Introducing digital cameras to monitor plant phenology in the tropics: applications for conservation

Author(s)

Alberton, Bruna ; Torres, Ricardo da S. ; Cancian, Leonardo F. ; Borges, Bruno D. ; Almeida, Jurandy ; Mariano, Greice C. ; dos Santos, Jefersson ; Cerdeira Morellatoa, Leonor Patricia

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PERSPECTIVES IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION; v. 15, n. 2, p. 82-90, APR-JUN 2017.
• Web of Science Citations: 15

Abstract

The application of digital cameras to monitor the environment is becoming global and changing the way of phenological data collection. The technique of repeated digital photographs to monitor plant phenology (phenocams) has increased due to its low-cost investment, reduced size, easy set up installation, and the possibility of handling high-resolution near-remote data. Considering the widespread use of phenocams worldwide, our main goals here are: (i) to provide a step-by-step guide for phenocam setup in the tropics, reinforce its appliance as an efficient tool for monitoring tropical phenology and foster networking, (ii) to discuss phenocam applications for biological conservation, management, and ecological restoration. We provide the concepts and properties for image analysis which allow representing the phenological status of the vegetation. The association of a long-term imagery data with local sensors (e.g., meteorological stations and surface-atmosphere flux towers) allows a wide range of studies, especially linking phenological patterns to climatic drivers; and the impact of climate changes on plant responses. We show phenocams applications for conservation as to document disturbances and changes on vegetation structure, such as deforestation, fire events, and flooding and the vegetation recovery. Networks of phenocams are growing globally and represent an important tool for conservation and restoration, as it provides hourly to daily information of monitored systems spread over several sites, ecosystems, and climatic zones. Moreover, websites enriched by vegetation dynamic imagery data can promote science knowledge by engaging citizen science participation. (C) 2017 Associacao Brasileira de Ciencia Ecologica e Conservacao. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/13354-8 - Phenology at the landscape scale: image collection and processing using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
• Grantee: Leonardo Farage Cancian
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Technical Training Program - Technical Training
• FAPESP's process: 16/01413-5 - Using leaf phenology patterns to investigate net ecosystem exchange controls in tropical vegetations
• Grantee: Bruna de Costa Alberton
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 10/51307-0 - Floristic diversity and seasonal patterns of rupestrian fields and cerrado
• Grantee: Leonor Patricia Cerdeira Morellato
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Research Partnership for Technological Innovation - PITE
• FAPESP's process: 14/00215-0 - Remote phenology and leaf exchange patterns towards a sazonality gradient
• Grantee: Bruna de Costa Alberton
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 10/52113-5 - e-phenology: the application of new technologies to monitor plant phenology and track climate changes in the tropics
• Grantee: Leonor Patricia Cerdeira Morellato
• Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Regular Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/50155-0 - Combining new technologies to monitor phenology from leaves to ecosystems
• Grantee: Leonor Patricia Cerdeira Morellato
• Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - University-Industry Cooperative Research (PITE)
• FAPESP's process: 07/52015-0 - Approximation methods for visual computing
• Grantee: Jorge Stolfi
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 16/06441-7 - Semantic information retrieval in large video databases
• Grantee: Jurandy Gomes de Almeida Junior
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 09/18438-7 - Large-scale classification and retrieval for complex data
• Grantee: Ricardo da Silva Torres
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants