There are many applications where high resolution imagery from AEROCam is beneficial when compared to Landsat, ASTER, or other sources. Examples of agricultural practices and research topics for which AEROCom has been used include:

1. Transects were flown to monitor crop reflectance and compared to ground samples of carbon and nitrogen; 2006.
2. CIR data was used to ascertain how different nitrogen treatments affect wheat quality; 2006.
3. To analyze and monitor crop growth in potato, sugar beet, dry bean, corn and wheat fields to assess fertility, drainage and crop management programs in fine tuning operations in order to maximize yield and quality while minimizing expenses; 2005.
4. A long-term agricultural soil carbon sequestration project used AEROCam images for classifying tillage practices and soil disturbance, monitoring water and nutrient stresses, crop rotations, and estimating aboveground biomass production; 2005.
5. Aero-Cam data was used to create a baseline data layer that would establish the productivity level of an entire irrigated river valley. High resolution data was required due to high soil variation in the river valley that caused drastic changes in production. Ten to thirty meter resolution data was not accurate enough to create the biomass zones necessary to monitor soil changes over time.
6. Building zones to manage fertilizer better using variable rate applications; 2005.
7. Images were collected over several consecutive years to monitor weed and disease within agricultural and pasture fields; 2006.
8. Look at drainage and areas of compaction and identify areas of salinity; 2005.
9. Identifying and mapping unknown drain tile locations within agricultural fields; 2007.
10. Monitor disease in sugar beet fields using trial plots and assist in soil sampling; 2006.

With the introduction of GPS and now DGPS that can be accurate to less than a meter, remote sensing has become much more accurate. Images are now capable of having a latitude and longitude position assigned to each pixel in an image, also known as in an ortho-image. The making of maps from these ortho-images can produce a highly accurate representation of roads, pipelines, power lines, field boundaries, terrain, and any other feature for which highly accurate locations are needed. Cartographic applications have included:

1. Land use and land cover mapping; 2005.
2. Assess grazing effects in rangelands by mapping changes in vegetation greenness across the landscape 2005.
3. Quantify and digitize impervious surfaces; 2005.
4. To develop remote sensing/terrain analysis in support of North Dakota soil survey updates; 2005.
5. Identifying and mapping unknown drain tile locations within agricultural fields; 2007.

The upper Midwest contains numerous Native American reservations that each have many valuable resources, both natural and cultural. The preservation of these areas is vital to our nation's natural history and the existence of a unique culture. Aerial imagery assists tribal members in managing the resources of their tribal lands and in the education of future generations.

1. Prairie dog inventory; 2004.
2. To enhance the utilization of Earth system science concepts in the Tribal College science teacher's classroom by integrating the system approach to Earth science and the Native American cultural view of "Mother Earth", while attempting to draw students into the excitement of Earth system science, and increasing their utilization of spatial thinking through promoting the use of remotely sensed data.

The need to learn more about and monitor the changes in ecosystems and earth systems of our planet has become an essential element of all levels of education from K-12 to university students to the general public. Remote sensing data such as aerial imagery provides a highly valuable resource to educators looking to show students or the public real-time information about the areas they reside in and how they are being affected.

1. Images of a local area that are used to demonstrate remote sensing data to students and/or teachers and its uses; 2006.
2. To give students the opportunity to participate in a community based project using cutting edge technologies like geographical information systems (GIS), global positioning satellites, and remote sensing technologies similar to those used in precision farming to help manage new green areas in the Grand Forks area; 2005.
3. To enhance the utilization of Earth system science concepts in the Tribal College science teacher's classroom by integrating the system approach to Earth science and the Native American cultural view of Mother Earth, while attempting to draw students into the excitement of Earth system science, and increasing their utilization of spatial thinking through promoting the use of remotely sensed data.

