Percent vegetated cover comparisons UAV vs field

This dataset was used to evaluate the utility of unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAV) for monitoring tidal marsh restoration at a site in Elkhorn Slough, on the Central Coast of California, USA. We evaluated the accuracy of UAV imagery for calculating vegetation cover in 24 plots measuring approximately 1 m2. UAV percent cover estimates were calculated from four different classified orthomosaics using pixel-based classification with a maximum likelihood classifier. One orthomosaic was collected at each of three flight altitudes (10, 30, and 60 m) and included only visible spectrum (red, green, and blue; RGB) data, while an additional orthomosaic collected at 30 m altitude also included near infrared (NIR) data. Field measurements of percent vegetated cover were collected at intercepts within (or on the edges of) a 1 m2 gridded quadrat. Intercept numbers varied because data were not collected on quadrat edges for every plot.