Forest environments are notoriously difficult for drone (unmanned aerial vehicle – UAV) operations. Aside from the trees themselves, hilly terrain, remote areas provide challenges for drone operators. Add in the complexity of technical, operational, and regulatory considerations in a forest environment and it becomes a challenge to operate UAVs in forestry when visual contact is not maintained. A recently published …

In May 2017, New Zealand’s Timberlands Ltd Board of Directors and senior managers toured through Puruki Experimental Forest in the Central North Island with a team of Scion scientists. As they stood on the top of a hill in Puruki they could see their own Kaingaroa Forest estate, just 20 kilometres to the east and they knew that they needed …

It is the first satellite to take a technology called P-band radar into space – and it should help scientists to distinguish the wood from the trees. In a dust-free cleanroom in Stevenage, the European Space Agency’s BIOMASS satellite is finally taking shape. And as science missions go, it’s a big one. The spacecraft is several metres high and weighs …

ForestTECH is this region’s premier forestry technology series. It’s the one forestry technology event that brings together forest resource managers, inventory foresters, remote sensing, GIS, mapping and forest inventory specialists and researchers from throughout Australasia. For the last two years, tree crop, forest establishment and silvicultural managers have also been involved as part of this annual series. In the last …

The opinion is set to influence decision on whether to reauthorize the controversial herbicide in the EU. The controversial herbicide ingredient glyphosate does not cause cancer in humans, according to a scientific opinion published by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). The agency’s Committee for Risk Assessment found that “the available scientific evidence did not meet the criteria to classify glyphosate …

With the right equipment and a little luck, stealing a tree from a swath of land as remote and vast as the Olympic National Forest should have been easy enough. In the summer of 2018, Justin Wilke, a Washington man in his late-thirties, found what seemed like the perfect candidate for poaching: a big-leaf maple located about a quarter mile …

Fire seasons are now longer and the destruction more intense, as fires burn hotter and spread to more drought-stricken ground. Since the start of this year, 32,247 wildfires have burned over 3.3 million acres in the United States, according to the National Interagency Fire Centre. An early start to the season, and an especially brutal beginning in New Mexico, puts …

Microsoft and New Zealand Crown Research Institute, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, are teaming up to develop improved detection of land use and forest cover change in New Zealand. Microsoft says its AI for Good team will work with Manaaki Whenua’s Remote Sensing team to develop models and methods to assess and monitor changes in land use and land cover at …

Tasmania to get 4D digital twin with Virtual Tas using laser scanning and image capture technology Enzen Australia and 42-24, a TasNetworks’ subsidiary business, have launched Virtual Tas, a joint venture which will undertake annual statewide aerial captures of Tasmania to create a 4D Digital Twin. Using laser scanning and image capture technology, along with the ability to model and …

Key points: 6.5 million trees will be planted around Tumut and Tumbarumba by the end of August Planting efforts have doubled to help the timber industry recover from the Black Summer bushfires One third of the area’s total plantation was lost in the fires More than 100 crew members are out in cold, wet and sometimes snowy conditions, to plant …

A single tree does not make a forest – just yet. Scion is developing and testing a range of precision forestry technologies with Hawke’s Bay forestry company Pan Pac Forest Products in New Zealand to make a ‘forest of one’ a reality sooner rather than later. A forest of one means that we are effectively able to apply forestry management …

From 50 trees to 2.8 million. That has been the trajectory for Lisa McCreery’s native tree nursery since it was set up 43 years ago by her parents outside Tammin in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt. “Mum started off with 40 or 50 trees,” Mrs McCreery said. “That’s how I got my pocket money, just working in the nursery, my sisters and …

The conservation and restoration of remnant native woodlands and wetlands to enhance biodiversity and ensure the sustainability of habitats is a priority for many agencies. The task, however, of monitoring and reporting on numerous small areas located on private land across the landscape regularly is onerous. This article introduces a monitoring framework developed in collaboration with Waikato Regional Council’s (WRC) …

The role of drones is growing rapidly in various industries, including inspection, surveillance and time-critical transport. Fast, long-flying and cost-effective drones can cope with challenging environments. Technological developments and active research open up new avenues for them. Automatic drones are rapidly becoming part of transport systems in various industries. They have great potential, for example, in construction and aerial surveillance …

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

With anticipated future innovations, this type of technology could be used to support bushfire risk management, improve the economic value of the nation’s timber resource, and overcome occupational health and safety risks. The recently completed report, A review of current mechanical & robotic tree pruning equipment, was developed by the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Forest Research Institute (FRI) and …

