Against the background of climate change and the drastic effects on the alpine protection forest, the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, the Federal Research Center for Forests (BFW) and the Austrian Federal Forests AG (ÖBf) are developing innovative laser scanning and data interpretation methods on behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management in order to assess the condition of the forest more quickly and accurately. ORF covered our research project in Mayrs Magazin - Wissen für alle on 28.06.2024 (German only).
Intensive forest monitoring
The current monitoring of forest condition and health is carried out manually and is resource intensive. It checks whether the trees are healthy and whether enough there is enough regrowth of young plants. Surveys are carried out at intervals of up to 10 years. It is particularly difficult to record the tree population in remote forest areas that are difficult or impossible to access on foot, which means that often only estimates are possible, especially in protection forests. In the light of the effects of climate change, in particular in the alpine forest, rapid and precise monitoring of the forest is required in order to derive appropriate measures for operational control and sustainable management. This is why the partners in the “Entwicklung Innovativer Digitaler Forstdienstleistungen” project (Development of Innovative Digital Forest Services) have joined forces for a three-year research cooperation.
Project EIDF aims for a precise, fast and large-scale forest inventory
Objectives of the EIDF project
- Drone-based data collection: Development of an airborne sensor platform for LiDAR-based, digital recording of the forest structure.
- Automated analysis: Use of AI-based methods for fully automated analysis of the collected data
- Increased efficiency and accuracy: Improved data collection and analysis frequency, even in inaccessible terrain, with higher qualitative and quantitative accuracy compared to manual methods.
Digital twin for precise reproduction of the forest structure
The Unit for Assistive & Autonomous Systems of AIT’s Center for Vision, Automation & Control - is using its extensive experience in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles and sensor technology to develop a powerful, hybrid flight platform. This drone carries a multi-target laser scanner (LiDAR), which is particularly useful due to its full waveform property enabling easier penetration of forest layers. This creates an accurate virtual model of the forest.
An AI-based analysis method processes the collected data to derive forest structural parameters. The focus is on recognizing the forest regeneration and rejuvenation layer, which - if present - ensures the protective function of the forest in the future. The results are validated by terrestrial, small-scale scan data, which can fully record small trees in the lowest forest layers. This allows for verifying the reliability of the AI-based method, which processes large-scale airborne laser scans. This information is seamlessly integrated into ÖBf's existing data infrastructures and enables the digital and automated recording and description of forest conditions for improved operational control and sustainable management in times of climate change.
Maintaining the protective function of the forest and the forest as a recreational area
The new drone-based technology will not only be made available to ÖBf but also to private forest owners as well as municipalities and regional governments for sustainable forest management. The EIDF project is an important step for the further development of digital forestry services and demonstrates the innovative strength of the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology for the preservation and protection of the forest as a recreational area.
Read more here:
ORF Mayrs Magazin - Wissen für alle from 28.06.2024 (german only)
AIT news article from 20.12.2023
Contact
Phillipp Fanta-Jende
Senior Scientist
Assistive & Autonomous Systems
Center for Vision, Automation & Control
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
+43 664 88390736
phillipp.fanta-jende@ait.ac.at