Measuring plant biomass remotely using drones in arid landscapes

Measurement of variation in plant biomass is essential for answering many ecological and evolutionary questions. Quantitative estimates require plant destruction for laboratory analyses, while field studies use allometric approaches based on simple measurement of plant dimensions. We estimated the biomass of individual shrub-sized plants, using a low cost Unmanned Aerial System (drone), enabling rapid data collection and non-destructive sampling. We compared volume measurement (a surrogate for biomass) and sampling time, from the simple dimension measurements and drone, to accurate laboratory-derived biomass weights. We focused on three Australian plant species which are ecologically important to their floodplain and terrestrial ecosystems: porcupine grass Triodia scariosa, Queensland bluebush Chenopodium auricomum and lignum Duma florulenta.

Estimated volume from the drone was more accurate than simple dimension measurements for porcupine grass and Queensland bluebush, compared to estimates from laboratory analyses but, not for lignum. The latter had a sparse canopy, with thin branches, few vestigial leaves and a similar colour to the ground. Data collection and analysis consistently required more time for the drone method than the simple dimension measurements, but this would improve with automation.