The Role of Drone and UAV Surveying for Habitat Restoration

Dealing with large construction sites means managing an equally large amount of land, and the wildlife that lives there. Getting the full scope of what’s there is vital in understanding the steps you need to take to preserve or restore it, but it can be challenging for larger areas.

The vital early stages of project planning need this data to progress, and at The Habitat Restoration Co., we have the solution. We help architects, developers, and project managers to minimise their ecological impact and actually reach a net positive, aligning your projects with government biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements. In this article, we’ll discuss how drones present the perfect solution to surveyance for the natural environment.

Find out how our habitat restoration services can support your project – get in touch today.

How are Drones Used for Surveying the Natural Environment?

Drones and unmanned arial vehicles (UAVs) are an increasingly popular way for developers, conservationists, and land surveyors to conduct surveys on various environments and pieces of land.

According to a report on the use of drones for restoration ecology, they can be used in a number of restoration scenarios like mapping habitats, managing wildfires, and monitoring restoration efforts.They can also be used for a variety of purposes such as:

• Habitat mapping
• Climate change research
• Ecosystem processes and services
• Water resource and wetland management
Habitat restoration

Traditionally, the main forms of surveyance have been from satellite imagery, footwork, and crowdsourcing:

Satellites: these give a high detail view of an area, but can be expensive and hard to obtain recent imagery from. Additionally, they cannot give multiple angles of imagery, provide imagery at the moment of request, or investigate further, so they can end up falling behind other methods.
Footwork: by inspecting the site on foot, you can receive a report based on first-hand exploration. However, some sites can be difficult or impossible to navigate, and a report given from the ground perspective may not have as much detail or accuracy as a drone’s overview.
Crowdsourcing: depending on where the land is and what you’re using it for, you may be able to forego the expense of on-site manpower and get budding conservationists to provide you with the information you need. This is far from a reliable source of information, however, especially for construction projects, so other methods should be explored instead.

Drones act as the next step forward for land surveys. They can provide 360-degree imagery of any site, requiring little investment and producing extremely detailed results – exactly to your specification. They can record photos and imagery from any angle, and provide a low-interference way of engaging with the natural environment.

The Benefits of Using Drones for Habitat Restoration

Incredibly versatile and relatively cost-effective to use, drones are the perfect solution for on-site imagery and analysis in any field. For habitat restoration in particular, they allow you to cut down costs while still playing an active role in ensuring our habitats can be maintained.

Some of the key benefits of using drones for habitat restoration, and for your projects in general, include:

• Reducing ecological impact through quiet running, no emissions, and low energy requirements
• Offering a full-scope view of the project site
• Identifying habitats, flora, and fauna that may need protecting
• Helping to locate the right places for habitat restoration efforts
• Providing conveniency for hard-to-access sites and locations
• Supporting early planning stages, preventing costly realignment later on
• Identifying other site challenges like topography, dense foliage, and water features
• Cutting costs and emissions for other forms of site investigation
• Working in tandem with your other assessment (e.g. ground investigations) to help formulate a robust plan

Learn more about habitat restoration and why it is important – both for you, and for the planet >

How Drone Surveillance Can Measure and Monitor Habitat Restoration

By capturing data with scanners and sensors, drones can produce highly detailed and accurate reports of the state on your site. This allows you to see whether or not it is suitable for restoration, what restoration it requires, or how your restoration efforts are going – all incredibly valuable when trying to meet your BNG targets.

Additionally, cameras can take photos and record videos and audio, giving an even more in-depth look into your site. By piecing together all of this information, you can even create 3D virtual maps of the site as a form of Augmented Reality (AR) known as a Digital Twin, allowing you to develop an even better understanding which might enhance your designs and development goals.

Some of the main uses of drone surveillance in this process include:

• Tracking whether animals are settling in to their new environments
• Remotely ensuring that the habitats that have been set up are continuing to flourish
• Providing a birds-eye view of habitat restoration project progress, ensuring it reaches the required targets
• Offering a low-cost method of habitat restoration inspection, ensuring your efforts don’t go to waste

Secure Your Habitat Restoration Solution from THRC

By providing highly detailed reports and analysis of your environments, drones enable a greater understanding of the habitats on your land, informing the next steps to help you achieve biodiversity net gain and habitat restoration. They can continue to offer benefits through monitoring your restoration and relocation sites from afar, ensuring any ecological efforts you do make continue to have lasting benefits.

At The Habitat Restoration Co., we aim to ensure your projects can meet their biodiversity net gain goals with ease. Our habitat restoration services help wildlife thrive, providing an effective solution to your ecological needs. To find out more, get in touch with the team today!

Find out how ecosystem conservation is helping to achieve the UN’s sustainable development goals >
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