Applications of Photogrammetry for Environmental Research Edited by Francesco Mancini and Riccardo Salvini Printed Edition of the Special Issue Published in International Journal of Geo-Information www.mdpi.com/journal/ijgi Applications of Photogrammetry for Environmental Research Applications of Photogrammetry for Environmental Research Special Issue Editors Francesco Mancini Riccardo Salvini MDPI • Basel • Beijing • Wuhan • Barcelona • Belgrade Special Issue Editors Francesco Mancini Riccardo Salvini University of Modena and Reggio Emilia University of Siena Italy Italy Editorial Office MDPI St. Alban-Anlage 66 4052 Basel, Switzerland This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue published online in the open access journal ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information (ISSN 2220-9964) in 2019 (available at: https://www. mdpi.com/journal/ijgi/special issues/photogrammetry environment). For citation purposes, cite each article independently as indicated on the article page online and as indicated below: LastName, A.A.; LastName, B.B.; LastName, C.C. Article Title. Journal Name Year, Article Number, Page Range. ISBN 978-3-03928-180-0 (Pbk) ISBN 978-3-03928-181-7 (PDF) c 2020 by the authors. Articles in this book are Open Access and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. The book as a whole is distributed by MDPI under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND. Contents About the Special Issue Editors ..................................... vii Francesco Mancini and Riccardo Salvini Applications of Photogrammetry for Environmental Research Reprinted from: ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2019, 8, 542, doi:10.3390/ijgi8120542 ............. 1 Doug Stead, Davide Donati, Andrea Wolter and Matthieu Sturzenegger Application of Remote Sensing to the Investigation of Rock Slopes: Experience Gained and Lessons Learned Reprinted from: ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2019, 8, 296, doi:10.3390/ijgi8070296 ............. 4 Carlo Robiati, Matt Eyre, Claudio Vanneschi, Mirko Francioni, Adam Venn and John Coggan Application of Remote Sensing Data for Evaluation of Rockfall Potential within a Quarry Slope Reprinted from: ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2019, 8, 367, doi:10.3390/ijgi8090367 ............. 28 Claudio Vanneschi, Marco Di Camillo, Eros Aiello, Filippo Bonciani and Riccardo Salvini SfM-MVS Photogrammetry for Rockfall Analysis and Hazard Assessment Along the Ancient Roman Via Flaminia Road at the Furlo Gorge (Italy) Reprinted from: ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2019, 8, 325, doi:10.3390/ijgi8080325 ............. 52 Rudolf Urban, Martin Stroner,ˇ Peter Blistan, Ludov´ıtKovaniˇˇ c, Matej Patera, Stanislav Jacko, Igor Duriˇska,Miroslavˇ Kelemen and Stanislav Szabo The Suitability of UAS for Mass Movement Monitoring Caused by Torrential Rainfall—A Study on the Talus Cones in the Alpine Terrain in High Tatras, Slovakia Reprinted from: ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2019, 8, 317, doi:10.3390/ijgi8080317 ............. 75 Marion Jaud, Christophe Delacourt, Nicolas Le Dantec, Pascal Allemand, J´eromeˆ Ammann, Philippe Grandjean, Henri Nouaille, Christophe Prunier, V´eronique Cuq, Emmanuel Augereau, Lucie Cocquempot and France Floc’h Diachronic UAV Photogrammetry of a Sandy Beach in Brittany (France) for a Long-Term Coastal Observatory Reprinted from: ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2019, 8, 267, doi:10.3390/ijgi8060267 ............. 93 Konstantinos Nikolakopoulos, Aggeliki Kyriou, Ioannis Koukouvelas, Vasiliki Zygouri and Dionysios Apostolopoulos Combination of Aerial, Satellite, and UAV Photogrammetry for Mapping the Diachronic Coastline Evolution: The Case of Lefkada Island Reprinted from: ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2019, 8, 489, doi:10.3390/ijgi8110489 .............106 Mingbo Liu, Chunxiang Cao, Wei Chen and Xuejun Wang Mapping Canopy Heights of Poplar Plantations in Plain Areas Using ZY3-02 Stereo and Multispectral Data Reprinted from: ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2019, 8, 106, doi:10.3390/ijgi8030106 .............132 v About the Special Issue Editors Francesco Mancini received his M.Sc. degrees in Marine Environmental Sciences and a Ph.D. in Geodetic Sciences and Topography from the University of Bologna, Italy. Since 20 years, he works in the field of geomatics, as past researcher (University of Bologna and Technical University of Bari, Italy) and currently associate professor (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy). He is involved as surveyor in application to ground deformation, natural hazard assessment and landscape archaeology. He is professor in Geomatics technology, Geographical Information System, Cartography and Photogrammetry