Main Theme
Sub-theme: Fast fashion; Sustainable business models, Circular economy
Abstract
Throughout the exponential rise of humanity, humans have relied on wood for construction and energy. Valued as a sustainable and versatile product and for its carbon storing properties, the demand for wood is expected to rise. With the rising demand for wood, a major challenge is to make forestry more sustainable and update age old forestry practices that do not meet today’s demands.
For decades, forest areas have been chopped only to find that the timber yield wasn’t high enough. Forest measurement techniques, which have seen little to no change in over a century, rely on basic and labour-intensive measurements of forest area and tree size, but this does not give a clear estimation of timber yield.
Treemetrics has built a system to map the forest areas. Using a sophisticated laser-scanning technique, Treemetrics can easily measure the volume of a stand, but can also accurately assess tree form, taper, and stem straightness, which traditionally could only be established after cutting down the tree. In addition to replacing the manual measuring methods, Treemetrics helps forest managers create forest management plans, optimize forestry activities and communicate with workers on the ground. Forest managers can also find buyers for their timber on Treemetrics’ marketplace that focuses on transparency and fair deals for both buyers and sellers.
Sustainable Development Goals Chart
Main Highlights
- According to the United Nations, the demand for forestry products is predicted to double by 2040. But forestry practices for measuring yield are currently outdated, labour-intensive and unsustainable.
- Treemetrics Ltd. was founded in 2005 by Enda Keane (CEO) and Garret Mullooly (COO) to fix this gap in forestry practices by introducing technology. The founders build on their 10+ years of experience in forest management and harvesting field to successfully integrate new technology into forestry practices in a user-friendly manner, which otherwise may not have been accepted by foresters.
- Treemetrics makes use of satellite imagery with aerial and terrestrial laser-scanning technology to replace the traditional forestry methods and calculate forest inventory in seconds.
- Its Forest HQ platform is divided into three modules: manage, measure and harvest.
- Manage – Forest HQ helps foresters efficiently plan and control the operation from one central platform which integrates all the LiDAR, drone, satellite imagery and GIS data collected.
- Measure – The new technology provides greater efficiency and precision for inventory planning, data collection, analysis and reporting.
- Harvest – Forest managers can monitor harvest operations and wood flow in real-time over multiple locations to improve log yield and profits, reduce costs and improve customer service.
- Through the use of satellite technology, mobile application and artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse forest data and practice a more precise and efficient forestry management, Treemetrics optimises the value of wood production. This reduces the number of trees required to be cut down.
Treemetrics has also created Forest Bidder – a marketplace where foresters can sell their timber and other forest products more efficiently. The marketplace focuses on transparency in auctions to benefit both buyers and seller, and to meet the growing demand for sustainably sourced forest-based products.
Case Overview
In humanity’s quest to evolve and grow, we have tied our destiny to that of the forests. Wood is the most versatile material on the planet. From being humankind’s first source of energy to its current uses in construction, furniture, arts and more, it is believed that wood will play a greater part in a sustainable future, including new applications like textile and phytofuels. However, wood production and harvesting is not sustainable using current methods.
Wood production in forests is an industrialized process with various forest management practices applied for maximum yield production. Despite dealing with a natural product, the production methods do not work with nature as fast grown trees are believed to yield a poorer quality timber and a weaker forest ecosystem. Another major weakness in the value chain is harvesting. The yield of a woodland is determined by its area, the species planted, site conditions, rotation length and silvicultural system. As the forest grows and closes canopy, it is nearly impossible to maintain a picture of a productive area, and forest managers can only make an informed guess regarding the percentage of forest area that is unproductive.
Image: Unsustainable forestry activities harm people, wildlife and the global climate
Further compounding the problem is the outdated and labor-intensive method for measuring tree biomass. The method relies on a girthing tape to measure the diameter at breast height, a hypsometer to measure tree height and, in recent times has used electronic calipers connected to a portable computer to speed up the recording process. Since trees don’t grow in straight shapes, or at a constant rate over their lifespan, the actual timber yield is difficult to forecast and can only be discovered after a tree is harvested. This results in inadequate yields from trees that are cut down prematurely, as well as yields that are difficult to forecast before harvesting. Poor forecasting results to inefficiencies in the supply chain downstream.
