How Surveying Is Done in Highly-Vegetated Areas

With so much necessary data to record in such little time, surveying is a hard enough job as it is. The only thing that could make the job more challenging is performing a survey between massive trees, thick bushes and other types of vegetation.

But the job must be done! Many land surveys we perform are in rugged rural areas surrounded by Mother Nature. Continue reading to learn more about conducting a survey in high vegetation.

What problems does vegetation pose?

Performing a survey in high vegetation is no easy feat. These are a few of the problems with surveying in shrubs, tall grasses and trees:

• Difficult accessibility: Even outdoor lovers would agree that trekking through high vegetation is a challenge. In addition to navigating through the brush while carrying our equipment, we have to worry about finding a place to set everything up that won’t obstruct our view of the land. Because even starting a land survey in the middle of the woods is a challenge, we have to budget extra time to conduct it.
• Inaccurate recordings: A surveyor’s worst nightmare is conducting their survey only to find out that the data is incorrect. Even if it’s slightly off, the survey must be performed from the start. Thanks to years of experience, that doesn’t happen too often in the city—but that’s a whole other story when you’re trying to conduct a survey in the forest. Thankfully, technology is here to save the day by giving us accurate results.

What’s the best way to survey a vegetated area?

Instead of hiking out through the forest or over rough terrain to perform a survey, we can use technology to make our lives easier and safer. We can fly above the ground in a helicopter and use remote sensing methods like LiDAR (laser imaging, detection and ranging) to get an accurate survey of the ground below.

LiDAR tools use infrared light pulses to penetrate the vegetation and provide a topographic map that’s free of all the brush. We’re left with an accurate map that shows us everything we need to know about the land without needing to waste all day out in the field.

What’s a vegetation land survey?

There’s a specific type of survey known as a vegetation survey that doesn’t require working around tough vegetation. In fact, the goal of these surveys is to create a map of the plant ecosystem in an area. These surveys typically illustrate rough borders instead of exact lines and are used by environmentalists, botanists and other scientists.

After performing a vegetation land survey, scientists can detect vulnerable biological areas, track plant spread or investigate the land after an ecological disaster.

Hire our team to conduct your next survey

If you’re buying or selling land, need to determine a property boundary or just need more general information about a plot, talk to our team at Bettersworth & Associates, Inc. Our experts have decades of experience, and we use the latest and greatest technology to ensure every survey in high vegetation is as accurate as possible. Call us today to get a quote for your next land survey.

Categorised in: Land Surveyor