Assessing the use of UAVs for the Assessment and Quantification of Tree Health and Characteristics in an Urban Cemetery

Keywords: UAV, Cemetery, Greenspace, Urban Greenspace, Remote sensing, NDVI, Arboretum, tree health assessment
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

Urban greenspaces offer a multitude of economic, socio-cultural, and environmental benefits to the spaces they inhabit, with trees being an integral player in providing these services. Cemeteries, while not traditionally conceived of as a greenspace within this context, can fill the same niche, with some additional advantages such as typically having established management and users who value beautification efforts. However, these spaces are undervalued as field level data collection is time-consuming and costly. UAVs offer a relatively affordable method to assist management of cemeteries with a high degree of spatial and temporal accuracy, This study will examine the use of multispectral sensor on a UAV to assess tree canopy cover, tree height, and health in an active cemetery in Salem, MA. Our results indicate that UAV technology provides valuable data on the characteristics and classification of trees within the cemetery, providing important information on basic factors such as the height, size and number of trees. We were able to assess tree health through NDVI/NDRE indices, highlighting areas of potentially large and unhealthy trees for removal. This study facilitated the collection of information which will benefit the cemetery in GIS integration of their tree inventory, highlighting the applicability of UAVs within this context.