Treemetrics Ltd. was founded in 2005 by Enda Keane (CEO) and Garret Mullooly (COO) to fix this gap in forestry practices by introducing technology to the industry. The founders build on their 10+ years of experience in the forest management and harvesting field to successfully integrate new technology into forestry practices in a user-friendly manner, which otherwise may not have been accepted by foresters. The software-based company makes use of satellite imagery with aerial and terrestrial laser-scanning technology to replace the traditional forestry methods which have been in place for over a hundred years. With Treemetrics, a forester can know the valuation of his/her forest before harvesting the trees and wait until the right time to harvest.
Image: Laser scanning measures and calculates the yield from a tree within seconds
To know the value of a forest, foresters create a project on Treemetrics’ Forest HQ platform and mark their forest area. The aerial scanning part of the system allows the forest manager to stratify the forest more accurately on the Forest HQ platform. Field data is fed into the system using the integrated Arboreal Forest mobile app on a mobile device that has a Lidar sensor, such as the iPhone 12. The AI eliminates branches automatically to measure tree volume as well as accurately assesses tree form, taper, and stem straightness, which could traditionally only be established after cutting down a tree. The terrestrial scanning provides stem quality data and is accompanied by GPS technology, which records the coordinates of individual trees. This ensures that the data can be verified and makes it possible to mark individual trees. Within seconds of inputting field data, the Forest HQ software calculates the forest inventory and provides forest valuation using real-time analytics.
Treemetrics adds scanners on their clients’ harvesting machinery, thereby making it possible for them to follow when and where the machines are working. Using the scanner, foresters on the ground can check tasks for the day and know exactly where to harvest or plant trees as well as mark the output for each day. The service greatly improves communication between foresters and the head office managing a forest. Treemetrics makes sure that their system is easy to use and adapts with other tools used by their clients through bespoke adjustments.
Image: Treemetrics software links multiple devices for different services
Beyond measurement and valuation, Treemetrics helps foresters create management plans for their forests, including scheduling and optimization of everyday activities, management and reporting of output and forest certification.
For the sustainably managed product, Treemetrics has also created Forest Bidder – a marketplace where foresters can sell their timber and other forest products more efficiently. The marketplace focuses on transparency in auctions to benefit both buyers and seller, and to meet the growing demand for sustainably sourced forest-based products.
Image: Treemetrics services for forest managers
Impact Statement
Treemetrics solution is built with an in-depth knowledge of forestry systems owing to its founders’ backgrounds in forestry. It has successfully integrated the use of technology in an otherwise old-fashioned industry to improve efficiencies. It is currently used in 16 countries around the world.
Treemetrics’ Forest HQ combines technologies like mobile applications, remote sensing, intelligent data mining and satellite communications technologies into a sophisticated software system to deliver accurate forest appraisals and live harvest control. It facilitates interventions in three domains: measure, manage and harvest. By using satellite technology, mobile application and artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse forest data, it provides advice for more precise and efficient forestry management and optimises the value of wood production. This reduces the number of trees required to be cut down as each tree can be harvested in its peak stage, and thereby helps preserve the environment and natural resources.
Systems Perspective
Treemetrics’ mission is “to create new technology to preserve the environment and ensure sustainable use of the natural resources”. Through their technology, Treemetrics enables forest managers to create accurate forest appraisals, plan harvesting activities for maximum yield, and certify their products. According to the United Nations, demand for wood could double by 2040, and saving trees from being cut down pre-maturely directly benefits the environment.
Forestry is a growing business in Ireland. By creating a simpler way to evaluate forest areas and mark productive areas in a forest, Treemetrics is able to boost the industry further. A side-effect of this may be that less productive forest areas can be made available for wildlife or other developments to promote sustainability.
Already by logging forestry activities, Treemetrics is paving a way to eliminating illegal forestry which harms nature and society even more. Together with its certification services and marketplace, it attracts buyers who want to buy sustainably sourced forestry products.
Treemetrics’ focus seems to be on creating a profitable industry for foresters. Sustainably managed forests provide various socio-economic benefits as they enhance livelihoods, help act as a source for clean air and water, conserve biodiversity and act as a response in the climate change fight. Treemetrics supports certain aspects of sustainable forestry through minimizing wasted trees and by creating jobs locally in Ireland. However, it currently does not include features to help the health of a forest or that of its wildlife, though one may hope these features would be added to the list soon.
Links and Contact Information
Treemetrics webpage – https://www.treemetrics.com/about/about-us/
Treemetrics Vimeo page – https://vimeo.com/user67438068
Founders:
Enda Keane (CEO) – https://ie.linkedin.com/in/endakeane
Garret Mullooly (COO) – https://ie.linkedin.com/in/garretmullooly
Case by: 4Revs Researcher Dr. Puja Thiel | February 2022
