29/03/2024 09:17

New paper: The conservation impact of botanical drones: Documenting and collecting rare plants from vertical cliffs and other hard-to-reach areas

 

 

Reference: Nyberg, B., Bairos, C., Brimhall, M., Deans, S.M., Hanser, S., Heintzman, S., Hillmann Kitalong, A., Menezes de Sequeira, M., Nobert, N., Rønsted, N., Soaladaob, N., Wood, K.R., & Williams, A.M. 2024. The conservation impact of botanical drones: Documenting and collecting rare plants from vertical cliffs and other hard-to-reach areas. Ecological Solutions and Evidence 5:e12318. Link (open access:  https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12318)

 

Abstract:

1. A high percentage of island floras are at risk of extinction and have been reduced to relic populations, often in remote hard-to-reach areas. Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS aka drones) are now being utilized to assist in the survey and collection of rare plants in inaccessible areas or vertical cliff habitats.

2. Here, we test the application of this technology for conservation of 23 plant taxa in three oceanic island hotspots: Hawaiʻi, Madeira and the Republic of Palau. We collect high-resolution imagery using a small UAS to document the distribution and abundance of vascular flowering plants. Location information is then used to map and assess plant populations. Depending on the terrain, collections are completed using either traditional rope techniques or newly developed remote drone-based collection methods.

3. Over the course of 6 years, we have greatly expanded our knowledge of rare and endangered species, while increasing survey efficiency and staff safety. Most importantly, this work has had a large impact on the conservation of critically endangered plants. Although using drones for botanical conservation comes with limits and challenges, we see great potential in the continued employment of these techniques wherever plants are growing on cliffs or in other hard-to-reach areas.

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News

27/08/2019 12:08

New paper: The loss of a unique palaeobotanical site in Terceira Island within the Azores UNESCO Global Geopark (Portugal)

Available here: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12371-019-00401-1 or rdcu.be/bPbkl Reference: Góis-Marques, C.A., Elias, R.B., Steinbauer, M.J., de Nascimento, L., Fernández-Palacios, J.M., Menezes de Sequeira, M. & Madeira, J. 2019. The loss of a unique...

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21/02/2019 12:51

New Paper published: Eurya stigmosa (Theaceae), a new and extinct record for the Calabrian stage of Madeira Island (Portugal): 40Ar/39Ar dating, palaeoecological and oceanic island palaeobiogeographical implications.

A new paper describing a new and extinct Theaceae for Madeira Island was recently published in the journal Quaternary Science Review. You can check it out in: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379118309284 This discovery was also reported portuguese...

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18/08/2018 09:22

FloraMac2018 congress, Funchal, Madeira Island (Portugal)

Please visit us at: www.uma.pt/floramac2018  Late Registrations still available. See you soon in Funchal!  

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02/01/2018 21:55

Congress FloraMac 2018 | Funchal | September 12-15

Official website comming soon! First circular: https://www.facebook.com/FloraMac2018/ or twitter.com/FloraMac2018

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15/01/2016 11:42

New Doctors in Biological Sciences

We are proud to announce that we have two new doctors in our Group: Zita Ferreira defended successfully her PhD. thesis entitled: “Biosystematics of the genus Andryala L. (Asteraceae)”.   Zita Ferreira thesis committee, from left to right: Miguel Sequeira, Carlos Neto, Jorge Capelo, Enrique...

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02/10/2014 11:42

XVII Congress of European Mycologists

Our Group is co-organizing the XVII Congress of European Mycologists, that will be held in Madeira Island in September 2015. Registration opening soon at www.xviicem.org. 

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29/07/2014 13:36

New Paper: Andryala perezii (Asteraceae), a New Species from the Canary Islands

Recently a new species of Andryala was described by our group. The study was published in the journal Novon: A Journal for Botanical Nomenclature, entitled "Andryala perezii (Asteraceae), a New Species from the Canary Islands". The comparison of Madeira and Canaries Island plants allowed...

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16/07/2013 14:13

Visitors notice

Let your visitors know about news and events on your website as often as possible. You need to keep your website up-to-date so that your visitors will get used to visiting your pages regularly. You can use RSS feeds to deliver new articles directly to your readers.

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16/07/2013 14:12

Website launched

Our new website has been launched today. Tell your visitors why you have started a new presentation and how it benefits them. Mention your goals and project advantages. Try to briefly give your visitors reasons why they should return to your pages.

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