Staff and researchers at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve are using aerial imagery from planes, drones, and satellites to better understand landscape changes and ecological recovery. Daniel Neamati, a PhD student in aeronautics and astronautics and a TomKat Center Graduate Fellow for Translational Research working with Associate Professor Grace Gao, emphasized the importance of aerial perspectives in his research on wildfire management. “That top-down view is really important,” said Neamati. “My research would not be possible without it.”
Neamati’s recent work focuses on improving GPS accuracy through 3D environmental models, now applied to monitoring wildfires before, during, and after prescribed burns. After prescribed burns at Jasper Ridge last year, Neamati’s team analyzed imagery from multiple sources to observe how vegetation responds over time. He also reviews historic aerial images of the preserve.
A particular focus of Neamati’s research is tracking the resurgence of the rare western bewildering bushmallow (Malacothamnus arcuatus var. arcuatus) following fire events. He combines ground-level photos taken by researchers, drone images captured by staff, and satellite data accessed via the Stanford Geospatial Center to monitor this plant’s recovery. “Aerial imagery really does change your perspective,” said Neamati. “You start to connect the dots in a way that you wouldn’t be able to see from the ground.”
The use of aerial photography at Jasper Ridge dates back nearly a century. The first known aerial photo was taken in 1928 when Stanford hired a company for an aerial survey using an aircraft designed specifically for photography. Trevor Hébert, academic technology specialist at Jasper Ridge, explained that this marked an early adoption of new technology by Stanford: “That really was kind of the dawn of aircraft aerial photography,” Hébert said. “It reflects Stanford’s leading-edge position on a lot of technologies through time.”
Aerial surveys became more accessible with advances such as Google Earth and USDA flights but saw significant change with the introduction of drones about ten years ago. According to Hébert: “This has been revolutionary to be able to have that kind of high-frequency imagery… Being able to put the drone up whenever we need to take photos is really an amazing thing.” Drones allow for stable flight paths and low-altitude image capture.
Specialized photogrammetry software now enables seamless creation of 3D landscape models by combining drone altitude data, GPS coordinates, and camera lens information—a process called orthorectification—to correct distortions in images. “It’s no small feat to do that… The software actually corrects for angle distortion – a process called orthorectification – and stitches the photos together. It’s pretty impressive,” Hébert added.
Both historic and modern imagery are used for creating vegetation maps essential for fieldwork at Jasper Ridge.
Remote sensing techniques—using multispectral satellite data—allow researchers to assess factors like plant health across large areas based on how chlorophyll reflects near-infrared light.
Faculty Director Tadashi Fukami noted that Jasper Ridge has long served as a site for remote sensing innovation; collaborations with Carnegie scientists in the 1980s studied nitrogen limitation impacts on plants’ carbon dioxide absorption using these methods. In the 1990s, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory collected advanced remote sensing data over Jasper Ridge using AVIRIS technology; this contributed to developing widely cited indices like Normalized Difference Water Index.
Fukami sees opportunities for bridging traditional Indigenous land management practices with new technological tools: “This is a powerful tool,” Fukami said. “We’re interested in biomass changes, and the new technology used for that purpose can support cultural revitalization efforts.”
Jasper Ridge staff also rely on aerial imagery for practical tasks including wildfire fuel reduction planning, invasive species monitoring, infrastructure projects, and research site selection.
“It helps you picture landscape-level changes,” said staff scientist Sheena Sidhu regarding its role in wildfire management planning along preserve borders.
Sidhu described how overlaying drone-captured images with burn locations allows quick mapping of vegetative patterns after prescribed burns: “You want to see both when doing landscape management… We’re seeing that some vegetation patterns actually follow some of the pile burn rings…to see it visually allows you to quickly and easily map the area.”
Aerial views help guide decisions about where future fuel reduction should occur or where invasive species removal efforts are most needed: “One of the most challenging things with invasive species is there’s a lot… Aerial imagery can help us hone our resources and zero in on where we want to prevent, contain or even eradicate populations before they spread,” Sidhu said.
For decades volunteer docents have supported education efforts at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve while researchers continue investigating complex factors affecting native tree survival—including unexpected roles played by deer or so-called nurse plants.
