ForestTECH is back after a Covid-enforced delay, with events scheduled for both Australia and New Zealand. The conferences will be held in Rotorua on 15-16 November with the Melbourne event on 22-23 November. Source: Timberbiz
For 15 years, it’s been the one forest technology event every year that’s run in both New Zealand and Australia. For the last few years, foresters from 15-20 different countries have also been participating.
Since 2020, the cross over between new data collection technologies for forest estate reporting and operational planning and precision forestry innovations around forest establishment and tree crop management have meant that these two major themes have been combined into the one single event.
Overwhelmingly, feedback from delegates attending ForestTECH 2020 and ForestTECH 2021-22 have told us to stay with the same two themes for the region’s next technology update, ForestTECH 2022.
With key players across Australasia, North and South America and Europe, the ForestTECH 2022 program has been designed and posted onto the event website.
For the first time in three years in Australia, and two years in New Zealand, the plan is to get the ForestTECH communities together in person in both countries as well as setting up virtual opportunities for the growing number of international foresters, forest managers and tree establishment and silvicultural operators that link in each year.
Again, the very latest developments around remote sensing, data capture, forest inventory, tree establishment, automated silviculture and mechanised planting will form the basis of this year’s technology update – as well as research and trial results, new and developing technologies and key lessons from industry on the integration of this new technology into forest operations. Some key presentations include;
- Trial results and key lessons from 2022 commercial mechanised planting operations with pine and eucalypts in Australia
- Results from 2022 trials using hydrogels at the time of planting to extend the planting season
- Insights into how mechanised planting machines are being employed across steeper slopes in South America. After developing and improving the equipment in Brazilian conditions in eucalyptus forests, a fleet of mechanised planters are expected to be operational this year
- How GPS planting spades being used commercially this year have performed
- New Scandinavian mechanised planting systems being used in Sweden and North America
- Innovations in GNSS. Recent advances in satellite-based corrections to assist in field mapping, data capture and activity reporting
- Commercial use of hyperspectral imagery (SWIR and NIR) in Forestal Arauco Chilean forests and nursery operations
Full details on the program for ForestTECH 2022 can be now found on the event website https://foresttech.events/ft22/
