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On the ground and in the sky, GIS students assist in American chestnut restoration
A group of students in Professor Will Kochtitzky鈥檚 Spatial Analysis class have spent much of their fall semester assisting with one of UNE鈥檚 signature research projects: the restoration of the American chestnut tree, led by Thomas Klak, Ph.D., professor of environmental studies.
Once touted as 鈥渢he redwood of the East,鈥 the American chestnut was all but destroyed during the last century by an imported fungal blight that is still killing the few remaining trees today. The blight has wiped out an estimated four billion trees.
To revitalize this keystone species, Klak has collaborated with a team of scientists to create fungal blight-tolerant chestnut seedlings by inserting a gene from wheat into them, which protects the plant from the blight. In 2021, he established New England鈥檚 first orchard of blight-tolerant seedlings planted next to a range of control chestnut seedlings in the forest of Cape Elizabeth.
An aerial view of the transgenic American chestnut orchard in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, taken by Kochtitzky鈥檚 students.
As these two types of chestnut seedlings have grown up over the past two summers, Klak and his students have visually noted that they are growing at markedly different rates. So, in late summer 2022, he approached Kochtitzky to see if his GIS students could develop a biomass index for the chestnut orchard.
鈥淯sing the biomass index, we can determine how much biomass each tree has to quantify the tree growth,鈥 said Kochtitzky, Ph.D., visiting assistant teaching professor of GIS (geographic information systems) at UNE. 鈥淭his critical information will allow us to quantify the differences between the genetically modified chestnuts and traditional strains of the chestnut trees.鈥
To develop the biomass index, students used drones to create a digital elevation model (DEM) of the orchard 鈥 an example of the many ways GIS students engage in experiential learning opportunities.
鈥淕etting any experience flying the drone is really exciting, and being able to work with real, important data has been really educational and fun,鈥 said Leo Cha (Marine Sciences, 鈥23). 鈥淚 have learned many techniques in GIS just trying to work out some of the issues that have come up with this project."
Leo Cha holds a drone used for spatial analysis.
鈥淚鈥檝e been in awe with the GIS students鈥 diligence on this vital yet laborious project,鈥 Klak remarked. 鈥淎nd the students鈥 novel biomass index demonstrates how environmental science at 51品茶advances through the combined expertise that students develop among inter-connected courses.鈥
Prof. Thomas Klak, Ph.D., standing with a transgenic American chestnut seedling
Kochtitzky said hands-on experiences are not just fun 鈥 they are valuable learning opportunities that prepare students for work in their professional fields after graduation.
鈥淧rojects like this are important for students to gain experience doing research because it helps them see that we don鈥檛 always know the answer,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he students have had to work through many challenges and have problem-solved to overcome each of them."
"Those skills will benefit them in any career they choose, not just GIS," he added. "Of course, it is also wonderful to get them experience using technology that can directly shape their career trajectories.鈥