Drones and technology in rangeland management focus of Nov. 7 webinar
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program highlights integrating technology into land management practices
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will present the webinar “Drones and Technology for Rangelands” on Nov. 7 from noon to 1 p.m.
The webinar is part of the ongoing Stewardship Series hosted within the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
The cost is $35 and advance registration is required at https://tx.ag/RangelandTech.
After payment is received, an email will be sent with instructions on how to access the webinar.
Technological tools advance rangeland stewardship
The featured speaker will be Humberto Perotto, Ph.D., associate professor and Joan Negley Kelleher Endowed Professor in Ranch Management in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
Perotto said advances in technology can help land managers better understand and improve the relationships between spatial patterns and ecological processes within the environment.
“As technology progresses, new tools and approaches are available to help us understand the spatial and temporal dynamics of vegetation, livestock and wildlife movement, and resource allocation across rangelands,” Perotto said. “We can use technology to better understand the fine and broad-scale dynamics of change and how that affects landscape productivity.”
Land management applications
Perotto and his lab regularly use drones to assess vegetation cover, estimate forage mass and conduct wildlife surveys.
“Dr. Perotto’s work has shown the significant contributions of drones to wildlife management as well as the assessment and control of woody encroachment on rangelands,” said Morgan Treadwell, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension range specialist, San Angelo, and webinar organizer. Treadwell is also a professor in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
For questions, contact Casey Matzke, AgriLife Extension program manager, Bryan-College Station, at [email protected], or Brittany Chesser, AgriLife Extension aquatic vegetation management program specialist and lead diagnostic scientist at AgriLife Extension’s Aquatic Diagnostics Laboratory, Bryan-College Station, at [email protected].
