Helicopters to monitor Global warming

Satellite pictures from websites like google earth to explore remote forests. However helicopters fitted with cameras can give a far more detailed view of the canopy, not only showing where trees have been felled but the different species found in the forest.  The equipment is being used as part of the earth watch 'climate change, canopies and wildlife' project that is looking at the impacts of climate change on the santa lucia cloud forest reserve in north western ecuador. Earthwatch scientist, Dr mika peck of the university of sussex, said that satellite images have already proved extremely useful in monitoring a massive reserve of more than 772 miles squared (2000 km2). He said satellite images available at the moment only show if a whole area has been felled but the images from the helicopter will show if particularly valuable but slow-growing hardwood trees like mahogany are being poached.  He said: "it allows us to monitor degradation as well as deforestation which is an important part of protecting the rainforest." The photos from the helicopter will also allow scientists to identify the different kinds of tree in the canopy in an area where there can be over 300 species in a single hectare. From this it is possible to guess the different animals able to live in the forest and therefore the "biodiversity" of the area. Rainforest destruction creates around a fifth of the world's carbon emissions and is therefore an important part of tackling cli¬mate change. At the moment world leaders are discussing how best to prevent deforesta¬tion as part of an international deal on climate change, with many suggesting that rainforest nations are paid not to chop down trees. However this will mean carefully monitoring the state of the rainforests. Dr Peck said the use of low•flying helicopters can allow scientists to estimate the amount of carbon being soaked up by the rainforest and the biodiversity of the area. Therefore it could prove useful to the future protection of the rainforests. He said: "The aim is to investigate the potential of using low level aerial photography to aid remote identification and assess¬ment of forest type and habitat. The ability to identify canopy tree species from images of crowns provides the potential to investigate the ecology of canopy species at the land¬scape scale. Ultimately it could help to moni¬tor carbon sequestration and biodiversity of an area."

 The New Indian Express, 20th April 2009