Remote Sensing Technology in Arboriculture

This week, we explore contemporary research in remote sensing along with an overview of current and potential applications in arboriculture and urban forest management. Our speakers invite you to consider what urban forest inventories and tree assessment could look like in 2031. Let's dive into the inventory of tomorrow, right now!

On November 8th 2021, we welcomed David Grenier Héon and Dr. Bastien Lecigne to the conversation. 

Both David and Bastien study trees and forests in Dr. Alain Paquette's urban forestry lab (Links to an external site.) at l'Université de Québec de Montréal (UQAM). . They can be reached by email at grenier_heon.david@courrier.uqam.ca and lecignebastien@gmail.com, if you're interested in reaching out to them, asking them questions or learning more about their projects.

This week's optional readings have been hand picked by David and Bastien in response to some of your questions about remote sensing and species identification as well as remote sensing and green spaces management. The highly recommended reading for the week gives an overview of current remote sensing methods, so it's a great place to start for those interested in this topic.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

• •  Recognize different remote sensing methods and technologies in development, along with their potential to address research gaps in urban forestry
  •  Identify different areas of arboriculture and urban forestry that could benefit from practical remote sensing applications
  •  Develop your engagement with researchers in urban forestry and allied fields of study

Topic Readings

Recommended Reading (to reinforce concepts learned in class)

The following article gives readers a brief review of different remote sensing technologies used in natural/commercial forestry, but as our presenters propose, may have future applications in arboriculture and urban forestry.

•  White, J.C., Coops, N.C., Wulder, M.A, Vastaranta, M, Hilker, T and Tompalski, P. (2016) Remote Sensing Technologies for Enhancing Forest Inventories: A Review. Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing, 42:5, 619-641.
• White et al. - 2016 - Remote Sensing Technologies for Enhancing Forest I.pdf Download White et al. - 2016 - Remote Sensing Technologies for Enhancing Forest I.pdf 

Optional Readings - for a deeper dive into the field of remote sensing in forests and urban green spaces

The following list of optional readings cover different facets of remote sensing that reflect some of the questions/interests brought up in this module's lecture.

On remote sensing to map, understand and classify forest tree species.

•  Alonzo et al. - 2014 - Urban tree species mapping using hyperspectral and.pdf Download Alonzo et al. - 2014 - Urban tree species mapping using hyperspectral and.pdf 
•  Fassnacht et al. - 2016 - Review of studies on tree species classification f.pdf Download Fassnacht et al. - 2016 - Review of studies on tree species classification f.pdf 

On remote sensing the complexity of urban green spaces and their diverse components. This is a great paper for folks looking to use remote sensing at a whole-park level (beyond park trees).

• Shahtahmassebi et al. - 2021 - Remote sensing of urban green spaces A review.pdf Download Shahtahmassebi et al. - 2021 - Remote sensing of urban green spaces A review.pdf 

Fundamental Concepts

Lecture Video in Zoom Archive & Powerpoint presentation HERE Download HERE

Topic Self-review

1- How do you think remote sensing techniques could improve our understanding of urban forests and trees?

2- What potential applications do you see for remote sensing in the next 10 years? Which techniques have you already seen and heard about? Any differences between them?