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There is no doubt about how forests interact with every individual on a personal level. They supply uncountable traditional resources such as wood, food, timber, medicinal herbs, and much much more.
Not only that but they also play a crucial role to maintain the ecosystem. Climate regulation, water purification, and carbon removal are only a few examples of that.
Where 15 billion trees are cut every year, only 1.8 billion get planted. This places paramount importance on efficient forest management tools to minimize wasteful cutting – so more can be achieved from cutting minimum trees – while also achieving a better plantation rate.
Therefore, we employ the usage of new and advancing technologies – mainly electronic technologies – to help us achieve just that and more. Here are a few methods of how electronic technologies are helping us in forest management.
Heavy Equipment For Forestry
Cutting, grabbing, and lifting equipment are practically the basic equipment needed for forestry. And if the forest is situated in a rugged and mountainous region, one would also need heavy-duty skidders – along with the usual harvesters and loaders.
Since the manual methods of running machinery could result in a lot of wastage and inefficient operations, the machines are equipped with technologies that operate the procedures wherever possible.
One of such procedures is automated intelligent boom control (IBC). The IBC systems enable operators to maneuver giant logs with precision and accuracy. Thereby, improving productivity while also maintaining fuel efficiency.
Consequently, the computer systems and connectivity must be durable and be able to withstand shock, vibration, moisture, and soil particles.
Therefore, industrial level M8 and M12 connectors are employed because of their very high mechanical and electrical strength. These are also dirt and moisture resistant, ensuring safe, reliable, and error-free data transmission.
Almost all the electronic technologies used in forest management need some method to communicate with sophisticated computer systems. These enable the recording of data so it can be monitored accordingly. Furthermore, the portable equipment requires some form of charging. This is where M12 connectors come in to facilitate the process.
The M12 connectors are designed to withstand harsh conditions such as vibration, shock, and electrical/mechanical stress. If you’re looking to purchase M12 connectors for your electronic devices, https://www.tme.com/us/en-us/katalog/m12-connectors_112967.
Forest Firefighting
Unfortunately, new record high temperatures are getting recorded throughout the world every year. With such high temperatures, the number of wildfires is also increasing. Therefore, a major part of forest management includes wildfire management.
From delivering a high quantity of water and firefighting chemicals, forest firefighting also involves digging trenches and clearing deadwood and undergrowth.
Handheld and smaller equipment such as walkie-talkies, night-vision cameras, thermal cameras, etc. are also vital (literally) for firefighters and smokejumpers to make informed decisions that ensure the crew’s safety.
Satellite Imagery and Data Acquisition
The data from forests revolutionizes the way we handle forest management. The data helps in analyzing threats such as soil erosion, small fires, and possible flooding risks.
With the help of satellite imagery and pictures taken via drones, one can be proactive rather than reactive in making necessary interventions to prevent any undesirable forest harm. There are some companies like Flypix that specializes in objects detection from drones, which is extremely useful for forest management.
Monitoring and reporting the data obtained via images also aid in identifying clear areas for tree plantations. Furthermore, drones could be deployed to seed large areas quickly by utilizing pneumatic firing mechanisms. This process would take incredibly long if performed via manual labor of digging up and planting with a shovel.
Final Thoughts
Electronic technologies have revolutionized how we maintain our daily life activities. And accordingly, we have been utilizing them to transform our forest management processes.
We use cutters, grabbers, and lifters in our tree cutting and plantation. The drones are also used to increase the rate of tree plantation at an exponential rate.
Firefighting is also improved substantially with the help of electronic technologies. The equipment such as infrared and night-vision cameras help firefighters and smokejumpers to make better and well-informed decisions, ensuring the safety of the crew.
Finally, data acquisition through satellite and drone imagery also aids in identifying key areas throughout the forest for different conditions such as wildfire management, flood risk minimization, and tree plantation.
