Field Data Campaigns: Plots, RTK and Drones

Updated 2026-11-02 · 2 min read · By the akar.earth specialist team

Field data campaigns in Indonesia: forest inventory plots, RTK-surveyed boundaries and drone mapping that calibrate carbon models and satellite products.

A field data campaign collects the ground measurements that carbon models, satellite products and auditors depend on: inventory plots with tree diameters and heights, RTK-surveyed plot centres and boundaries, and drone imagery. We plan and run these campaigns across forest, agroforestry, plantation and mangrove sites in Indonesia.

Who it is for

• Project developers who need baseline or monitoring inventories for a methodology such as VM0047.
• Remote sensing and biomass model developers who need ground truth to train or validate models.
• EUDR programmes that need verified plot polygons for smallholder farms.
• Researchers and programmes that need consistent, audit-ready field data.

The problem it solves

Satellite data is now abundant; good ground data is not. Plots placed without a sampling design, positions recorded with phone GPS, and measurements without metadata all weaken the link between field and pixel. That shows up as high uncertainty deductions, model bias and audit findings. See ground truth versus satellite for why the field step still matters.

What we deliver

• Sampling design: stratification, plot number, size and shape, chosen for the methodology and target uncertainty. See plot sampling design.
• Inventory plots: DBH, height, species, crown and condition, with photo records.
• RTK-surveyed plot centres and boundaries for exact relocation, see RTK GNSS plot mapping.
• Drone surveys: orthomosaics, canopy height models and 3D layers through AKAR Mapper.
• Soil sampling for soil carbon projects, with sample handling to a partner laboratory.
• Clean dataset: QA/QC-checked tables, GIS layers and a field protocol document.
• Campaign report: methods, coverage, issues and summary statistics.

How it works

1. Design. We agree objectives, strata, plot count and the accuracy target.
2. Permits and community engagement. Access permissions and consent from land users before fieldwork.
3. Team and equipment. Lead foresters, local enumerators, RTK base and rover, drones.
4. Data collection. Measurements captured in AKAR dMRV with GPS, photos and timestamps.
5. QA/QC. Daily checks, a share of plots re-measured by a second team, outlier review.
6. Delivery. Dataset, maps and report.

What you provide

• Area boundary and the purpose of the data.
• Access permissions, or introductions to landowners and village leaders.
• Any existing plot network to re-measure or integrate.

Typical timeline

Planning typically takes two to four weeks. Field time depends on plot count, access and season; wet-season access in parts of Kalimantan, Sumatra and Papua can slow work considerably.

Tools we use

AKAR dMRV for field capture, AKAR Mapper for drone layers and AKAR Eligibility for stratification.

Data standards we work to

Every measured tree has a plot ID, tree ID, species, DBH, height method and timestamp. Every plot has an RTK or best-available position with its accuracy recorded, slope, stratum and photos in fixed directions. Field protocols are written before the campaign, so re-measurement in later years uses the same method. This consistency is what lets the data serve a validation body, a biomass model developer and an EUDR buyer at the same time.

Next step

Read the dMRV hub and the drone photogrammetry guide. For ongoing monitoring after the first campaign, see dMRV implementation. Then message us with location, area, vegetation type and what the data is for.