Feasibility study for development of an accessible UAV-based Tree Health Management Platform: Ash Dieback

白蜡树枯梢病是一种严重危害白蜡树的病害，特别是英国本土白蜡树种白蜡树（Fraxinus excelsior）。它是由一种名为Hymenoscyphus fraxineus（H. fraxineus_），其起源于东亚。ADD也被称为“Chalara”，它可以将其与由其他代理人引起的白蜡树枯死区分开来（森林研究）。ADD于2012年首次在英国被发现，预计最终将杀死80%的英国白蜡树，预计成本为150亿英镑，未来10年的估计成本为76亿英镑（Hill等人，2019).林地信托（2021）报告说，只有7%的英国本土林地处于良好的生态条件。在英格兰，糟糕的条件被描述为“管理不当”。“糟糕的林地和树木健康状况威胁着林业生产力和经济价值、生物多样性和生态系统服务，以及林地安全储存和固碳的能力，破坏了实现净零的进展，侵蚀了对碳抵消计划的信心和安全性。白蜡树还为英国各地生产白蜡树的种植者提供了重要的商业收入来源。白蜡树木材坚固耐用，柔韧性好，有吸引力，具有广泛的实用和装饰用途，如工具手柄，地板，家具和木工。由于其几乎完全抗冲击的性质，它对制造体育用品也很重要，如划船桨，运动球棒和Hurley棍棒。作为英格兰最有用和最多用的本土树种之一，火山灰为各种依赖物种提供了宝贵的栖息地。它生长在各种土壤和气候条件下。其树叶的“通风”性质允许光线穿透林地，鼓励地面植物和动物。一些昆虫、其他无脊椎动物、地衣和苔藓完全依赖于火山灰作为栖息地。农业技术部门的新兴技术将被部署在该项目中。树冠的生理和结构可以通过这些专业传感器测量反射光来估计。通过将这些信息与ADD的专家知识相结合，我们可以生成ADD和其他树木疾病的预测模型。该项目将研究这些模型如何与决策支持系统相结合，以告知英格兰白蜡树的管理，开发一种负担得起的解决方案，使较小的林地所有者能够识别疾病侵扰，使他们能够采取积极的干预措施。

Ash Dieback Disease (ADD) is a highly destructive disease of Ash trees, especially England's native Ash species, common Ash (_Fraxinus excelsior_). It is caused by a fungus named _Hymenoscyphus fraxineus_ (_H. fraxineus_), which is of eastern Asian origin. ADD is also known as 'Chalara', which can distinguish it from dieback on Ash trees caused by other agents (Forest Research). ADD was first detected in the UK in 2012 and is forecast to eventually kill 80% of UK ash trees, at a predicted cost of £15bn, with £7.6 billion being the estimate for the next 10 years (Hill et al., 2019).The Woodland Trust (2021) reports that only 7% of UK native woodlands are in good ecological condition. In England, poor condition is characterised by "inappropriate management." Poor woodland and tree health threatens forestry productivity and economic value, biodiversity and ecosystem services, and the ability of woodland to securely store and sequester carbon, undermining progress towards net zero and eroding the confidence in and security of carbon offsetting schemes.Ash also provides an important commercial revenue stream to the growers who produce Ash across the UK. Ash timber is strong, durable, flexible, and attractive, with a wide range of practical and decorative uses such as tool handles, flooring, furniture and joinery It is also important for the making of sports goods, such as rowing oars, sporting bats and hurley sticks, due to its almost entirely shock resistant nature.As one of England's most useful and versatile native tree species, Ash provides valuable habitat for a wide range of dependent species. It grows in a variety of soils and climatic conditions. The 'airy' nature of its foliage allows light to penetrate to the woodland floor, encouraging ground plants and fauna. Several insects, other invertebrates, lichens, and mosses depend wholly on Ash for habitat.Emerging technology from the agri-tech sector will be deployed in the project. The physiology and structure of tree canopies can be estimated by measuring the reflected light with these specialist sensors. By combining this information with expert knowledge of ADD, we can produce predictive models of ADD and other tree diseases. This project will investigate how these models are integrated with decision support systems for informing management of England's Ash trees, developing an affordable solution to benefit smaller woodland owners in identify disease infestation, to allow them to take proactive intervention measures.