United States Department of Agriculture A Remote Camera System
Forest Service to Observe the Growth Northeastern Forest Experiment Station and Quality Changes Research Note NE-309 of a Developing Stand
David L. Sonderman
Abstract Describes the use of a remote 35-mm data-recording camera to observe daily the growth and quality development of a 27-acre clearcut.
ODC 587.1 - 851
Introduction form. Factors such as weather. ani- Forest researchers continue to mal damage, slope, aspect, density, and man affect development and try to solve the problems of poor quality in our forest trees and quality of a tree. stands. They need accurate quality and growth information to deter- This paper describes the cam- mine which silvicultural treatments era system and how it is being used will save the most time and money. for total observation of a developing To acquire detailed information on forest stand. quality development, a remote camera system using time-lapse Methods photography was designed. By ob- serving the start of a forest stand The remote camera system and following the growth patterns of (Fig. 1) is located on a hillside individual trees, we can see many above a recent 27-acre clearcut at factors that influence the tree's final the Vinton Furnace Experimental
Figure 1.-(A) Camera box (front); (6) camera box (rear) showing components. Forest in southern Ohio. The trees are dormant, but because of housed in a 2-foot by 2-foot by 8- camera records the progression of ice and snow accumulations, many foot high rectangular wooden box growth during the initial stand de- young seedlings and saplings may bolted to a 4-foot by 4-foot concrete velopment and also the quality take on a different stem form as a slab. A 4-inch glass square provides change of particular stems which is result of bending and breakage. camera view and weather protection taking place on the clearcut from Also, removal of terminal buds for the wide-angle lens. The camera now to "x" years in the future. It is browsed by wildlife results in is orientated to the northeast at an part of an overall tree-quality study changes in tree form. Even daily azimuth of approximately 27", which of individual quality characteristics weather data can be interpreted, be- provides excellent side shadow and how they change over time. cause the photo will record the images (Neelands 1979) in the late Eventually, forest researchers hope weather if light conditions are ac- morning photo periods. Shadow ef- to have a visual record of the ceptable. Data on light intensities fect is beneficial for height determi- changes in tree species, various ele- can be recorded because the Cds nation and defect definition. ments of weather, insect and wild- (Cadmium selenide) photo- life damage, and gross changes in conductor cell has a known wave- Application external tree characteristics, such length spectral response. as individual changes in live and Each season the exposed color dead limbs, limb size, epicormic Camera film will be removed from the maga- branching, external defect, bole zine and processed. It will then be form, and overgrowth development. The camera (Sonderman 1973) edited and spliced onto processed I is an Auto-max G3, data-recording, film of previous seasons to form a Milacre plots were established 35-mm half-frame camera.' It uses a continuous 35-mm time-lapse color on the clearcut and culturally treat- Mitchell magazine with a capacity of motion picture. As trees grow and ed; thus, many changes in growth 500 feet of film, Nikon bayonet lens develop in front of the camera lens, patterns and species composition mount, and a Vivitar 17-mm wide- adjustments will be made to the will be observed in the early devel- angle F3.5 lens with an 84" angle of camera and lens to concentrate on opment of the new forest. These view. The drive motors in the cam- specific individual trees within cam- changes will be the main target for era are powered by a single, deep era range for detailed surveillance the camera system at the outset. cycle 12VDC marine battery, which of individual defects. runs an inverter and intervalometer as part of the system. Power to the In the 16 months since the es- Why Use a Camera System? components is regulated by an 8- tablishment of the clearcut, there day clock, which is set to permit has been a dramatic change in the The automatic camera system power at predetermined times. Light regeneration. The initial photograph is economical and reliable. Usually requirements are determined by a of the clearcut (Fig. 2) is free of it is not feasible to take pictures single Cds photo-conductive cell most vegetation, except for scat- daily at a remote location because mounted beside the camera lens. A tered debris. In contrast, the second of the time element and cost in- time-delay relay incorporated in the in the series of clearcut photos (Fig. volved. But, the camera system is system permits only one photo peri- 3) shows the entire area completely designed to be automatically trig- od per 24 hours. We use Kodak covered with new growth. A sam- gered on a daily basis to record a Ektachrome EF 5241 color film in pling of the milacre plots verifies series of at least seven photographs 400-foot rolls with an ASA of 160. It that the major important tree spe- per day for satisfactory time-lapse is high-speed color reversal film on cies are black gum, aspen, yellow effect. The present installation re- acetate base, suitable for direct pro- poplar, white ash, and red maple, all quires scheduled service of an &day jection. The shutter speed is 11125 in seedling form. Species identifica- clock and battery. To make the sys- of a second with an aperture of tion from photographs is not possi- tem completely automatic, future F116. One loading of the magazine ble because of seedling size. How- plans require installation of a silicon allows 914 photo days of seven ever, after four or five growing sea- solar panel (photovoltaic cells) frames per day. The system is sons we should be able to identify which will provide sun-to-electricity individual species from the photo- direct charging of the camera bat- graphs. The camera system is still tery and provide power to an elec- The use of trade, firm, or corporation in the trial stage, and expectations tric clock. names in this publication is for the infor- of what will actually be seen are mation and convenience of the reader. speculative. Hopefully, each year's Such use does not constitute an official Growth progression, shown as endorsement or approval by the US. De- growth photographed in color will a time-lapse movie, should answer partment of Agriculture or the Forest shed new light on many aspects of many questions about juvenile tree Service of any product or service to the development that would otherwise behavior. For example, in winter exclusion of others that may be suitable. not have been detected before. Literature Cited Neelands, R. W. Tips for forest pho- tographers. 1979; USDA For. Serv. Southern Region, 37 p. Sonderman, David L. A simple and inexpensive pulsing device for data-recording cameras. 1973; USDA For. Serv. Res. Note NE-183,4 p.
The author is a research forest products technologist, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Dela- ware, Ohio.
Figure 2.-Photograph taken May 1979 (clearcut-winter 1978).
Figure 3.-Photograph taken September 1980 (clearcut-winter1978).
* U. S. GOWR3MENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1982-505-0 12: 19