ForestTECH News Issue 48

Welcome to the latest issue of Foresttech.News.

The big news this month for the ForestTECH community is the release of the ForestTECH 2021 programme and the opening of early registrations. As mentioned last month, due to Covid-19 and the uncertainty around Australian lockdowns, the event will be held in-person in Rotorua, New Zealand on 23-24 November 2021. It will also be live-streamed online for our Australian and international communities. With the travel bubble between New Zealand and Australia, we know a lot of people will be making the trip over to Rotorua.

While it has been late, most governments are now starting to take climate change seriously. The forest industry will play a critical role in reducing emissions and protecting natural environments. With the carbon offsets industry, new technology is being used to identify and track new tree growth to add to the carbon market. A tree-tracking start-up, Pachama, is combining artificial intelligence with imagery from satellite and drone Lidar to map, monitor and calculate new carbon-absorbing forest growth.

Another interesting technology is the DelLeaves canopy sampling tool. This started as a Canadian research project using drones to collect canopy clippings for testing. Interest spread quickly and soon companies around the world were lining up for commercial release. Have a look at the story below, which includes a video demonstration of the product. This will also be presented at ForestTECH 2021 later this year.

Check out these stories and much more below. Enjoy this month’s issue.