Plantation Management Research Cooperative shares latest developments with members The future of measuring pine trees might be sitting in the palm of your hand. Testing the limits of smartphone technology was just one revelation shared at the recent meeting of the Plantation Management Research Cooperative (PMRC), housed at the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. The annual event is an opportunity for PMRC members and researchers to catch up on the latest statistical growth models and developments related to pine stand management across the Southeast. “All these things are bringing together skill sets that are of value,” to members, said Bronson Bullock, a professor of forest biometrics and quantitative timber management at Warnell. Bullock is also co-director of the Plantation Management Research Cooperative with fellow professor Cristian Montes. Bullock and Montes opened the annual meeting, which took place at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, by welcoming dozens of member company representatives gathered in-person and online. Over the next two days, they and other researchers from Warnell detailed advancements in growth and yield systems, new advances in technology to detect individual tree measurements, ways to detect potential disease outbreaks (fusiform rust), and models to indicate where fertilizer is most effective, among many other projects. All these updates were made possible through the support of the PMRC members in the cooperative, and as members they receive the latest updates and models. These tools are built using dedicated field crews and long-term data sets created through the PMRC’s 47-year existence. Today, the PMRC represents a successful collaboration between private landowners and academic research to benefit the field of forestry. “We have a lot of long-term databases and field trials for loblolly and slash pine, and enhanced genetics that are incorporated into growth and yield models,” added Bullock. “And the work done by our field crews allows consistency, precision and longevity across measurements.” The PMRC field crews collect data, and then graduate students in Warnell’s forestry program help to analyze it—or build new lines of research thanks to the resources available through the co-op. For example, Warnell assistant professor Alicia Peduzzi spoke to the group about her work using hyperspectral imagery to assess a variety of characteristics across large stands of trees. Using a drone equipped with LiDAR and a high-tech camera, Peduzzi is gathering images with layers of data. In each pixel of an image, for example, she can see a range of light wavelengths. Depending on how the light waves show up in the image could help scientists determine volume, height or even potential for disease. It’s a developing technology, said Peduzzi. She is experimenting to see how it might be used in the future. “We are evaluating this technology to see if we can separate, by species, hyperspectral images,” she added. “The goal of this project is to upscale it to satellite data, so you can use it over a large area.” During another presentation, Montes explained the updates he developed for tree mortality models that incorporate climactic data. Building off existing models developed in 2004 and 2014, Montes is now able to include more than 4,000 parameters—and more accurate predictions. “This new method produces better results that better account for uncertainty,” he said. Other presenters pushed the envelope in new directions. Discussions touched on new ways to use LiDAR, satellite data and even smartphones in making models and assessments. Angel Adhikari, a doctoral students at Warnell, explained his research into using the technology embedded in smartphones to accurately measure tree height and width. While his research was just an initial stab at comparing new technology with traditional methods, the results were promising. “Our current equipment is calipers or diameter tapes. There are also hand-held LiDAR units, but now we have smartphones, which are packed with different instruments,” he said. “In particular, a GNSS sensor and a gyroscope sensor, and recently iPhone introduced laser scanning—this is very useful for us to do small-scale measurements.” While more research is needed, initial results were encouraging. The work is one more way the partnership between landowners and researchers in the Plantation Management Research Cooperative creates new knowledge that benefits the industry. “In forest science, we are probably going to move to other instruments, like phones or iPads, because it’s easier to use,” said Peduzzi. “And for forest health, we may be able to use the hyperspectral camera to detect insect infestations or some disease in trees ahead of time. And future work includes canopy nutrient monitoring, forest operations and harvesting, and water quality.”
