on the conservation of critically endangered plants. Although using drones for botanical conservation comes with limits and challenges, we see great potential in the continued employment of these techniques wherever plants are growing on cliffs or in other hard-to-reach areas.

KW - endangered plants

KW - Hawaii

KW - island flora

KW - Madeira

KW - Palau

KW - plant distribution

KW - remote sensing

KW - sampling techniques

KW - uncrewed aircraft systems

U2 - 10.1002/2688-8319.12318

DO - 10.1002/2688-8319.12318

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85189153927

VL - 5

JO - Ecological Solutions and Evidence

JF - Ecological Solutions and Evidence

SN - 2688-8319

IS - 1

M1 - e12318

ER -