How technology is changing the way we manage our forests

Our world’s forests are incredibly important for our planet, collectively absorbing 15.6 billion tonnes of CO₂ each year and providing a vital landscape for many animal and plant species. So it is no surprise that as technology advances, scientists are putting a lot of focus on how it can help our woodlands.

At EcoChoice, we are big believers in prioritising sustainable forestry. To learn more about the role technology plays in that, we have taken a look at some of the coolest innovations currently making waves in the industry.

AI Is Finding Plant Partners

The life of the Encephalarto woodii (E. woodii) is currently a lonely one. Extinction in the wild has led to a last-minute attempt to propagate one of the oldest plant species in botanical gardens, which has kept the E. woodii from going the way of the dodo. Unfortunately, though, the only plants which scientists have successfully propagated are male.

To try and solve this single-gender problem, technology is being utilised. Through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and drones, the Ngoye forest (an unexplored area of land) is being thoroughly searched for signs of the female E. woodii plant.

The drones use an advanced camera which can distinguish between individual plants based on their features. The excessive number of images generated from the forest are then analysed using AI, which recognises plants by shape and uses a trained model to categorise them.

The latest updates from this year showed that only 2% of the forest has currently been searched. This will be a lengthy project, but one that could bring back E. woodii from the brink.

Collaborative Data Collection

Technology is a tool which can be used to enhance collaboration, and this is an application which is being frequently put to use in sustainable forestry.

In particular, scientists and sustainable forestry groups are calling on communities to get involved with conservation. Apps like Timby, for example, enable users to report illegal deforestation activity and send anonymous grievances, helping global monitoring systems tap into ground-level information.

Data can also be collected to monitor forest health and tree-planting schemes. TreeMapper is a great example of this technology in action, with the ability to register newly planted trees in seconds, track restoration activity and monitor ecosystem development using representative samples.

Aerial Surveys and Tech Management

More organisations are implementing technology to monitor forests visually . Mitsui, a company which owns a vast amount of forest land in Japan, uses drones and aerial photography completely to map out the forests digitally. They do not just capture the landscape from above but also the underlying geography and the species of trees in the woodland.

This has enabled better traceability of sustainable timber from their forests and made it simpler to apply for carbon credits under the Japanese government. It could also be used to track changes to the ecosystem over time, adjusting forestry practices to suit the shifting needs of the landscape.

Invest in Sustainable Forestry

To maintain timber supply while also protecting the world’s forests, we need to be prioritising sustainable timber. These technology-driven examples show how change is happening on a larger scale, but that does not mean small switches should be overlooked. You can support sustainable initiatives such as those highlighted here, and help protect the planet’s forests by choosing timber from responsibly managed woodlands.

At EcoChoice, we make this an easy switch. Start browsing our timber products, all of which come from independently accredited sustainable forests, and play your part in the bigger picture.