Mapping the biodiversity of the Amazon forest by monitoring it from above through special observation tools. This has recently been made possible thanks to the commitment of a large group of American researchers, who have created a colorful three-dimensional map of a large portion of the Peruvian rainforest using special laser tools.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
Mapping the biodiversity of the Amazon forest by monitoring it from above through special observation tools. This is what has recently been made possible thanks to the commitment of a large group of American researchers, who have created a very colorful three-dimensional map of a large portion of the Peruvian rainforest through special laser tools.
The innovative mapping was made possible thanks to the development of new detection techniques degree of biodiversity of a ecosystem, born thanks to the ingenuity of Greg Asner, an ecology expert with Stanford University's Carnegie Department of Global Ecology. Aboard an airplane dubbed Carnegie Airborne Observatory, researchers captured jaw-dropping images of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest, the colors of which turn to psychedelic hues.
From the airplane, a special device, called “Lidar”, directs a towards the green expanse of the forest laser beam which, traveling at very high speed, returns a three-dimensional map of the vegetation in an extremely detailed manner. The use of one also contributes to this spectrometer able to measure and record the thermal and optical properties of vegetation.
These new technological tools make it possible to monitor the Amazon forest in detail, offering a valuable contribution to preserve its biodiversity. The project also proved useful for verifying the reactions of vegetation to drought and to control deforestation. The data collected will be taken into close consideration by future initiatives aimed at protecting the rainforest and its variegated vegetation.
From the current images, which were compared with the previous mappings, carried out in 2009, it unfortunately emerged that one of the main causes of deforestation is due to the extension of the presence of illegal gold mining which affects Peru and which over the past three years has resulted in the disappearance of over 100 km2 of forest.
