In the old days represents 30 years of work at Stora Enso in forestry and wood trade, an even number that will be reached in November this year. Moving Juha Rissanen in the forest today, but nowadays his mobile phone is an important assistant at work. It helps him check the condition of the forests on terrain maps.
"Of course, a slightly larger pad would be better. But you can see this clearly if you zoom in a little. You almost always carry your cell phone with you."
Various map-level images of forests are obtained using, for example, laser scanning, satellite and drone images, and data collected by harvesters. Artificial intelligence is used to identify anomalies in images and sensors, such as insect or storm damage. This helps to react in time and limit damage. In addition, geographic information systems that utilize artificial intelligence support planning and work documentation.
According to Rissanen, the release of forest information for service providers about ten years ago has been essential from a forestry management perspective.
Holder of accurate information
The current analysis of freely available forest data enabled by artificial intelligence is a good thing, especially because as a forest service provider he has the latest information at his disposal. It is also valuable for his customers.
"The printer's skunk is already a big problem, at least here in southeastern Finland, near the border. And the damage has spread rapidly. Did you know that you have about fifty dead trees there? No, damn it, I went there last year and there weren't any. That's pretty much how the conversation goes," Rissanen says.
At the end of June, he went to see an area with a lot of dry spruce trees.
"I talked to the forest owner about what to do now. I had visited the area about five years ago and had already suggested regeneration felling. The time was not yet ripe. Last year, there were already many more dead spruce trees in the area. The owner also now agreed that we could no longer watch that. These are difficult decisions and often need time to mature. Clear-cutting is clearly visible, especially in the cottage landscape."
Dead trees are removed during final felling. Otherwise, there is a risk that the damage caused by the bookworm will spread to healthy trees and a wider area.
Artificial intelligence vs. book printer
Stora Enso started a digital forest data integration project in 2023. In Lappeenranta, data combined with an artificial intelligence model has been tested to identify bookworm infestations. The bookworm is an insect pest that attacks weakened spruces, windfalls or stored timber. The use of the artificial intelligence model will next be expanded to the entire southern Finland region, where the risk of insect infestation is highest.
When the bookworm reproduces, it can also destroy viable spruce trees. Spruce trees may die over a wide area in favorable conditions, even in one summer, if the bookworm population is large.
