Airborne scanners put native vegetation on the map <p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">Airborne sensor technology able to gather information about what is visible on ground, such as vegetation, and what is not visible, such as canopy condition and plant water use, has been developed, trialled, and proven.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">The airborne imaging and vegetation analysis system is a significant breakthrough for rapid and cost-efficient collection of natural resource data.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">The new technology combines laser scanners and hyper-spectral scanners with other technologies, such as digital video, under the wings of a special aircraft to gather data from large areas faster and more accurately than before.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">Rural research and development corporation Land &amp; Water Australia funded <a href="http://lwa.gov.au/projects/2966">the project</a>, which involved researchers from the <a href="http://www.airborneresearch.com.au/">Flinders University Centre for Airborne Research</a>, the <a href="http://www.adelaide.edu.au">University of Adelaide</a> and <a href="http://www.hs-anhalt.de/">Anhalt University</a> in Germany.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">The researchers were led by Dr Jorg Hacker of Flinders University Centre for Airborne Research, who said the technology gave the best possible spatial resolution and information about the condition and structure of large areas of vegetation.</span>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">&ldquo;For this kind of data collection, there is no better combination of airborne instruments. You choose when, where, and even how close you fly to the vegetation, and you can cover whole catchments in one day. It is also ideal for surveying difficult-to-access areas, such as Adelaide&rsquo;s coastal mangroves,&rdquo; said Dr Hacker.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">During trials the technology was used in a range of capacities all over South Australia. These included comparing the performance of vines under different irrigation at Waikerie, mapping regenerating native vegetation at Monarto, and mapping wetland vegetation around mound springs in the north of the state.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">The technology has now been used in several other research projects. Among them is a Land &amp; Water Australia funded study of gully erosion in tropical Australia, which<span style="color:black"> resource management groups in the region identified as a high priority. Finding the extent and shapes of gullies and surrounding vegetation, previously done on foot with a global positioning system in hand, can now be done in half a day&rsquo;s flight.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">As a direct result of the activities of this project, this widely applicable technology will soon be permanently available to Australian scientific and professional communities, after a successful application to the <a href="http://www.arc.gov.au/">Australian Research Council</a> for support to purchase and set up a complete and current system in Australia. </span><br /> </p> <p><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">Contact:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Bruce Wright, Land &amp; Water Australia &nbsp; (02) 6263 6000</span></b><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;"> &nbsp; &nbsp;</span></b></p> <p><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Dr Jorg Hacker, Flinders University &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;0418 857 115 </span></b></p> 2009-05-26T06:41:10Z 2009-05-26T07:03:14Z Yes