KITE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY--TOOL FOR MICROSTRUCTURAL INVESTIGATIONS OF MIRE ECOSYSTEMS

Kite aerial photography (KAP) is conducted with large kites to lift camera rigs 50-150 m above the mire surface. Various kinds of film and digital cameras may be utilized in radio-controlled rigs to acquire images in visible and near-infrared portions of the spectrum. Vertical KAP typical covers about ½ to 1 hectare, and resolution is 5-10 cm (or less). Such imagery is appropriate for the microstructural level (1:100 to 1:1000 scale) of mire investigations. KAP has several attributes for wetland research--simple equipment, easy field operation, small crew, high portability, range of suitable weather, and high-resolution imagery. KAP has significant cost and logistical advantages compared to other forms of small-format aerial photography, such as manned airplane and helicopter, hot-air/helium blimp, or model airplane. Easy transportation and simple operation are particularly relevant for the vast mires with difficult ground access in West Siberia.

We have conducted KAP at two ombrotrophic mires--Männikjärve Bog and Teosaare Bog of the Endla mire complex in east-central Estonia, and Nigula Bog in the southwestern portion of the country. These raised bogs are representative of subboreal mires that are found across a broad region extending from southern Scandinavia to western Siberia, and they have long histories of scientific observations. KAP portrays distinct color and texture zones of vegetation communities within bogs. With ground control, it is possible to map Sphagnum communities at the species level. Bog microtopography, surface water, and other features are revealed in great detail. Color-infrared photographs depict active photosynthesis of floating and emergent moss in narrow zones (1-2 m wide) at pool margins. The high level of photosynthesis in such narrow zones may have significant implications for evolution of bog morphology, biomass production and accumulation, and other environmental factors. Numerous small water bodies are more abundant than anticipated and may be more common than is generally recognized on conventional airphotos or satellite images. Based on this Estonian experience, we believe KAP is a method that holds considerable promise for widespread application for microstructural and vegetation investigations of similar Siberian bogs, which have open expanses and difficult access on the ground.