KYSU researchers use drones to survey land and provide land use analysis and trends.
Drone technology can help farmers understand their land in new ways.
KYSU works with growers and state agencies on proper use of drone technology.
Drones—or unmanned aerial vehicles—are gaining in popularity across a wide variety of professional fields. At Kentucky State University (KYSU), researchers use this cutting-edge
RESEARCHING
New Heights
technology to survey and map large areas of land. Drones allow farmers, foresters, landowners and our researchers to survey more than 100 acres a day, whereas surveying a land area that size by foot would require up to a few weeks.
Dr. Richard Cristian,
assistant research professor of
forestry in KYSU's College of
Agriculture, Communities, and
the Environment, works with his
team to study the regeneration
of plants in areas impacted by
the emerald ash borer, Agrilus
planipenni. The emerald ash
borer is an invasive species that
has nearly eradicated the state's
population of mature ash trees.
Dr. Cristian's team utilizes
drones to determine canopy