Drone-based remote sensing as a novel tool to assess restoration trajectory at fine-scale by identifying and monitoring seedling emergence and performance

Abstract

While Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have existed for decades, it is only in the last ten years that small, commercially available UAVs have become a readily accessible tool. While they have been frequently used in agricultural monitoring, restoration efforts lag behind in the use of UAVs in monitoring. This thesis seeks to identify and address key knowledge gaps in the use of UAVs in restoration monitoring, and to propose the future of restoration monitoring.