Tree Quality - Green Forestry

Important results from the project

The overall aim was to determine the quality of trees already in the forest, based on their chemical composition. The specific goal of the project was to develop a prototype for a handheld unit for this purpose and to evaluate its performance during real field tests in the forest, while collecting data for the database. - The project has achieved these and more. The prototype is working and provided impressive results under broad weather conditions. Two forestry companies agreed to support continued work (extended tests and demos). Swedish patent covering method and instrument granted.

Expected long term effects

The suggested method is expected to bring significant environmental and economic benefit for the entire forestry process chain. The project was expected to provide enough data to determine the accuracy of the method under real forestry conditions. The project has succeeded with this. Forestry companies have agreed to continued work to collect data covering spring/summer, as that is important but was outside the timeframe of the project. Direct customer feedback identified areas for continued product development. Independent market and need analyses verified both market and need.

Approach and implementation

1) Acquire a base unit for the prototype that is suitable for field use (incl. GPS, batteries/chargers and computer) - Succeeded, except for the GPS where continued work is needed to meet customer needs. 2) Develop a probing accessory to provide access to the inner bark without risking tree health. - Succeeded 3) Perform field tests to verify performance under real working conditions, determine the minimum viable product (need- and market analysis), collect feedback for further product design/development and initiate database development. - Succeeded with all

External links

The homepage of Arboxa, with a more detailed (and illustrated) method description