at schools of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Geology and Geography in diversified academic institutions. His current interests include, precision surveys, spatial data analysis, ground subsidence, monitoring of coastal areas, GNSS positioning and photogrammetric surveys by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). He has published a number of papers on international journals focused on surveying for environmental researches and modeling of natural/anthropogenic phenomena. Riccardo Salvini received his M.Sc. and Ph. degrees in Geological Sciences from the University of Siena, Italy, respectively in 1996 and 2001. In 1998, he awarded with distinction the Professional Master degree in Geoinformatics (Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing specialization) at ITC (International Institute of Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences, the Netherlands). Since 2003 he is Assistant Professor at the University of Siena and he mainly works in the fields of Remote Sensing, Digital Photogrammetry, GNSS positioning and Laser Scanning applied to geological investigations. He is involved in researches in Italy (Apuan Alps, Northern Apennines, Western Alps), Brazil (Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul), Libya (Cyrenaica), Turkey (Central Anatolia), Egypt (North-Eastern Sahara Desert), United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi), and Ethiopia (Rift Valley). He was involved in national and international projects on rock slope stability, soil erosion, multitemporal morphological and land use changes, and land subsidence. He is lecturer of Photogeology and Geotechnics for the B.Sc. degree in Geological Sciences, lecturer of Remote Sensing, Photogrammetry and Laser Scanning for the M.Sc. degree in Geomatics, and lecturer of Slope Stability for the M.Sc. degree in Engineering Geology. He is author and co-author of several publications in journals, papers in volumes and proceedings in conferences on the above-mentioned topics. vii International Journal o f Geo-Information Editorial Applications of Photogrammetry for Environmental Research Francesco Mancini 1,* and Riccardo Salvini 2 1 Department of Engineering ‘Enzo Ferrari’, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy 2 Department of Environment, Earth and Physical Sciences and Centre of GeoTechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 25 November 2019; Accepted: 26 November 2019; Published: 28 November 2019 The applications of photogrammetry for environmental research benefits from the continuous and rapid evolution of sensors and methodologies in this field. The support of photogrammetric tools to a very wide range of research activities was previously confined to geomatic disciplines and the methodologies strictly based on terrestrial or traditional aerial photogrammetry. However, the timely investigation of natural or anthropogenic phenomena required more flexible tools and the ability of geoscientists and researchers involved in the study of natural resources to exploit photogrammetric methodologies in a more flexible way. In the last decade, new opportunities came from the possibility to acquire images using low-cost non-metric cameras from low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or fixed locations in terrestrial surveys, with a successive highly automated processing strategy. For instance, a huge amount of papers in the recent scientific literature refers to the structure from motion (SfM) technology in the reconstruction of three-dimensional features at very high spatial and temporal resolutions and with a surprisingly high positional accuracy. Point clouds obtained from best practices in novel approaches of close-range photogrammetry has proven to be of compatible spatial resolution and accuracy of those provided by terrestrial laser scanning and, very often, photogrammetry and laser scanning are combined to enhance the qualities of each other. However, a limited number of papers were focused on ongoing processes, dynamic assessments or used in modeling of complex phenomena starting from single or repeated photogrammetric surveys with careful design of the timing of investigations. The Special Issue aimed for papers including novelties and advances on the use of recent photogrammetric approaches to a wide range of environmental studies, including the following: photogrammetry for monitoring; UAV photogrammetry for environmental research; photogrammetry for disaster prevention and management; photogrammetry for real-time mapping; merging of data from different survey technologies; and novel uses of proximity surveys to geography, geomorphology, geotechnologies, landscape description, coastal studies, archaeology, etc. Manuscripts on multitemporal investigation of environmental processes