In New Zealand, a Central Otago scientific research station with a globally revered reputation is marking its 60th anniversary. NIWA’s Lauder Atmospheric Research Station is almost exactly halfway between the equator and the South Pole, about 36 km from Alexandra, and deliberately situated in a remote, unpopulated area to take advantage of the clean air and clear skies. It is …

New Forests, a global investment manager of nature-based real assets and natural capital strategies, last Friday announced Mitsui & Co., Ltd (Mitsui) and Nomura Holdings, Inc (Nomura), have entered into an agreement to purchase a 100% shareholding of New Forests. The agreement, which is subject to regulatory approval and expected to be completed by December 2022, will see Mitsui become …

Using an artificial neural network, researchers at ETH Zurich have created the first high-resolution global vegetation height map for 2020 from satellite images. This map could provide key information for fighting climate change and species extinction, as well as for sustainable regional development planning. Last year marked the beginning of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. This initiative is aimed …

At their recent AGM the New Zealand Forest Nursery Growers Assn elected Peter Harington as the incoming president. Peter manages Rotorua Forest Nursery. The NZFNGA look after the interests of the country’s forest nursery sector including; Govt. submissions, training, research, etc. The association holds an annual conference, AGM and technical nursery tour. Peter said the association is currently making submissions …

An exciting new forestry project has been launched to support the integration of more trees on farms in Victoria – helping the state achieve its net zero carbon goals by 2050. Overseen by Forestry Australia, the Trials Review, Information and Genetics (TRIG) project aims to improve information pathways to assist the expansion of farm forestry in Victoria. TRIG Project Steering …

Reforestation company DroneSeed has announced its largest sale of offsets to date to Shopify, a leading provider of essential internet infrastructure for commerce, which is on a mission to reverse climate change. As part of the post-fire reforestation, native trees of multiple species will remove 50,000 tonnes as they grow over the next century on a legally protected site. A …

Following the main winter planting season, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) undertakes an annual survey of tree stocks sold by commercial forestry nurseries in New Zealand. The results are aggregated to produce estimates of total national sales, and then modelled to estimate the total area of planting by species and species group. The commercial nursery survey results just released …

Forest & Wood Products Australia (FWPA) is developing a single, centralised database for private forestry information through a national project to collect and collate information about commercial farm plantations, private native forests and Indigenous managed forests around Australia.FWPA’s Chris Lafferty said the project presents a significant and unique opportunity. “So much work has been undertaken, through funded programs or by …

Whether it’s wildfires that sweep across the West Coast, storms rolling in from the Pacific Ocean or dense fog that blankets the Pacific Northwest, a new weather satellite will be able to track them all. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration launched GOES-T, the third in its series of advanced geostationary weather satellites, at 4:38 p.m. ET Tuesday from Cape …

A controversy is brewing between remote sensing scientists and administrators from NASA and the agency’s international partners. The debate centers around how long the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) lidar system will continue to operate from the International Space Station before the system is decommissioned and left to burn up in the atmosphere. Since 2019, scientists have used GEDI to …

Drones have become an essential tool for forestry companies over the last decade. Technology continues to evolve and many consumer drones are now incorporating some of the advanced imaging, video stabilisation, control and automated features previously seen in more specialised (and expensive) models. PC Mag has just released a detailed breakdown of the best consumer drones for 2022. While you …

Thanks to sensor miniaturization, laser technology is available for surveying and mapping professionals in many different guises nowadays. This selection of articles highlights the diversity of Lidar as a flexible tool for capturing the environment. From backpacks to handheld scanners and from drones to helmets, this type of remote sensing technology can be mounted on almost any device imaginable, resulting …

The second day of the just-completed ForestTECH 2021/22 event focussed on advancements in automated silviculture with a particular focus on mechanised planting operations – new technology, developing technologies and an insight into results from local forest trials and commercial planting operations. In short, like Europe and South America in particular, the cost and availability of labour for planting have both …

Victoria’s forestry industries are set to benefit from five new research projects funded by the National Institute for Forest Products Innovation (NIFPI) centre in Gippsland. Federal Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries Jonno Duniam, and Victorian Minister for Agriculture Mary Anne Thomas congratulated the funding recipients and welcomed the benefits these projects will bring to Gippsland and the wider industry …

