Rescuing the forest with AI

Reforestation with drones – researchers from the Institute for Technology, Resource and Energy-efficient Engineering (TREE) develop reliable methods

Heat, drought, storms, wildfires and bark beetles – our forests are acutely threatened by many dangers. According to the federal government’s Forest Status Report, only every fifth tree examined in Germany is still healthy. Counteracting forest dieback would mean reforesting an area larger than the Saarland. But skilled personnel for this task are lacking. A fast, reliable and cost-effective solution is offered by the Garrulus research project at TREE, led by Professor Alexander Asteroth.

Comprehensive analysis

Garrulus is the Latin name for the Eurasian jay, which contributes to reforestation through its natural behaviour. In autumn, a jay hides up to 5,000 acorns in the forest, but also loses some along the way or fails to rediscover some of its hidden stores later on. In a best-case scenario, this leads to the growth of new oak trees. “We imitate the bird’s behaviour with the technology we have developed but drop the seeds in a more targeted manner,” explains Asteroth, a computer scientist. This is because only fertile forest soil is suitable for sowing.

To locate such fertile soil, a drone with several cameras (RGB, thermal, multispectral), as well as light and distance sensors, flies over the area first. “The next step is to comprehensively analyse and quantify the data collected,” clarifies Ahmad Drak, a doctoral student involved in the project. Specially developed machine learning and computer vision algorithms are used for the data analysis. “This allows us to assess the composition of the soils and prevents us from wasting expensive seeds on infertile ground,” says Drak.

Efficient sowing

A drone with a 2.6-metre wingspan is used for precise direct sowing. “The sowing method we have developed is a combination of technology, software, AI and a free-moving mobile drone as well as a special sowing technique,” reports Asteroth. Discussions on how the prototype can best be implemented are currently taking place with the project partner Landesbetrieb Wald und Holz NRW. The long-term goal is a sowing method that places the seeds so deeply into the ground that they are directly above the fertile mineral soil. The Garrulus project is funded by the Ministry of the Environment of North Rhine-Westphalia.

More: ȹ www.h-brs.de/en/garrulus ȹ www.innovationmall.de/showroom-tree/

In TREE’s new virtual showroom, interested visitors can find detailed and descriptive information about the project. They digitally step out of a building and onto a cleared area in the middle of the forest where a drone is hovering. Embedded videos and information boards await them there.