Improving roadside management can do much to protect insects. That is why Kleurkeur was developed: a hallmark for roadside management that should lead to more diversity and nectar availability, and thus better managed roadsides. To survey vegetation, the Butterfly Foundation engaged the team at Aquila Ecology. Using Aquila Ecology's modern technology, we took dozens of photos at each location in a few minutes, which were then analysed by AI. The data proved very useful for determining diversity and nectar availability, while costing a fraction of professional vegetation recordings.
At Aquila Ecology, we are always critical when deploying AI for ecological monitoring: we only do so if we ourselves think the technique can add value. This case is a perfect example of where our technique can clearly add value: it requires an estimate of diversity and nectar availability, not an exactly correct species list, and the costs must be limited.
