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for unfavourable weather conditions, they are also restricted, and charges may still
apply if the job is outsourced and a flight is cancelled due to the weather (Whitehead
and Hugenholtz 2014). Owning a UAV enables conservation managers to produce
their own imagery as regularly as their schedule and weather permits, without costs
beyond capital expenses, training, and electricity for charging.
General limitations include the availability of sites for consensual flight; liability
and insurance cover is needed for any moving vehicle used for charity or business
purposes, which covers UAV use for nature conservation (CAA 2017). The only
directly relevant EU-wide regulation, at the time of writing, is that any Small
Unmanned Aircraft (SUA) weighing 150 kg or less must have adequate insurance
cover (CAA 2017). Permissions on private land are at the discretion of the landowner. This study, for example, was flown without certifications on private land.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which controls UK airspace, provides the relevant rules and regulations within the Civil Aviation Publication (CAP) 393 Air
Navigation Order on topics such as negligence and privacy (articles 138 and 167
respectively) (CAA 2017). The CAA provides training for professionals, which
many common and large-scale land managing bodies require for permission to fly
(CAA 2017; National Trust 2013). Commercial businesses are required to have met
the requirements of the UKCAA’s CAP722: Chapter 4: Civil UAS Remote Pilot
Competency to undertake commercial flights (CAA 2017). The cost of a professional course to gain a licence for flights over common land is between £900–£1300,
a one off cost for training and examination, and £112–240 for commercial permissions, which must be renewed annually at a reduced cost (CAA 2017).
The increasing demand and rapid development of drone technology means owning a drone with a high resolution gimbal mounted camera can cost £800 upwards
and can be flown using any smartphone (PCMag 2016). At an altitude of < 30 m, a
UAV can produce a resolution of 0.1–10 cm depending on the camera sensor size
(Lillesand et al. 2014). The cost of hiring a professional to collect drone imagery for
a day can be £500–1000. However, an UAV is roughly the same cost (Wood et al.
2015). Small aircraft and helicopters are often used for surveying large-scale forestry, particularly Phytophthora sites, and allow an on-board surveyor to ‘spot’
areas of interest by eye However, these flights do not yet automatically include
accurate spatial mapping (FC 2016). There is no literature on the actual accuracy of
these types of survey as there is no alternative. The ability of many quad copters to
hover, remain in a stationary position, and use GPS tracking systems allows rapid
investigation of points of interest. This was demonstrated during this study, where
indicators of Phytophthora infection (dead upper branches) could be clearly seen in
real time and from stored images. Furthermore, as UAVs use electricity, the use of a
drone can reduce the CO 2 emissions of any organisation with a sustainability portfolio that relies on aerial surveys.
Mapping the Distribution of Understorey Rhododendron Ponticum Using…
for unfavourable weather conditions, they are also restricted, and charges may still
apply if the job is outsourced and a flight is cancelled due to the weather (Whitehead
and Hugenholtz 2014). Owning a UAV enables conservation managers to produce
their own imagery as regularly as their schedule and weather permits, without costs
beyond capital expenses, training, and electricity for charging.
General limitations include the availability of sites for consensual flight; liability
and insurance cover is needed for any moving vehicle used for charity or business
purposes, which covers UAV use for nature conservation (CAA 2017). The only
directly relevant EU-wide regulation, at the time of writing, is that any Small
Unmanned Aircraft (SUA) weighing 150 kg or less must have adequate insurance
cover (CAA 2017). Permissions on private land are at the discretion of the landowner. This study, for example, was flown without certifications on private land.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which controls UK airspace, provides the relevant rules and regulations within the Civil Aviation Publication (CAP) 393 Air
Navigation Order on topics such as negligence and privacy (articles 138 and 167
respectively) (CAA 2017). The CAA provides training for professionals, which
many common and large-scale land managing bodies require for permission to fly
(CAA 2017; National Trust 2013). Commercial businesses are required to have met
the requirements of the UKCAA’s CAP722: Chapter 4: Civil UAS Remote Pilot
Competency to undertake commercial flights (CAA 2017). The cost of a professional course to gain a licence for flights over common land is between £900–£1300,
a one off cost for training and examination, and £112–240 for commercial permissions, which must be renewed annually at a reduced cost (CAA 2017).
The increasing demand and rapid development of drone technology means owning a drone with a high resolution gimbal mounted camera can cost £800 upwards
and can be flown using any smartphone (PCMag 2016). At an altitude of < 30 m, a
UAV can produce a resolution of 0.1–10 cm depending on the camera sensor size
(Lillesand et al. 2014). The cost of hiring a professional to collect drone imagery for
a day can be £500–1000. However, an UAV is roughly the same cost (Wood et al.
2015). Small aircraft and helicopters are often used for surveying large-scale forestry, particularly Phytophthora sites, and allow an on-board surveyor to ‘spot’
areas of interest by eye However, these flights do not yet automatically include
accurate spatial mapping (FC 2016). There is no literature on the actual accuracy of
these types of survey as there is no alternative. The ability of many quad copters to
hover, remain in a stationary position, and use GPS tracking systems allows rapid
investigation of points of interest. This was demonstrated during this study, where
indicators of Phytophthora infection (dead upper branches) could be clearly seen in
real time and from stored images. Furthermore, as UAVs use electricity, the use of a
drone can reduce the CO 2 emissions of any organisation with a sustainability portfolio that relies on aerial surveys.
Mapping the Distribution of Understorey Rhododendron Ponticum Using…