The right digitalisation for forestry

In autumn, the DLG-Waldtage will take place in Lichtenau/Westphalia for the fifth time. From 12-14 September, private forest owners in particular will be able to find out about the latest developments and advances in forest management. The main focus of interest will often be on working machines: How can we harvest timber as efficiently as possible, or - if we are dealing with damaged areas - how can we get the plants in the ground and the fence built around them as quickly as possible?

However, a rapidly growing number of exhibitors are now offering digital products. This raises the question: Who benefits from them? Does it really make work faster and better? On the other hand, aren't forests and nature far too complex to be mapped with any kind of programme?

If you ask the providers of digital solutions, you often hear: only with IT can we achieve significant improvements in the future. This is also relatively easy to understand: For example, almost all forestry issues have something to do with localisation. Where is the boundary of the property? Where are the beetle trees? On which logging roads is the machine allowed to drive?  Where is the timber pile for removal? Where should the fence run? How many trees were planted in which area for the subsidy application? All these questions can be answered much better with digital geoinformation systems than with old-fashioned paper maps. If ecosystem services are to be financially rewarded to a greater extent in the future, there are other issues to consider: Where are the habitat trees, for example? The list could be extended almost indefinitely.

Until recently, the creation of such electronic maps involved a great deal of technical effort. However, the basic information available free of charge from the surveying offices is now very detailed. The basic digitisation of forest areas is also no longer extremely costly. The forestry survey can be realised very cost-effectively with current laser scanning systems, thus laying the foundation for a modern forest management system. At the DLG-Waldtage, you can find several providers of apps that are also interesting for small private forests or small forestry companies with just a few employees. You can easily create or add your own content using your smartphone and its built-in GNSS receiver.
 

Flexible, up-to-the-minute planning thanks to smartphones & co.

The larger the forestry operation becomes, the more extensive the necessary decisions are. This begins with the annual business plan and does not end with the ten-year forestry organisation. Previously recorded in long lists and thick books that were out of date after a very short time, digitalisation clearly contributes to rationalisation here. The level of an app on a mobile phone is quickly abandoned. Several people can access the so-called platform management systems synchronously. For example, the forest owner wants to create a specific work order for the contractor based on the planning. Ideally, the logging (or documentation of another forestry measure) is also carried out digitally, can be billed directly in the system and the results are linked back to the planning level.

If the forwarder pilot knows the assortments in the individual logging lanes, he can optimise his routes. Finally, if the geo-position of the timber piles with the number of pieces and mass are sent to the timber customer and the forwarder without major system breaks, we have gained a lot. All of this can be realised today with reasonable effort.

The efficiency gains are high and not only that. Effects on the workplace - improved ergonomics, reduced consumption of operating materials (CO₂) or soil protection by reducing the number of passes by machines (ecology / soil protection) are a given and increase the acceptance of mechanised machine processes.
 

A question of precision

Forestry associations and entrepreneurs working in small private forests still face particular challenges here. However, modern satellite technology is now so precise that each individual tree can be assigned to a specific plot number and thus to its owner immediately after felling. This makes collective felling much easier.

Inventory methods are also becoming increasingly sophisticated. Geodata acquisition with a correction signal provides positions accurate to the centimetre and laser scanners measure the trees. The resulting ‘digital twin’ of the forest stands can be used to calculate models for future development. This sounds abstract, but in concrete terms it means that expected timber utilisation or possible compensation payments for CO₂ storage can be predicted depending on the silvicultural treatment.
 

Smart forest management

In our daily lives, we are used to surrounding ourselves with more and more ‘smart’ technology, from the mobile phone that shows us the quickest route through the congested city as a matter of course, to the lock on the front door that shows us whether it really is the neighbour ringing the doorbell and feeding the dog in our absence. We use all of this as a matter of course because it makes our lives easier. In forest management, there is often still a fear of contact. The reason for this is no longer so tangible, because the benefits are there in every case, regardless of whether it is primarily about continuous timber production, climate protection measures or biodiversity projects. We should also have more confidence in digitalisation in this sector. In any case, it is already affordable today.