Drones have changed several industries in recent years, with fields such as construction and agriculture benefiting from this technology. Forestry is another industry that has accepted the use of drones and has been succeeding from its addition. This equipment offers forestry workers the ability to capture high-resolution images as well as other pieces of essential data.
However, drones are capable of much more. Additionally, they are able to track animals, keep an eye on the condition of the land and communicate with missing people. These duties are essential in forestry. But as this piece reveals, these jobs are more complicated than they first seem.
In this post, it will become clear how drones have changed the forestry industry for the better.
Easier Accessibility
When working in forestry, there is a lot of land to cover. In fact, it was estimated that 3.28 million hectares were woodland in March2024, which represented 13% of the total land mass in the UK. Although the area an individual has to monitor will not be this large a smaller range of forest will be difficult to monitor on foot. Even the use of helicopters and other vehicles can be tough to manoeuvre in this setting.
Thankfully, drones offer greater accessibility in woodland settings and they can be cheaper to operate than heavy-duty equipment. Ground-based devices might be the only option for some due to the dense tree growth and foliage, but even this equipment’s view can be obscured at times.
Better Data Quality
As drones are tailored with high-quality technology, they can capture close-up footage in vast areas like forests. Drones are often used to create detailed maps, monitor tree health and survey the land, which are essential aspects in the forestry industry. This data can be provided in much better detail when the drone is flying at a lower altitude and is fitted with high-resolution cameras.
In forestry, being able to survey large areas of land is greatly beneficial. The data that is collected by forestry and agriculture UAV drone solutions should be utilized correctly and further technology can enable this. Machine learning extracts significant insights from the collected data, which can assist any decisions that need to be made.
Reduced Environmental Impact
Due to their small size, drones are non-intrusive. This means that they can move around with minimal habitat disruption and will be less likely to disturb soil. Not only that, but drones can also reduce the carbon emissions that were previously seen in the forestry industry this is because of their smaller size in comparison to ground devices and helicopters.
A drone can also be used to offset carbon emissions. As drones can be used to scatter seeds and plant trees, which boosts the natural habitats, these trees and plants will absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This will offset any emissions released by other sources.
By using drones, working in the forestry industry can be a lot easier. Drones can improve accessibility, provide high-quality data, and lower the impact of the environment.
