I finally tried the multispectral drone for ash dieback surveys

Was sure it was just a gimmick for big outfits. Then we used one on a 40 acre woodlot outside of Lancaster last month and it flagged early stress in 7 trees we couldn't see from the ground. The NDVI readings matched on 5 of them when we climbed up for core samples. Anyone else ditch the eyeball method after a side by side comparison?

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linda6265d ago

I get why that side by side sold you, but I'm not ready to toss the eyeball method just yet. Seven trees flagged on 40 acres sounds like a win until you ask what the false positive rate was across the whole stand. Five out of seven matching is good, sure, but that means two were off, and if a crew gets sent out for every flag on a bigger tract, you're burning time and money on trees that turn out fine. The tech seems to work best as a first pass, not a replacement, so someone still has to walk the ground and confirm what the camera claims. What was your cost per acre when you added up the flight, the processing, and the ground checks? That number is what decides it for most of us, not the hit rate on seven trees.

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