Evaluating stakeholder perceptions on drone use in forest restoration using a social–ecological systems framework

Forest restoration is critical for meeting global objectives related to climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods. Recently, new technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles (hereafter drones) have been promoted to support activities across the planning, implementation, monitoring and maintenance stages of forest restoration. Yet, there is little empirical data on how the development and application of drones are perceived by restoration managers and stakeholders and how drones intersect with existing forest social–ecological systems (SESs). Here, we investigate how drone tree planting initiatives in Australia can support ecosystem restoration. Through interviews and focus groups with key actors, we examine the opportunities and challenges that have been experienced or are foreseen with drone use. Opportunities included the ability of drones to access degraded sites that are difficult or unsafe to access on foot, for example, following bushfires, floods or landslides. They were also perceived to ease the labour shortage of bush regenerators in Australia. Drones were considered particularly useful when operating at scales of around 20–100 ha. Challenges included restrictive flying regulations that prohibit use of artificial intelligence to plot courses through complex terrain, their unproven ability to control or eradicate weeds and the uncertain supply, germination and survival rates of seeds—upon which drone‐based restoration relies. Drone use may also reduce the emotional, spiritual and cultural connections of people to the land, as compared to hand‐planting seeds or seedlings. We conclude by conceptualising how drone‐assisted restoration can be embedded within a forest SESs management framework. Ultimately, we argue that drones offer a ‘boutique’ restoration approach that supports, rather than replaces, traditional forest restoration techniques. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.