CAP-Forest: the connected forest

28.122018

Project completed

This project consists of developing and testing a prototype network for measuring and monitoring forest ecosystems based on a set of in situ sensors, including an on-board telecommunication system and a computer system for processing, displaying and interacting with the data.

The prototype should provide undeniable technical and economic added value in the management of forest ecosystems and the development of harvested products in the form of wood energy. This prototype will make it possible to evaluate the feasibility of production at an attractive cost for the practice and will constitute an important step in the development of a marketable solution in the long term. The massive collection of information made possible by this prototype will also be used in forestry research, particularly through statistical analysis. The results of this data analysis will, among other things, provide a better understanding of how the data collected by the sensors can be used in forestry management and exploitation practices.

The prototype will have 2 main functionalities:

To serve as a tool for observing forest ecosystems in the short, medium and long term, with a view to helping forest managers and operators by simplifying and reducing the cost of collecting information,

To provide practitioners and scientists with new information, through the length of the recording periods and the diversity of the situations considered, allowing

Monitoring the radial growth of trees in relation to silvicultural interventions and environmental conditions in order to optimise silvicultural production concepts. In concrete terms, the aim is to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of silvicultural interventions by determining in an individualised manner (i.e. for each forest ecosystem) the optimal modalities and opportune times for thinning and harvesting in order to make the most of the trees’ production potential.

A more detailed understanding of the rejuvenation ecology of forest species in relation to silvicultural interventions and their effects on the environmental conditions in the understory, in order to best ensure the establishment of quality natural rejuvenation of the desired species and thus avoid costly plantations.

Preservation of forest soils during logging operations. This topic raises the question of the right time to use machinery in the forest, in relation to the soil conditions.

The economically optimal use of wood piles on the basis of the quality required by the boiler rooms (related to the moisture content).