The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (Uavs) for estimating soil volumes retained by check dams after wildfires in mediterranean forests
| Autor: | Mikael Timóteo Rodrigues, Demetrio Antonio Zema, Bruno Timóteo Rodrigues, J. González-Romero, Sérgio Campos, Pedro Antonio Plaza-Álvarez, Pablo Galletero, Manuel Esteban Lucas-Borja |
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| Přispěvatelé: | Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, University Center Dinâmica das Cataratas (UDC), Itaipu Technological Park-Brazil (PTI-BR) |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Watershed
Aerial survey Soil Science 010501 environmental sciences Wildfire 01 natural sciences Ephemeral rivers wildfire Sediment storage capacity lcsh:Chemistry remote sensing Digital elevation model Mediterranean forest lcsh:Physical geography 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Earth-Surface Processes topographic survey Hydrology Total station Sediment ephemeral rivers 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences Remote sensing lcsh:QD1-999 digital elevation model 040103 agronomy & agriculture 0401 agriculture forestry and fisheries Environmental science sediment storage capacity Topographic survey lcsh:GB3-5030 Topography Sediment transport Check dam |
| Zdroj: | Scopus Repositório Institucional da UNESP Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) instacron:UNESP Soil Systems, Vol 5, Iss 9, p 9 (2021) Soil Systems Volume 5 Issue 1 |
| Popis: | Check dams act as soil collectors during floods, thus retaining a large amount of sediments. The estimation of the soil volumes stored behind a check dam is a key activity for a proper design of these control works and for evaluation of soil delivery after restoration measures at watershed level. Several topographic techniques have been proposed for this activity, but the sediment wedge mapping tools are complex and time consuming. Conversely, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been proposed to support aerophotogrammetric techniques for several survey activities with promising results. However, surveys by UAVs have never applied to calculate the size of the sediment wedge behind check dams that are built in fire-affected watersheds, where soil loss and sediment transport may be high after a wildfire. To fill this gap, this study evaluates the efficiency and efficacy of aerophotogrammetric surveys using UAVs to estimate the volume of the sediments stored behind ten check dams, built as post-fire channel treatment in a forest watershed of Castilla La Mancha (Central Eastern Spain). The results of the aerophotogrammetric technique were compared to traditional topographic surveys using a total station and GNSS/RTK, assumed as reference. The estimation of sediment wedge volume provided by UAVs was more accurate (mean RMSE of 0.432), extensive (density of mapped points of 328 m−2) and quick (two days of fieldwork) compared to surveys using the topographic method (RMSE < 0.04 m, six days of field work and density of mapped points of 0.194 m−2) by the topographic method. The differences in the sediment volume estimated by the two methods were not significant, but the UAV method was more accurate for the larger check dams. Moreover, a significant correlation was observed between the volume estimates provided by the two methods, shown by a coefficient of determination close to 0.98. Overall, these results propose a larger use of the aerial surveys for mapping activities in channels regulated by check dams, such as those built for restoration of fire-affected forest watersheds. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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