Drone-based forest mapping

Purpose and goal:

Drones will be used to map forests to 1) provide accurate information about aboveground biomass and stem volume, 2) explore estimation of additional aboveground variables, e.g., diameter breast height, basal area, tree height, tree species, stem quality etc., and 3) investigate the potential use of a drone-based radar system to derive belowground information. This information is crucial for efficient and precise forest planning aiming at more carbon stored in the forests, preservation of biodiversity and reduced damages to forest soil during forestry operations.

Expected results and effects:

The project will measure a number of new variables with radar that have not previously been done over areas but only at points, e.g. the thickness of the humus layer, soil bearing capacity, soil moisture, etc. The project will also provide new measurements of the trees´ internal properties above ground. In addition, the project will generate very good reference data over areas large enough to be used for training and evaluation of satellite-based solutions, which paves the way for scaling up to large areas.

Approach and implementation:

The Brazilian team will focus on mapping aboveground biomass (AGB) and exploring tree species and other variables crucial for forest planning using advanced AI techniques. Meanwhile, the Swedish team will lead efforts in mapping belowground features like stones and soil conditions to aid forest management. Swedish partners SLU and Skogforsk will support Brazilian partners in adapting AGB estimation workflows for Scandinavian forests, leveraging their expertise and data resources.