“Reforestation efforts have traditionally required armies of volunteers and workers to plant trees in areas that have been affected by deforestation and forest degradation. This is a time-consuming and difficult labor and means that costs vary heavily depending on site accessibility and local infrastructure.
There are other established rapid reforestation methods – notably, seed dumping from helicopters – but these also have their problems. Imprecise seed dumping often fails to result in effective reforestation, as seeds fail to take root and grow.
In nature, new trees grow from seeds that have been carried in animals’ intestines and deposited in fecal matter. This organic matter acts as a fertilizer for new life, as well as protecting the seed from being eaten by other animals or carried away by winds and rain.
Taking an example from nature, a new breed of reforestation is becoming increasingly viable. Drone reforestation technology packages seeds in special vessels containing natural pest deterrents, fertilizing matter, and soil.
To maximize chances of effective reforesting, drone reforestation technology also uses advanced camera and radar imaging and artificial intelligence (AI) to select ideal sites for seeding. Drones carry out on-site assessments of soil types, gradients, and competing vegetation to ensure seeds are dropped where they are most likely to take root and grow.
Companies worldwide are offering drone reforestation technology to landowners and government authorities. Droneseed in the US, Flash Forest in Canada, and Dendra in the UK are some of the leading global organizations. They bring the experience of multi-disciplinary teams of forest scientists, engineers, ecosystem experts, and computer scientists to bear on the problem of deforestation.
Why Is Reforestation Technology Important?
A total of 75,700 square kilometers (18.7 million acres) of forest land is lost every year. Forests play a vital role in the planet’s ecosystems – taking carbon dioxide out of the air through biosequestration, creating clouds in tropical regions, and creating habitats that allow for the rich biodiversity that climate scientists increasingly realize the importance of.
Land changes such as deforestation contribute more to atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions than any other factor after fossil fuel combustion. Deforestation occurs when forest biomass is burned, as well as through the decomposition of remaining organic materials and soil carbon – making up an estimated 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Tropical forests are under threat from deforestation. Due to the great biodiversity and carbon biosequestration they provide the planet, saving them is particularly important.
When forests are replanted, the harmful effects of climate change can be mitigated and reduced. Dust and pollution from the atmosphere are absorbed and natural ecosystems are restored. In some cases, reforestation also allows for local communities to resume sustainable harvesting of the forests’ natural resources……”
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