NRF-SAEON deploys state-of-the-art drone with RAL Space

During the week of 29 – June to 3 July the SAEON Grasslands Node and the EFTEON Northern Drakensberg landscape tested and deployed a DJI Matrice 400 drone carrying a Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) System developed for the Biome Mapping project with partners from the RAL Space, the space research and technology division of the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). 

The HSI system consists of an upward facing spectrometer and a custom gimbal to hold two hyperspectral cameras (VIS and NIR), all of which are controlled by a Raspberry Pi computer mounted on the belly of the drone. This system is flown in combination with the DJI L2 LiDAR sensor. 

Together, these will provide detailed information on ecosystem composition, condition, canopy structure, and terrain, unlocking new ways to explore ecosystem function and change at landscape scales. 
PhD student Ameera Yacoob, under the supervision of Dr Michele Toucher, Dr Alistair Clulow and Dr Shaden Gookol (UKZN), will use this system to investigate how land management and tenure systems influence vegetation patterns, ecosystem condition and landscape resilience in the Northern Drakensberg. This system will complement SAEON’s ongoing in-situ measurements and modelling in the landscape. More broadly for stakeholders at universities, NGOs, and community members, the system will provide detailed mapping of areas of concern (e.g., alien invasives and erosion gullies) which will facilitate targeted interventions, as well as follow-up assessments of the efficacy of these interventions.