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Drone planting 40,000 tree pods a day

In Issue59 by FIEALeave a Comment

Giant drones are the latest weapon in an ongoing “war” against the introduced African olive tree in southern Sydney. The drones are planting out a steep ridge line in the Australian Botanic Garden at Mt Annan in Sydney’s south, where 85 per cent of the highly invasive species has been cleared so far. The park’s director of horticulture, John Siemon, …

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Planting trees outside the normal planting season

In Issue59 by FIEALeave a Comment

Newly published research by Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service into tree planting will provide some welcome solutions to problems foresters and planters are all too familiar with. “The research has enabled us to come up with strategies to successfully plant trees outside of the normal planting season, and also have a better understanding of how to safely …

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Komatsu Forest to acquire Bracke Forest

In Issue59 by FIEALeave a Comment

Komatsu Forest AB, a wholly owned subsidiary of Komatsu is going to acquire Bracke Forest AB headquartered in Bräcke, Sweden, a company that develops, manufactures and sells application-specific attachments for silviculture. Komatsu is planning to close the acquisition on 1 July 2022 on the condition that all necessary procedures for closing are completed. The impact on Komatsu’s consolidated business results …

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Mobile terrestrial laser scanning of NSW native forests

In Issue59, Video by FIEALeave a Comment

In 2021, mobile terrestrial LiDAR data and ground-based measurements were collected across 15 native forest plots in coastal NSW as part of a small pilot program. This remotely sensed LiDAR data provides detailed information about forest structure that can give insight into forest condition and function. The pilot has generated a valuable source of information that could be used to …

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EPA approves wilding conifer weedkiller

In Issue59 by FIEALeave a Comment

A weedkiller to target wilding conifers has been approved for use in New Zealand, with controls, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) says. Method 240 SL is a herbicide used to control wilding conifers and other woody plants on non-crop farmland, conservation land and recreational parks. It contains the active ingredient aminocyclopyrachlor. While aminocyclopyrachlor is new to New Zealand, the United …

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Ash forests to forests of ash

In Issue59, Video by FIEALeave a Comment

Desperate efforts to regenerate Victoria’s towering ash forests, which are being regularly decimated by bushfires, involves a dedicated group searching high and low to bank enough seeds for their survival. An icy wind starts to strengthen on the peak of Mount Wills in north-east Victoria. It’s just another part of the challenging and changing conditions that professional climber Daniel Jenkins …

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Development of a remote-controlled scarifier

In Issue59 by FIEALeave a Comment

The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden, “Skogforsk”, has received funding to develop a remote-controlled scarifier. The goal is to bring the technology of remote-controlled forest machines closer to reality. The choice of a scarifier for this project is because it’s easier to control compared to other types of forest machines. Scarifiers operate in an environment where most trees have been …

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Carbon sequestration – how does NZ redwood stack?

In Issue59 by FIEALeave a Comment

New Zealand has committed to a net-zero emissions target by 2050. Carbon uptake by rapid planting of new forests is the only way New Zealand has to remove CO2 from the atmosphere at the speed required to meet our net-zero target. The centrepiece of New Zealand’s afforestation response to climate change is radiata pine as the species has high growth …

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AutoPlant – is this going to be planting this year?

In Issue59 by FIEALeave a Comment

In February last year, Forestry.com wrote about the AutoPlant project, an autonomous planting machine. We also covered it in a February 2021 issue of Friday Offcuts. Now, over a year has passed and the planting season is here again. Can we count on the AutoPlant this year? You may have noticed dear reader, that mechanized planting is something I find …