• More than 24 million hectares (59 million acres) burned during Australia’s devastating “Black Summer” bushfire season of 2019-2020, which formed part of a confirmed climate change-driven trend of worsening fire weather and larger, more intense forest fires. • Scientists are still assessing the extent of the damage and are calling for a greater focus on understanding the effects of …

The Biomass Carbon Monitor provides global maps of annual change in carbon stocks held in forest biomass Forests and vegetation play a major role in removing CO2 from the atmosphere. The Biomass Carbon Monitor, just launched, is the first geospatial platform to provide information about regional biomass carbon changes, which can be used as to track net gains and losses …

How is the geospatial industry evolving in today’s turbulent times? What are the trends and developments in the sector, and where is the business heading? Read the findings from GIM International’s recent annual industry survey for the answers to these and other questions. And needless to say, there is much more to discover in the latest edition of GIM International’s …

Scion data scientists working with remote sensing experts Indufor have developed a new commercial service to monitor forest establishment and indigenous forest fragments. New Zealand will need to plant forests at unprecedented rates for decades to come if the country wishes to achieve its carbon neutrality goals and develop a renewable and sustainable bioeconomy. Successful establishment of newly planted trees …

The latest episode of FWPA’s WoodChat series of podcasts takes a deep dive into some exciting Australian projects focused on the fusion of forestry and technology to help shape and strengthen the forests of the future. Listeners are invited to discover how scientists are working to make smarter, healthier and more productive forests, utilising everything from Artificial Intelligence (AI) to …

It was quite a fitting week with the Australasian forestry industry celebrating 15 years of ForestTECH, Australasia’s premier annual forest technology conference running on 23-24 February – an event that has enabled and empowered our industry with game changing technology – to officially launch the new Tools for Foresters website. It was launched as part of the Remote Sensing Cluster …

This ABARES Position Paper identifies drivers for change in the mechanism of forest reporting through Australia’s State of the Forests Report (SOFR), including increasing user expectations for access to current forest data, and access to information and analysis in digital, online formats. Three major options are then presented to respond to these drivers: status-quo five-yearly reporting; online-only five-yearly reporting; and …

When I registered the company name Australian UAV in early 2103 the landscape for drone technology was very different to that that we work in today. There were 35 ReOC holders in Australia (at time of writing this article there are now 2437). To become an operator, you needed to complete and pass the private pilot’s licence exam and CASA …

Otago forestry workers are using new radio technology to manage 23,730 hectares of forest more safely, even enabling them to perform under Covid-19 restrictions. Initially deployed to replace an outdated analogue radio network, the system delivers many additional benefits for forestry company, City Forests. Among those benefits are contact-free communication and social distancing in the field, replacing the news for …

Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is increasingly being fused with air/spaceborne Lidar to characterise vegetation structure across a range of forest ecosystems. This article explores the potential of this approach to support scaling up for larger areas in practice. TLS is an important tool for plot-scale measurements of tree and forest structure. These local measurements are meaningful to support the quantification …

Mapping the world’s carbon stores is essential for taking stock of the climate crisis. It informs our climate solutions, the emissions targets’ that countries set and so – it goes without saying – the figures need to be as accurate as possible. It’s not an easy picture to take, however. Humans are constantly upsetting the amount of carbon in forests, …

Media Release [21 Dec 2021]: Kea Aerospace Achieves Longest Endurance UAV Flight In New Zealand On Sunday 19th December Kea Aerospace has recorded the longest known flight for an unmanned aircraft in New Zealand, in an electric-powered flight above Kaitōrete, near Christchurch. The battery and solar-powered vehicle flew non-stop for 14 hours and 3 minutes, beating the previous record of …

Tuesday marked the official launch of a new, innovative farm forestry program, Decision Tree, in Bunbury, Western Australia. Decision Tree has been designed to rapidly assess the suitability of farms for plantation forestry, as well as provide information and assistance to landowners seeking to plant trees. Through Decision Tree’s unique assessment tool, farmers or landowners simply add in a few …

Last year we detailed a forest canopy sampling tool that was developed by a Canadian company, DeLeaves and is being used operationally, principally in North America and Europe. Suspended under an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the sampling tool is self-powered, equipped with an HD camera, and has two robotic arms there to grab and cut foliage samples from trees. As …

Australia’s national science agency CSIRO and the NSW Rural Fire Service have released Australia’s most advanced model for predicting the speed and behaviour of eucalypt forest fires, helping to save lives and property during bushfires. Eucalypts make up more than 70 per cent of Australia’s forests and some of Australia’s most extreme fire events, such as the 2009 Black Saturday …