High resolution image dataset by RGB and multispectral cameras on an unmanned aerial vehicle over a secondary tropical dry forest

Abstract

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are advantageous to assess vegetation and terrain changes at a high spatial resolution, advancing our understanding of shifts in ecosystem states and processes. The extension of land that we sought to observe belongs to the footprint of an Eddy Covariance System (around 7.5 ha), installed in a secondary ecological succession of the tropical dry forest (27.00598005 N, 108.77913821 W) within the Sierra de Álamos-Rio Cuchujaqui natural protected area, Sonora, Mexico. Aerial images were obtained with a system of multispectral and RGB cameras mounted on a UAV, which executed automated missions in two different seasons: 1) dry season (June 2023) and 2) first rain season (July 2023), totalling 1116 images. The UAV mission was flown at a height of 105 m and images included a side and front overlap of 70%. The final product was an image dataset per season. These data can contribute to the continuous monitoring strategy to understand ecosystem processes and conserve the Sierra de Álamos-Rio Cuchujaqui natural protected area, a critical natural protected area for national and international organizations. Likewise, image datasets are useful for the processes of developing regional models of phenology, structure, richness, distribution, and vegetation cover along secondary succession after the forest was changed to agriculture and livestock land.

Keywords

• Land-use change
• Remote sensing
• Structure from motion
• Orthomosaic