The University of Madeira is developing a project to locate rare and endangered species of the archipelago’s flora using ‘drones’, the institution said, noting that students from the Master’s in Applied Biology will take part in the activities on Monday.
The project to locate the plant with unmanned aircraft – ‘drones’ – arises from a partnership between the Botany Group of the Faculty of Life Sciences of the University of Madeira and the National Tropical Botanical Garden of Hawaii (USA). .), being funded by the Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund.
In a statement, the Madeiran institution specified that on Tuesday, April 4, a new population of Cheirolophus massonianus was located, an “endemic, extremely rare and endangered” plant of the Madeira archipelago.
The project uses ‘drones’ and the georeferencing of plants located in rocky ravines, which are impossible to access by other means, such as the cliffs of Cabo Girão, on the west coast of the island of Madeira, included in the Natura 2000 area, and has the support of the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation (IFCN).
According to the University of Madeira, the team is made up of Miguel Menezes de Sequeira, Célia Bairos and Ben Nyberg, a pilot and specialist in the use of this technology and with extensive experience in locating plants on the Hawaiian islands.
Last week, “detailed studies” were carried out in Madeira and Porto Santo, with the participation of students from the Master’s Degree in Applied Biology in the activities scheduled for Monday, April 10, within the framework of a field class in the field of the curriculum unit. Biodiversity Conservation.
The University of Madeira affirms that the results of the project will be shared with the IFCN to improve knowledge and conservation activities of the flora species of the Madeira archipelago.
Source: TSF
