Application of unmanned aerial vehicle to mangrove forest management, a case study in Xuan Thuy national park, Nam Dinh

Abstract

This research article employed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to map the mangrove cover
management in Xuan Thuy National Park. UAV data was collected in March 2018 and 2019, focusing
on buffer areas of the natural mangrove forests adjacent to the guarding, along the estuary and planted
mangrove forests in Bai Trong. OpenDroneMap- as open source software- was used to mapping UAV
images. Research results showed that selected areas of the natural mangrove forests that have grown
healthy while the area of the planted mangrove forest in Bai Trong appeared to decrease quality, mainly
occurred in Kandelia obovata. UAV routes, including height, distance between two Z turn-routes,
shooting time that have remarkable influences on the success of the images mapping out of selected
mangrove forests. Therefore, UAV is applied as an effective tool support for managers, helping to
quickly and precisely assess mangrove cover, especially in remote, isolated and hard-to-access areas
compared to conventional field study approach.
Keywords: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle- UAV, Mangrove forests, Xuan Thuy National Park.