Calamities have unfortunately become part of everyday life in modern forestry. Climate change will continue to cause drought-related damage to forest stands in the future. Harvesting trees that have been damaged in this way carries significant risks, especially during motor-manual operations. The SmaSiKaFE project explores ways to safely and efficiently harvest trees affected by drought or insect infestation using chainsaws and additional tools.
The project focuses on motor-manual timber harvesting in stands where, for example, small clusters of damaged trees (so-called calamity nests) need to be removed and the use of a harvester would be too costly or impractical. To this end, the project investigates methods for detecting damaged trees using LiDAR or photo-optical techniques. A digital work order is created, and additional information is provided to forest workers via a mobile app. This app supports tree identification on site and offers recommendations on the use of supplementary tools.
On April 28 and 29, the project team met at the Forestry Training Center (FBZ) in Arnsberg-Neheim to compile initial results and coordinate the next phases of the project. A presentation of the project is planned for a KWH4.0 Academy event in autumn 2025.