UAS Remote Sensing for Coastal Wetland Vegetation Biomass Estimation: A Destructive vs. Non-Destructive Sampling Experiment
Coastal wetlands are critical ecosystems that require effective monitoring to support conservation and restoration efforts. This study evaluates the use of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) and multispectral imagery to estimate aboveground biomass (AGB) in tidal marshes, comparing models calibrat...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/14/2335 |
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| author | Grayson R. Morgan Lane Stevenson Cuizhen Wang Ram Avtar |
| author_facet | Grayson R. Morgan Lane Stevenson Cuizhen Wang Ram Avtar |
| author_sort | Grayson R. Morgan |
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| description | Coastal wetlands are critical ecosystems that require effective monitoring to support conservation and restoration efforts. This study evaluates the use of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) and multispectral imagery to estimate aboveground biomass (AGB) in tidal marshes, comparing models calibrated with destructive versus non-destructive in situ sampling methods. Imagery was collected over South Carolina’s North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and vegetation indices (VIs) were derived from sUAS imagery to model biomass. Stepwise linear regression was used to develop and validate models based on both sampling approaches. Destructive sampling models, particularly those using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Difference Vegetation Index (DVI), achieved the lowest root mean square error (RMSE) values (as low as 70.91 g/m<sup>2</sup>), indicating higher predictive accuracy. Non-destructive models, while less accurate (minimum RMSE of 214.86 g/m<sup>2</sup>), demonstrated higher R<sup>2</sup> values (0.44 and 0.61), suggesting the potential for broader application with further refinement. These findings highlight the trade-offs between ecological impact and model performance, and support the viability of non-destructive methods for biomass estimation in sensitive wetland environments. Future work should explore machine learning approaches and improved temporal alignment of data collection to enhance model robustness. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b9fb88e82d284585a3adff3f9896e5bc |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj-art-b9fb88e82d284585a3adff3f9896e5bc2025-07-25T13:35:03ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-07-011714233510.3390/rs17142335UAS Remote Sensing for Coastal Wetland Vegetation Biomass Estimation: A Destructive vs. Non-Destructive Sampling ExperimentGrayson R. Morgan0Lane Stevenson1Cuizhen Wang2Ram Avtar3Department of Geography, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USADepartment of Geography, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USADepartment of Geography, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USAGraduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0808, JapanCoastal wetlands are critical ecosystems that require effective monitoring to support conservation and restoration efforts. This study evaluates the use of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) and multispectral imagery to estimate aboveground biomass (AGB) in tidal marshes, comparing models calibrated with destructive versus non-destructive in situ sampling methods. Imagery was collected over South Carolina’s North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and vegetation indices (VIs) were derived from sUAS imagery to model biomass. Stepwise linear regression was used to develop and validate models based on both sampling approaches. Destructive sampling models, particularly those using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Difference Vegetation Index (DVI), achieved the lowest root mean square error (RMSE) values (as low as 70.91 g/m<sup>2</sup>), indicating higher predictive accuracy. Non-destructive models, while less accurate (minimum RMSE of 214.86 g/m<sup>2</sup>), demonstrated higher R<sup>2</sup> values (0.44 and 0.61), suggesting the potential for broader application with further refinement. These findings highlight the trade-offs between ecological impact and model performance, and support the viability of non-destructive methods for biomass estimation in sensitive wetland environments. Future work should explore machine learning approaches and improved temporal alignment of data collection to enhance model robustness.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/14/2335sUASdronescoastalwetlandsbiomassremote sensing |
| spellingShingle | Grayson R. Morgan Lane Stevenson Cuizhen Wang Ram Avtar UAS Remote Sensing for Coastal Wetland Vegetation Biomass Estimation: A Destructive vs. Non-Destructive Sampling Experiment Remote Sensing sUAS drones coastal wetlands biomass remote sensing |
| title | UAS Remote Sensing for Coastal Wetland Vegetation Biomass Estimation: A Destructive vs. Non-Destructive Sampling Experiment |
| title_full | UAS Remote Sensing for Coastal Wetland Vegetation Biomass Estimation: A Destructive vs. Non-Destructive Sampling Experiment |
| title_fullStr | UAS Remote Sensing for Coastal Wetland Vegetation Biomass Estimation: A Destructive vs. Non-Destructive Sampling Experiment |
| title_full_unstemmed | UAS Remote Sensing for Coastal Wetland Vegetation Biomass Estimation: A Destructive vs. Non-Destructive Sampling Experiment |
| title_short | UAS Remote Sensing for Coastal Wetland Vegetation Biomass Estimation: A Destructive vs. Non-Destructive Sampling Experiment |
| title_sort | uas remote sensing for coastal wetland vegetation biomass estimation a destructive vs non destructive sampling experiment |
| topic | sUAS drones coastal wetlands biomass remote sensing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/14/2335 |
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