September 30, 2009 -- High-resolution aerial photography and colour infrared imagery supplied by Bluesky is being used to help preserve Britain’s hedgerows. In a pioneering new development by Environment Systems - a geographic and environmental information consultancy - hedgerow features are being mapped automatically from the image data, dramatically reducing the time and cost of more traditional field mapping exercises.

Hedgerows are a highly valued resource but receive little protection under planning and environmental regulations as a result there has been a massive loss of hedgerows over the last 50 years. Hedgerows are a respected part of Britain’s cultural heritage and historic record, essential for marking ownership boundaries and controlling the movement of livestock, however with the easy availability of accurate maps, GPS and fencing these reasons are now less valid. In today’s world hedgerows are becoming increasingly important for their great value to wildlife and the natural landscape and the role they play in preventing soil loss and reducing pollution, and for their potential to regulate water supply and reduce flooding.

For a major habitat and environmental resource there is no exact record of the extent of hedgerows in Britain, and such data is prohibitively expensive to provide by field survey. Environment Systems, using the Bluesky data, has developed a semi-automated methodology for hedgerow mapping. The red, green, blue and colour infrared spectral bands of the imagery are optimised and automated digitising techniques are used to extract hedgerow features. The output from this process is a geographic information system (GIS) ready polygon hedgerow dataset complete with length, areas and condition indicator attributes.

“The key driver for this research has been to develop a rapid, low cost approach, requiring little operator interaction, to produce a hedgerow baseline that identifies the presence and extent of hedgerows over large areas,” commented Steve Keyworth, Director of Aberystwyth based Environment Systems Ltd. “The Bluesky data is ideal for this as it provides the key input; four band digital imagery, at a sufficiently high resolution with the most up to date coverage.” Environment Systems has seen considerable interest from local authorities and government organisations, keen to produce a cost-effective record of this important habitat and landscape resource.

The data supplied by Bluesky for this development project is part of the GeoPerspectives product range, which offers nationwide coverage of high resolution, up to date aerial photography and CIR imagery, photogrammetrically derived Digital Terrain Models (the earth’s surface excluding buildings and vegetation) and Digital Surface Models (the earth’s surface including buildings and vegetation). Bluesky is also able to provide ultra detailed LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data and services and a Thermal Survey capability. GeoPerspectives data is available to purchase online at www.bluesky-world.com.

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