Application and challenges of UAV-based technology in precision forestry

Forests have been the most important components of terrestrial ecosystems to maintain the ecological balance and national ecological security. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have emerged as the representatives of intelligent forestry equipment in recent years, with the ever-increasing demand for forestry informatization, precision, and intelligence. UAV technology can also play a key role in the precise investigation, design, planning, and management of forests. The concept of precision forestry has gained much recognition in the industry, leading to the high demand for UAV technology. A hot issue is to effectively synergize the UAV technology with the development needs of modern forestry, in order to achieve the precise quality and sustainable forest. This review was focused on the background and current status of UAV technology in the field of precision forestry. A combination of bibliometric analysis and case study was employed to provide an in-depth summary of the application of UAV technology in various areas of precision forestry, including forest resources investigation and monitoring, early warning of forest pests and diseases, forest fire prevention and control, forestry plant protection, and forestry management and law enforcement. The advantages and limitations of UAV technology were objectively analyzed in these areas. The study results indicate that the UAV technology made significant progress in the field of precision forestry, primarily driven by the demands of forestry practitioners. Traditional operations can be expected to update and improve the key UAV technologies. The UAV was used to provide high-resolution image data support for the forest resources survey and monitoring, enabling the efficient extraction of forest stand factors. In terms of early warning of forest pests and diseases, UAV was utilized to accurately identify the various pests and diseases, and then delineate the infected forest areas. In forest fire prevention and control, the UAV was used to predict and monitor the forest fires, providing for the latest news for firefighting. In forestry plant protection, the UAV applications in pesticide application, irrigation, and seeding effectively reduced resource wastage. In forestry management and law enforcement, the UAV was used to offer a safer way to monitor the forest ecosystems, prevent wildlife, and combat illegal activities. Some challenges were also given to the UAV technology in the implementation of precision forestry. These challenges mainly included the inadequate battery capacity of UAVs, high prices of UAV sensors, difficulties in fusing multi-source data, limited clustering and intelligent capabilities of UAVs, as well as the urgent improvement in the UAV-related laws and regulations. In conclusion, this finding can provide valuable insights into the application of UAV technology in precision forestry. Deep integration of UAV technology can also be further strengthened for the entry needs in the future, in order to promote the rapid and sustainable development in precision forestry.