Recent advancement and role of drones in forest monitoring:Research and practices

Advancements in Earth Observation (EO) technologies show huge potential for systematic and temporal assessment of forest regions. Space-borne datasets with synoptic view are being employed to monitor large spatial extent with temporal resolution and help in continuous monitoring of forest conditions such as health, productivity, forest fires, and forest degradation. Without these datasets, these monitoring processes would be impossible to observe from the ground. This chapter focuses on the recent advancements and roles of drones for forestry research and practices. Earlier sections will focus on traditional methods of remote sensing approaches, while later sections will elucidate the importance of emerging technologies in present day with respect to drones. Drones are robust and can be deployed for certain needs and requirements with flexible operation and better dimensionally in terms of the spatial/spectral resolution, unlike space-borne satellites. All types of sensors, including RGB camera, Multispectral, thermal, & LiDAR sensors may be mounted on drones, which are capable of providing accurate information with better potential in forest monitoring. Forest monitoring using drones and associated sensors will be incorporated in research to better understand the forest parameters, and can be utilized to facilitate conservation, protection, and biological resources management at the local, regional, and global scale.