Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, known as drones, have evolved into an excellent tool for monitoring kelp forests at both local and regional scales, providing clear imagery that helps map kelp abundance.
This workflow will demonstrate how to measure the overall extent of kelp forests, and estimate kelp coverage by different kelp species.
This will enable you to produce:
A clear picture of how kelp forests are changing over time, along with their status
Consistent and repeatable monitoring of kelp ecosystems
Data that supports stewardship, planning and restoration efforts
The five stage workflow
To help you measure these metrics, this workflow consists of the following stages:
Case studies
Learn more about this method and associated tools and resources that have been used by various groups to affect policy and resource management.
Related resources
There are many resources used throughout this Kelp Drone Mapping workflow. Search for them in our Resource Library by filtering for “Kelp Drone Mapping”.
This drone-based kelp mapping process was developed by Luba Reshitnyk with support from the Geospatial and Nearshore Ecology teams at the Hakai Institute. Keith Holmes, Will McInnes, and Taylor Denouden contributed to drone workflows, machine learning methods, and regulatory guidance. Ondine Pontier and Margot Hessing-Lewis supported the sampling and analytical methodologies. Tim van der Stap and Jorin Weatherston contributed the web content and design.
