Using photogrammetry to create virtual permanent plots in rare and threatened plant communities

Abstract

Premise: Many plant communities across the world are undergoing changes due to climate change, human disturbance, and other threats. These community-level changes are often tracked with the use of permanent vegetative plots, but this approach is not always feasible. As an alternative, we propose using photogrammetry, specifically photograph-based digital surface models (DSMs) developed using structure-from-motion, to establish virtual permanent plots in plant communities where the use of permanent structures may not be possible. Methods: plots distributed across alpine communities in the northeastern United States. We then compared field estimates of percent coverage with coverage estimated using DSMs. Results: Digital surface models can provide effective, minimally invasive, and permanent records of plant species presence and percent coverage, while also allowing managers to mark survey locations virtually for long-term monitoring. We found that percent coverage estimated from DSMs did not differ from field estimates for most species and substrates. Discussion: In order to continue surveying efforts in areas where permanent structures or other surveying methods are not feasible, photogrammetry and structure-from-motion methods can provide a low-cost approach that allows agencies to accurately survey and record sensitive plant communities through time.

Plant phenotyping relevance

植物群落の種存在と被覆率を、写真測量・SfMによるDSMから推定する手法を開発し、現地推定値と比較検証しているため、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心です。

Code and data availability

The authors publicly deposited the 3D image models (DSMs/virtual permanent plots) created in this study on FigShare, as stated in the Data Availability Statement. Other URLs (Agisoft, QGIS, R Metrics, GLORIA) are generic tools or cited prior work, not paper-specific assets.