Inventory, monitoring

FOVEA offers an innovative all-in-one solution for digital logging of wood: With the “iFOVEA Pro” app, wooden piles of any size can be measured in a few minutes using the latest image processing technology. In addition, the forest management system (FMS) supports the inventory and logistics of wood quantities as extensive online software. The iFOVEA app provides different measurement methods depending on the requirements:

• Photo-optical measurement for plywood piles (number, solid cubic meters and cubic meters)
• Photo-optical measurement for industrial wood (outline and cubic meter)
• Photo-optical measurement for trucks (number, solid cubic meters and cubic meters)
• Data acquisition for long timber
• Manual section procedure with and without line sampling

The calculation of all measured values takes place directly on the smartphone or tablet and does not require an internet connection in the forest. With numerous configuration options, each measurement method can be individually adapted. With the Forest Management System (FMS), the measured data can be easily managed online. In addition to an extensive wood inventory, the system offers a map function and options for invoicing and automatic calculation of wood prices.

Scanner is under constant development. A measuring device, mounted at the towing hitch of a car. Sensors collect values, to assess the road quality of unpaved, single lane roads. The system consists of ultrasonic sensors to scan the cross section of a road segment, acceleration sensors to get information about the longitudinal roughness and a GPS sensor for locating the information. After data collection, an open configurable software bundle (implemented as GUI modules in iFOS) allows individual settings for the single sensor thresholds and algorithms to adopt the system to the own road maintenance concept. Mounted at the car of the forest ranger an easy and frequent data collection is possible and provides an early and objective knowledge about the constructional decline of road segments. Maintenance costs can  be reduced and reconstruction measures get execute mor accurate.  A logical data interpretation of the sensor values is possible. The assignment of the sensors towards different decay expressions on the road surface was conducted and semi- automatically related to road quality segment classification. Results show, that a single manual optical assessment of road segments miss first phases of road decay and underlines the potential of such systems. Tests and calibrations of the road-scanner allows a good data interpretation for the set task. Many degrees of freedom of the scanner and the data interpretation still leaves some open research questions.

LogBuch enables data aggregation in the forest, a simple evaluation of the data and further processing.  The combination of voice recording and Bluetooth button enables hands-free precise location of trees with simultaneous recording of important information about the tree, such as safety instructions or planning working procedures. The expected cut volume can be determined, and assortments planned. Foresters and harvester operators both receive detailed information (cross-linking with third party systems is supported). Technology: An A 2-frequency GNSS-receiver is connected to a smartphone to estimate the current position. A bluetooth button is used for language analysis. All spoken information can be recorded, automatically transcribed and classified, and the actual position lodged. WLAN is used for data exchange between smartphone, webserver and other users. Data can be exported as a map or table in georeferenced or not referenced formats (xlsx, GeoJson, shp, GPX, map). Applications: Preparation of timber harvesting, establishment of a digital "inventory", area mapping (also planting) by connecting recorded corner points, mapping of skid trails by the line function (harvest control or certification basis), remote navigation via Google Maps. In addition, recording of habitat trees etc., support for hunting organization (high seats, driven hunt stands, stalking routes etc.) and traffic safety measures.

Festmeter Wöls Ltd. offers vitality analyses with regard to bark beetle detection in coniferous forests. Using the carrier systems multicopter or light aircraft, forest plots are flown over in a grid system and aerial photographs are taken with a special camera, which are later analysed and evaluated on the computer. The technology used makes vitality restrictions visible, changes in the water content of the needles can be seen, but not the exact cause, such as the bark beetle itself. However, since image series from at least two flights at different times are compared, many other causes such as drought stress can be excluded and the bark beetle can be traced very closely.  Initial trees are identified in the analysis, while the decision on necessary measures remains with the qualified on-site staff. A 100% hit rate is impossible. The aim should be to be able to act faster and more purposefully in the field. Long-standing customers report positive hit rates of over 80%. 

Electronic timber tracking is a single electronic register of Ukrainian timber. Permanent forest users are obliged to electronically tag each log (or in case of firewood each batch) enabling to establish the legality of its harvesting, namely: description of the log, place and time, name of the team that carried out the procurement, transport document. Thus the system digitally represents the supply chain from forest to the buyer at the first processing facility. Electronic timber accounting has been implemented in Ukraine in phases since 2009, and is still running. At first the system was used only by permanent users under the State Agency of Forest Resources of Ukraine (SFRA) and since 2020 it becomes obligatory to all permanent forest users in Ukraine. 

Technology, equipment and software come from Latchbacher (AT) and are adapted to the Ukrainian conditions. For foresters, as key users, the system decreases the time to register, process and report on sales of unprocessed timber. At the same time, it is also freely accessible for the general public on the website. Anyone can track the legality of timber origin knowing the number of the tag, or invoice number, or truck license plate. As of December 2019 electronic timber tracking is carried out by 504 enterprises (incl. 297 enterprises of the SFRA). Ministries and agencies are also connected to the system for control and information exchange purposes. In total, more than 3,700 mobile users are connected.  

 The online portal is an automatic method for identifying illegally cut timber transports from Romania. The users are able to observe alerts from satellites indicating information and once every few days (between 2 and 7 days depending on the satellite) any change in the aerial image associated with the forest vegetation in Romania. The portal also accesses the SUMAL database of the Ministry of Water and Forests in real time. From this database, information is extracted to be processed in the internal system, about the enhancement documents on wood harvests, the locations from where the timber transports are loaded and the information related to these points.The permits on wood harvest became digitalized, therefore all harvesting activity can be checked by satellite monitoring while the transports must obtain a unique code before leaving the place of loading. This code is only obtained after the transport information has been entered into the system, including the location where the code was requested.
The portal, through further developments, also contains an API (set learned of rules), which allows automatic access to all information publicly presented on this portal (layers, transport coordinates and related metadata, enhancement documents, etc.), so that other interested actors can make analyzes that will lead to stopping illegal logging.