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Pilots

Forest Flux services were demonstrated within Pilots at an operational scale in the real operation environment of the selected core users . These users, who represent different sectors from private enterprises to non-commercial or governmental bodies, provided valuable feedback on the quality and utility of the products created by Forest Flux consortium.

Approximate locations of the Forest Flux pilot areas.

Examples from the Romanian pilot cases – users Forest District Renasterea Padurii and Forest District Sfanta Maria

False color composite of Sentinel-2 satellita data from a pilot site in Romania. Size of the image area is 7 km by 7 km.
Growing stock volume estimated using Sentinel-2 satellite data and reference data on forest variables.
Net primary production 2019 computed using carbon flux models, satellite based forest variable estimates and weather data.

Examples from the Finnish pilot cases – users Tornator Oy and ICOS Finland


Examples from forest inventory service in the Pilot site in Northern Karelia in Finland. Layer visibility can be changed from the upper right corner of the window. Training and test plots are based on sample plot data of Finnish Forest Centre.

Net ecosystem exchange in 2020 in the pilot site in Northern Karelia, Finland. The darker the green color the higher the absorption of carbon from the atmosphere. Red color indicates carbon release. The size of the area is approximately 20 km by 23 km.
True color composite of the Sentinel-2 data from year 2020 from the same area as the net ecosystem exchange on left.


Examples from forest inventory service in the Pilot site in in South-Western Finland. Layer visibility can be changed from the upper right corner of the window

Examples from the German pilot case – user FVS (Forstwirtschaftliche Vereinigung Schwarzwald eG)

False color composite of Sentinel-2 satellite data from Southern Germany acquired 18.8.2019. Size of the area is approximately 2 km by 2 km.
False color composite of Sentinel-2 satellite data from Southern Germany acquired 7.8.2020.
Intermediate product of change analysis chain: change magnitude for the areas where change type indicates biomass decrease. The analysis has been made to Sentinel-2 images from 18.8.2019 and 7.8.2020. Green color means low change magnitude, yellow color intermediate and red color high change magnitude.
Detected changes whose area exceeds 0.5 ha have been marked with orange color.

Examples from the pilot case in Madagascar – user Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

The “Great Island” Madagascar in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The Ambilobe district, where the GIZ performs reforestation activities, is highlighted with an orange outline in the northern part of Madagascar.
The Forest Flux pilot focused on two sites, each around 100 km² (10.000 ha) in Ambilobe. For these sites the project purchased high-resolution images allowing to track recent reforestation with low canopy cover.
Pan-sharpened color infrared images from Worldview-2 (left) and the resulting remotely sensed tree cover map of the same site as the main ForestFlux product (right). Blue lines show the stand boundaries.

Examples from the pilot cases in Portugal – ALTRI Florestal S.A. and União da Floresta Mediterrânica (UNAC)

Examples of products computed using very high resolution satellite imagery. On the upper left false color composite of GeoEye-1 image acquired 30.6.2020, on the upper right crown cover estimate computed using the image, on the lower left above ground biomass and the on the lower right computed net primary production. Darker color indicates higher value of the estimate. The size of the area is approximately 800 m by 850 m.
Examples of forest inventory service products computed using Sentinel-2 imagery in Portugal. On the upper left true color composite of Sentinel-2 imnage from 9.7.2016, on the upper right stem diameter estimate, on the the lower left basal area estimate and on the lower right Deimos very high resolution image from 12.8.2019. The size of the area is approximately 1050 m 1250 m.

Examples from the pilot case in Paraguay – user PAYCO (Paraguay Agricultural Corporation S.A.)


Tornator is a leading company specialised in sustainable forest management in Europe. Tornator owns forests in Finland, Estonia and Romania. Tornator’s core business is wood production and the sale of cutting rights. In addition, Tornator sells high-quality waterfront plots and soil resources, and lease rights of access to its land. Tornator also buys forestland near the current holdings.


