Tech-driven planting and silvicultureFriday 26 Jul 2024
The annual end-of-year forest technology series every year, continues to draw in foresters, resource managers and forest contractors from across Australasia. Over the last few years, well over 300 delegates have been involved. As evidenced by recent growth and turnouts of delegates, both live and virtual, from over 15 counties, it has a well- deserved and now truly international standing amongst the global forest community. As well as the integration of remote sensing, forest data capture and inventory management technologies into forest operations, machine automation is increasingly being integrated into silvicultural operations so new innovations around tree crop management, automated silviculture (including mechanised planting, thinning and pruning operations) and forest establishment are being built into the November series. The economics in New Zealand are now starting to stack up for mechanised or automated operations for both planting and silviculture. The technology addresses the growing issue of labour shortages being faced by forest companies over the planting season and with thinning and pruning operations. As well as New Zealand and Australia, mechanised planting is already successfully being used across Scandinavia, Brazil, Chile, the USA and Canada. As detailed at recent ForestTECH events by forest companies and planting contractors, operational trials have successfully been undertaken with commercial planting already underway in New Zealand in the central North Island (CNI), Hawkes Bay and top of the South Island, and in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and Western Australia in Australia. At this year’s ForestTECH 2024 event, presentations around mechanised planting and automated silviculture include; 1. Taking the M-Planter South. Mechanised planting operations in forest sites of up to 30 degrees. How’s it performed outside the central North Island, NZ? 2. Leveraging the Experience of Mechanised Forest Harvesting and Technologies Developed for Agriculture into Forest Silviculture. Trials and early results from Brazilian forests for John Deere’s new mechanised planter. 3. Commercial Trials of Mechanised Planting Operations. Lessons from the first planting season in Queensland forests (Araucaria & Southern Pine). 4. Autonomous Tree Planting. Technology developments and trial results with the new Swedish BraSatt soil preparation and planting machine 5. Mechanisation of Pruning Operations. Insights into the latest automated tree pruning developments from European equipment and technology providers ForestTECH 2024 we’ll be bringing the local industry some truly innovative approaches that have been or are being developed from technology providers and users from across New Zealand, Australia, Finland, Sweden, USA, Canada and South Africa. Full details on the programme can be found on the event website, www.foresttech.events Image credit: HQPlantations 
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