Timber stands are managed today through the use of many different management practices. Collecting baseline inventory data through aerial imagery provides a valuable resource in managing timber stands and monitoring the use of prescribed fires, stand thinning, rangeland improvements, weed control and timber harvests. Natural fires can cause large losses in timber stands, which can be inventoried and quantified using CIR aerial images to see what living trees remain.

The extraction of fossil fuels and other resources has significant economic impact within the UMAC region. If we elect to mine these resources, for the sake of future generations it is critical to minimize environmental impacts as much as possible. The restoration and reclamation of these lands is a difficult task, with the ultimate goal of leaving the land as it was found. Aerial imagery can assist in the assessment of the progression in the restoration process as well as monitoring vegetation and wildlife re-establishment. Recent AEROCam uses include:

1. Assess coal strip mine production; 2004.
2. Determine surface area of gravel pit quarries.
3. Impacts on sagebrush due to oil drilling in western Wyoming.

Noxious weed and invasive species control has always been an important aspect of agriculture and natural resource management. Aerial imagery allows farmers to create zones within a field and spray those specific areas rather than the entire field, as was done before. Imagery also makes it possible to detect new areas where invasive species have become established more easily. AEROCam projects have included:

1. To see the results of a brush control project by utilizing higher resolution images than what's available with LandSat to provide detailed measurements of control; 2005.
2. AEROCam data was needed for its high resolution band registered product to locate and model invasive weed species. Other products with resolution of 5-meters or greater were unacceptable for addressing the problems and efforts to map the invasive weeds using GPS had proven to be too large in scale to be accurate, 2005.
3. Monitor weed control methods and identify new areas of infestation; 2006.
4. Images were taken several consecutive years to monitor weed and disease within the fields; 2006.

Much of the native prairie lands in the Northern Great Plains have all but vanished. Today, extensive research is being done searching for ways to restore prairies back to their original state and manage their sensitive ecosystems. Examples of uses of AEROCam imagery in managing restoration or established sites include:

1. Biological inventories, restoration monitoring and past hydrological conditions of wetlands; 2006.
2. Determining how alfalfa invasion of mixed grass prairie impacts local ecology; 2006.
3. To develop a spatial simulation model for predicting invasion patterns of Canada thistle in response to management regimes. High resolution imagery was needed to detect Canada thistle in prairie remnants; 2005.

Rangelands need to be managed not only as a source of forage for cattle, but also as habitat for a diverse variety of both plant and animal species. AEROCam can assess vegetation within a particular area, which can assist managers in determining best management practices.

1. Assess grazing effects in rangelands by mapping changes in vegetation greenness across the landscape; 2005.
2. Calculate total biomass of rangeland areas; 2005.
3. Drought monitoring and rangeland productivity assessment; 2005.

Having an area to recreate is an important resource to society today. Whether it is a golf course in the middle of an urban area or a designated recreation area far from civilization, people enjoy having a place to "get away". Managers of these areas face the unique challenge of managing not only the physical resources within their area, but the impacts of humans as well. The ability to monitor and evaluate these impacts through aerial imagery can assist managers in making decisions in their efforts to mitigate these impacts within an area.

With recent drought conditions throughout the Northern Great Plains region, water has become a critical resource to manage and conserve. As with the lack of water, too much can also have negative effects, such as from excessive pooling in crop fields or from erosion. Aerial imagery allows the end-user to analyze these dry and wet areas and make decisions in regards to management practices:

1. Assess irrigation needs using a center-pivot sprinkler by comparing to soils moisture and evapotranspiration data; 2006.
2. Identify seepage areas along canals and irrigation ditches and areas of over-irrigation causing sub-irrigation; 2006.
3. Estimate impacts of artificial wetlands caused by irrigation; 2006.
4. Quantify the irrigation area of a creek drainage with a range of one mile each side of the steam to distinguish between irrigated and dry cropping using CIR images; 2005.
5. Monitor rangeland productivity under drought conditions; 2005.
6. Evaluate drainage and areas of compaction, and identify areas of salinity; 2005.