Forest management

Mechanized Harvesting in Hesse’s ONEforest pilot  

The University of Freiburg, together with Hessen Forst and Forstbetrieb Kaffenberger, conducted a field study in Hesse, one of the designated Case Study Regions under the ONEforest initiative. The focal point of the research was the forest district Homberg, home to a 95-year-old woodland predominantly featuring European beech (Fagus silvatica). This ancient stand also boasted a diverse mix of ash (Fraxinus excelsior), oak (Quercus spp.), sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus), European larch (Larix decidua), and spruce (Picea abies).

Survey on Battery-Powered Chainsaw Usage in Forestry

Participate in our survey to support the Oneforest project's research on the use of battery-powered chainsaws in forestry. Your insights will help us gain a deeper understanding of the motivations behind their use, or lack thereof, and drive advancements in this field. The survey is active from October to November 2023 and seeks participation from Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and Estonia.

Survey Goals:

1. Understand the reasons behind the choice to use or not use battery-powered chainsaws.

2. Identify specific applications in forestry where battery-powered chainsaws excel or face challenges, considering factors like tree species, BHD (tree diameter), terrain conditions, and more.

Forest Management in the Digital Age: Insights from the Forestry Study Days

The Forestry Study Days: Forest management models and the digital future of forestry which took place between September 28 and 29, served as a pivotal platform for the University of Ljubljana's presentation of ONEforest, a groundbreaking initiative. Focused on forest management models and the digital future of forestry, this event underscored the promising advancements in the field.

Status of the Multi-Criteria Decision Support System

ONEforest is developing a Multi-Criteria Decision Support System (MCDSS) based on methods from operations research, for direct and immediate use by stakeholders.

Ljubljana hosted the ONEforest General Assembly Meeting

Between 26 – 28 September the ONEforest consortium celebrated its second General Assembly Meeting of 2022 in Ljubljana, hosted by the University of Ljubljana - Biotechnical Faculty, to discuss the progress and developments carried out so far.  

After 16 months into the project, partners were happy to finally meet all in person and have a general overview of the work carried out so far and jointly discuss the challenges and improvements needed in some issues. Given that the project faces its first reporting period in December, this meeting was key to justifying that ONEforest is on the right track to achieve the defined impacts.

PhDs from Trento presented their first research on ONEforest 

On 13 June, Alessandro Sorze, PhDs student at the Laboratory of the Department of Industrial Engineering (University of Trento), presented their research on the ONEforest project at the event “PHDII – let’s restart together”, organized by this department. The University of Trento is a partner of the consortium of the ONEforest project.

The PhDs presented their work focused on top-soil cover (TSC) and ground-soil cover(GSC) engineering and planting. They are developing GSC based on biopolymer Xanthan gum (X) dissolved in water and mixed with wood fibers (W) and TSC based on xanthan gum, crosslinked with citric acid and wood fibers.

First milestones in the development of the decision support system

Initial progress was made in the development of the targeted Within the Multi-Criteria Decision Support System (MCDSS). In an exchange with the project partners, a basic mathematical model could be agreed upon.

ONEforest presented in the annual Estonian forestry conference

On 26 November, the Estonian University of Life Sciences organised a conference "From Forest Science to Practice" dedicated to the 100th birthday of Järvselja Study and Experimental Forest, and ONEforest project was presented.

The annual Estonian forestry conference is very popular because it deals with current problems and give overwiew about new developments in Estonian forestry.