PAYCO – Paraguay Agricultural Corporation S.A. is a company with operations in Paraguay, dedicated to agriculture, livestock, livestock and forestry production as well as to the conservation. PAYCO and UNIQUE WOOD S.A. are managing of over 5,000 ha of natural forest and nearly 6,000 ha of plantations in four estancias concentrated in the province of San Pedro in eastern Paraguay. The plantation forestry is partly managed as silvopastoral system. The production is targeting on technical timber and biomass. The annual area of afforestation is about 2.000 to 2.500 ha and the enterprise shall be developed to reach 25.000 to 30.000 ha of forests in 2025.

 


FVS (Forstwirtschaftliche Vereinigung Schwarzwald eG) is the largest private and municipal forestry association in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, with more than 40 forestry cooperatives and larger individual forest enterprises (80% private, 20% communal) and a total of 3,700 forest owners with a forest area of 76,000 ha. It markets almost 300,000 m³ of round timber on behalf of forest owners every year. FVS eG offers a full set of services for its associates like – sustainable forest management, – wood and timber marketing, – harvesting, – Energy and firewood supply and – forest market information.

 

ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System) is a European Research Infrastructure for quantifying and understanding the greenhouse gas emissions and sinks. ICOS Research Infrastructure consists of national measurement networks which are run and funded by national institutes, universities and funding agencies in ICOS member countries, including ICOS Finland.
The ICOS network is using established routines and protocols for observations, and it produces long-term, continuous and high quality data for needs of research on climate change and biogeochemical cycles. All data produced within ICOS is quality controlled and will be freely, openly and easily available.
ICOS Finland consists of 13 measurement stations, of which 11 are labelled as official ICOS stations at the moment. Research teams of the ICOS Finland organisations have leading and active role in many subfields in atmospheric and Earth system research.


Altri Florestal is a private company within ALTRI group – a pulp producer company with Portuguese shareholder base. The mission of Altri Florestal is to ensure continuous supply of quality wood and biomass, at competitive prices, to tree ALTRI mills (Celbi, Caima and Celtejo) and four energy plants. It is responsible for the management of approximately 80,000 hectares of certified forests (FSC and PEFC). Altri Florestal was formally founded in 1966, however was renamed in 2009, some years after the merge between the former Silvicaima and Celbi’s Forest Department, as consequence of its new identity. The company has more than 50 years’ experience of applied forest R&D focusing on eucalyptus plantations in various fields: 1- General forest management; 2- Fertilization and nutrition; 3- Forest protection; 4- Biometrics and growth modeling; 5- Genetic improvement; 6-Conservation.


UNAC is a private NGO representing the interests of the forest owners in the Portuguese Mediterranean area, near national and European institutions. UNAC has currently 6 member organizations, an intervention area of 2 million ha, representing an agro-forestry area of 700.000 ha. UNAC’s activities and expertise are very wide: technical and political action; technical assistance to member organizations; coordination and development of projects; research, innovation and knowledge transfer; communication & public awareness. UNAC works towards a differential and proactive attitude, developing innovative initiatives with the sole objective of increasing the recognition and resilience of Mediterranean forest areas, namely with the cork oak and stone pine value chains, that are our members core business. We are deeply involved in the Portuguese competence centers of Cork Oak and Stone Pine and in some Operational Groups under the EIP.


Renasterea Padurii Forest District is a private forest district founded in 2009. It is located in south-western Romania, and manages a forest area of 14.220 ha belonging to 12,277 small forest owners. It markets almost 24,000 m³ per year, from which 15.000 m³ per year as fuel wood for local consumption, on behalf of forest owners. Renasterea Padurii FD currently employs 44 staff members which administrates forests and advices forest owners, aiming at optimizing the commercialization of forest products. Renasterea Padurii FD offers a full set of services for forest owners, such as wood and timber marketing, firewood supply, and forest market information.


Sfanta Maria Forest District is a private forest district founded in 2018. It is located in western Romania, and it manages a forest area of 11.620 ha belonging to 6 forest owners. It markets almost 41,000 m³ per year as round timber and fuelwood, on behalf of forest owners. Sfanta Maria FD currently employs 21 staff members which administrate forests and advice forest owners, aiming at sustainable forest management and optimizing the marketing of forest products. FD Sfanta Maria offers a full set of services for forest owners, such as wood and timber marketing, firewood supply, and forest market information.

Forest Flux project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 821860.