Count trees in a row or plot from a photo

Counting trees in nursery rows, orchards and plantations

Trees are counted by nurseries taking inventory of saplings by species, by orchards and plantations taking stock from a high angle or a drone, by planting schemes verifying what went in the ground, and between seasons to record survival. The count works when each tree has its own canopy or stem in the photo; where canopies merge into one cover, as in natural woodland, the result is an estimate.

For orchards and plantations, a straight-down drone photo shows each canopy as a distinct round shape. Fly the same height over every block so one photo covers a known area, and shoot near midday, since long morning shadows can look like extra trees. In a nursery, photograph rows from the end at a high angle so stems do not hide each other. Young trees inside tree guards look like posts from above, so mark one guarded tree as the example in Similar items.

Block by block, check the markers and add each block as its own tally row. Fruit on the trees is counted by the fruit counter, smaller stock by the plant counter, and other drone surveys over the same site, such as vehicles in a yard, follow the same overhead method.

Tree survey checks

• Straight-down drone photo for orchards and plantations
• The same flying height for every block
• Midday light to keep shadows short
• One block per tally row