Using drone mapping to evaluate error of plot-based field surveys and its effects on moderate spatial resolution remote sensing retrieval of lichen cover

Effective plot-based field sampling involves a trade-off between implementation efficiency and sample error. Optimal field sampling therefore requires quantifying the sample error under various sampling designs. For remote sensing applications, it is also important to understand how field sample error and training sample size (the number of pixels) affect the retrieval of surface properties. In this research, drone imagery was used to simulate field plots and investigate plot sampling error for forage lichen cover in relation to plot size, number of plots, and sampling strategy. The effect of this error on remote sensing-based lichen cover retrieval was evaluated using varying training sampling sizes in two different study regions in northern Canada. Results showed that cover with high spatial variability increased the number of plots or plot size required to achieve a specified level of error. For lichen cover retrieval at moderate spatial resolution (10–30 m), field sampling (plot size and number of plots) did not have as significant of an effect as regional differences (spectral separability of cover types), sensor, and the number of pixels used for model training. This plot simulation approach using drone images can be applied to other surface properties and regions to provide field sampling guidance.