Digital green world

“We can do forests” with drones, AI and genetics

It's not just holidaymakers in Styria who value the forest as a source of energy and a haven of peace - we locals do too(Bild: Steiermark Tourismus / Martina Haselwander)

The forest is primarily a home for wild animals, but it also has many other tasks. The new digital world is playing an increasingly important role: drones, artificial intelligence and genetics are finding their way into Styrian forests.

Forest Week is coming up - an opportunity to focus on our important supplier of raw materials! From "just" a habitat for forest animals, it has to make the transition to a supplier of raw materials, a recreational area for everyone, a climate protector and a workplace for 40,000 Styrians. Each individual area presents challenges "that must be met with foresight", says forest owner Franz Mayr-Melnhof.

State master hunter Franz Mayr-Melnhof-Saurau, State Councillor for Agriculture Simone Schmiedtbauer, Chairman Dr. Peter Mayer, drone expert Andreas Reiterer, DI Norbert Seidl(Bild: Sepp Pail)

Innovations make you sit up and take notice. Drones are now being used to scan impassable areas after snowfalls and analyze damage. Using thermal imaging cameras, they save the lives of fawns that would otherwise be horribly slaughtered by mowing machines.

However, (digital) innovations also make it possible to plan the optimal stand with just a few clicks using the "traffic light", to carry out typifications and to forecast what a forest will look like in 50 or 100 years with different plantings. VR glasses can also be used to train forestry work.

Forest facts

• With 1.014 million hectares, Styria is the most densely forested federal state in Austria
• 61.8 percent of the land area is covered by trees
• 5.4 million cubic meters of wood are harvested every year
• Wood for an entire house grows back in four minutes
• 99 percent of the forest is accessible to the public
• June 12 is the big forest festival on Graz's main square

Genetics is also playing an increasingly important role: seed exchange is taking place with countries where it is even hotter and spruce trees still grow.

Wood is also an important building material: "We don't extract more than grows back," emphasizes Provincial Councillor Simone Schmiedtbauer. She wants to push the wood hype even further: "The proportion in buildings should exceed the 30 percent mark!"