Mistra Digital Forest is a research programme that uses digitalisation to promote sustainable development in forestry.
The project do this by developing methods, models and digital tools that contribute to a digital forestry value chain that to pave the way for a circular bioeconomy.
Contact: Johan Holmgren
The aim of the project is to create a basis for decision-making in practical forest management on a European and regional level. The project is expected to contribute with knowledge in environmental monitoring of forests, guidance in forest management and also through consideration of societal perspectives in decision-making processes related to the forest.
Contact: Ruben Valbuena
Financier: EU's Horizon Europe funding programme for research and innovation
The project enhances networking activities between the Institute of Forest Ecology, Slovak Academy of Sciences (IFE SAS) and the top-class counterparts Finnish Geospatial Research Institute, The University of Eastern Finland and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The project will enhance IFE SAS staff management capacities, administrative skills and scientific capabilities in the use of novel remote sensing technologies (RST) in forest disturbance ecology (FDE).
Rigorous analyses of severe insect-induced disturbances using novel RST will be carried out in test areas representing different forest and climate types: mountain forests in Slovakia and boreal forests in Finland and Sweden. We will integrate in situ UAV and drone acquired remotely sensed data, existing multitemporal geospatial information and field data, particularly data on bark beetle population density, visible infestation symptoms linked to outbreak phases, and tree physiology parameters measured using electronic dendrometers or sapflow meters.
The combined dataset will be used to develop new tools for landscale-level early bark beetle attack identification and for designing bark beetle infestation risk assessment model. We will draw on the latest advances in drone technologies and image analytical tools, including deep Convolutional Neural Networks based machine learning techniques and Artificial Intelligence algorithms. We expect to obtain important scientific results and contribute new knowledge to this scientific field.
Contact: Langning Huo
Financier: Horizon Europe
SUPERB (Systemic solutions for upscaling of urgent ecosystem restoration for forest-related biodiversity and ecosystem services) is a €20 million project funded by the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the EU Green Deal to restore thousands of hectares of forest landscape across Europe. By linking practical and scientific knowledge to be synergistically transformed into action and building a large and powerful multi-stakeholder network, SUPERB is creating transformative change towards large-scale restoration.
Contact: Ruben Valbuena
Financier: EU's Horizon Europe funding programme for research and innovation
The National Forest Data Lab is an open platform for the entire forest sector. Businesses and public authorities are the intended main users and collaborators, however, the platform can also be used by, for example, academia, research institutes, interest groups and other interested parties. The National Forest Data Lab provides an infrastructure of digital programmable interfaces for accessing satellite data, forest related geodata, AI-methods and wall-to-wall maps. To facilitate data-driven innovation, new models, features and tools that enable analysis of changes, new wall-to-wall maps and AI analysis are being developed.
Contact: Anna-Lena Axelsson
Financier: Vinnova through Swedish Forest Agency
The Ljungberg's Laboratory is a student resource for assembling and analyse of remote sensing data, and a meeting place for students, researchers and companies.
Contact: Jonas Bohlin
Financier: Ljungbergsfonden
The aim of the project is to demonstrate and improve the effectiveness of integrative forest management to combine productive forestry and biodiversity conservation. TRANSFORMIT is coordinated by the European Forest Institute.
Contact: Ruben Valbuena
Project end date: 31 December 2027
Financier: Horizon Europe
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/transformit-project/
The primary aim of the MoniFun project is to create a blueprint for a comprehensive European Forest Multifunctionality Monitoring System (EFMMS). This system is designed to effectively tackle the challenges posed by climate change and environmental stressors, all while supporting climate action and the preservation of biodiversity. This research is essential because existing monitoring systems fall short in providing the necessary information for policymakers and stakeholders regarding Europe's multifunctional forests. The project is coordinated by Natural Resources Institute Finland.
Contact: Ruben Valbuena
Project end date: 31 December 2027
Financier: MoniFun is funded under the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under project number 101134991.
Webpage: https://www.monifun.eu/
The project mission is to boost space businesses, enhance sustainability practices, and address pressing societal challenges in Aurora Interreg region. By fostering collaboration and generating new businesses, the project are not only advancing commercial processes but also paving the way for a sustainable future.
Contact: Henrik Persson
Financier: The project is partially financed by the EU Interreg Aurora program.
Webpage: https://auroraspace.eu/
Spruce bark beetles are the most devastating infestation in Europe's forests, causing damages of SEK 7 billion annually. By harvesting and removing infested trees early (while the beetles are still in the trees), damages can be reduced and it is therefore crucial to identify infested trees early. Previous research shows that with drone imagery from multispectral cameras, twice as many trees attacked by bark beetles could be identified compared to field visits. The aim of the project is to further improve the method by using better sensors with more wavelengths. A hyperspectral camera measures a continuous spectrum that is not limited to predetermined bands. This allows us to conduct basic research on the spectral signature of trees in different conditions and specifically develop the method for early detection of spruce bark beetle attacks.
Contact: Langning Huo
Financier: Kempestiftelserna
Ongoing climate change, with warmer, drier summers, favors spruce bark beetles, reducing spruces’ defense against attacks. Early detection of stressed forests is crucial for strategic control. In this project, we will combine drone and satellite data for improved detection. This innovative approach aims to quantify forest stress and vulnerability from individual trees to landscapes. By protecting forests against biotic and abiotic damage, we support climate-resilient and sustainable forestry in Sweden and Europe.
Contact: Langning Huo
Financier: Skogssällskapet
The aim is to use a drone-based radar system paired with a ground penetrating radar for studying forest variables such as biomass, soil moisture, and deadwood. The drone system is the first three-bands drone-based radar for forest mapping. The high-quality system offers higher resolution data collection compared to satellites and with the flexible configuration we can mitigate external disturbances like weather and changes in the forest. By using a helical flight path for continuous radar measurements, even the ground can be partly penetrated to assess soil moisture and structure.
Contact: Henrik Persson
Financier: Kempestiftelserna
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.
Contact: Henrik Persson
Financier: Vinnova
The project will investigate how radar measurements from the ground, from a tower (www.borealscat.se), and from satellites can be used to understand the water exchange in the forest. The exchange happens day and night throughout the vegetation season, while measurements during the frozen winter conditions are more affected by external weather driven factors, e.g., precipitation as rain and snow, wind and low temperatures. The project is co-located with two large international infrastructures (ICOS and ACTRIS) that are used for studying the carbon cycle and changes in the atmosphere. The co-location enables excellent conditions for studies of evapotranspiration in the context of global warming and changing forest conditions. The knowledge derived through this project will support improved estimates of the forest at large scale through wall-to-wall maps.
Contact: Henrik Persson
Financier: Skogsällskapet