Hogweed inflorescences viewed from space

Scientists determine the area occupied by the weed using satellite data

The habitats of dangerous hogweed will now be searched using satellites and drones. The new method was developed at St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation.

Sosnovsky’s hogweed is a dangerous weed that spreads very quickly, while crowding out other plants. This representative of the umbrella family causes diseases and burns in humans, and is dangerous for animals. The problem of combating a harmful plant is long overdue, and to solve it, it is necessary, first of all, to quickly and accurately obtain data on the places of its growth.

As MK was told in St. Petersburg GUAP, scientists have come up with a way to quickly determine the places of accumulation of Sosnovsky’s hogweed, based on the simultaneous processing of satellite images and aerial photography from drones. The progressiveness of the method lies in the application of the so-called multispectral sounding algorithm.

According to the director of one of the divisions of the SUAI, candidate of geographical sciences Elena Chichkova, the places of growth of hogweed are determined only during its flowering period in summer. It is the white inflorescences of the weed that are fixed, which differ from other flowering plants in the infrared range.

According to university staff, this search method has a number of advantages over the old methods that do not involve the use of information from satellites. For example, multispectral sounding can immediately cover an entire area. It is also worth mentioning that the algorithm allows you to fairly accurately determine the area of ​​distribution of hogweed.

So, in the Leningrad region, researchers have already analyzed sounding data from 18 districts and calculated the percentage of areas affected by hogweed. The results of the study have already begun to be applied in geographic information systems. On their basis, it is possible to track interannual and seasonal changes in the areas of growth of Sosnowsky’s hogweed in the future.