Business Solutions: Forest Inventory & Planning
Ensis specialises in the development of forest inventory systems for providing timely, relevant and cost-effective resource information for various management applications. Existing systems include software and algorithms for interpreting remotely sensed data and a ground-based scanning lidar for detailed forest structural assessment.
CSIRO Inventory Tools and Software
- ECHIDNA™ ground-based lidar is a hemispherical scanning laser range finder developed by Ensis scientists and CSIRO Atmospheric Research. ECHIDNA™ fires millions of laser pulses into the canopy and records detailed structural information at a range of up to 200 m. Information includes:
- canopy height
- basal area and stem density
- vertical foliage distribution
- leaf area index
LIDAR ToolBox is a software package incorporating optimised algorithms for retrieving forest information from Airborne Laser Scanner (ALS) data. The ToolBox is designed to process the large ALS datasets with capabilities available in most modern desktop computers. Data products include:
-
digital elevation model (DEM)
- canopy elevation model
- canopy predominant height
- vertical foliage profiles
- canopy cover
- TIMBRS™ is a suite of algorithms developed to automatically count and delineate the crowns of individual trees visible in high spatial resolution remotely sensed imagery. The software includes functions for displaying, optimising and interpreting the remotely sensed imagery. Suitable data includes high spatial resolution satellite imagery, scanned aerial photography, airborne digital camera and scanner data. Spatial and spectral analysis of individual forest canopy objects can be undertaken to estimate stand attributes such as:
- stems per hectare and inter-crown spacing
- crown size distributions
- canopy health and vitality
Applications
Ensis inventory tools and software have a broad range of applications in plantation and native forest management, including:
- site quality assessment
- yield assessment and forecasting
- estimation of standing biomass for carbon accounting
- mapping of habitat quality based on structural diversity
- pre-harvest planning based on stem counts
- evaluation of plantation establishment success
Pricing
Acquisition and interpretation of ECHIDNA™ data is offered as a service while the LIDAR ToolBox and TIMBRS™ software may be purchased under license. Please contact Ensis to discuss the most appropriate forest inventory tools for a given application and identify opportunities for project development and implementation.
For further information please contact:
Darius Culvenor
Ensis
Private Bag 10
Clayton South VIC 3169
Ph: +61 3 9545 2346
Fax: +61 3 9545 2448
E-mail:
...back to top
Wood Futures© is a novel spreadsheet model developed by CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products to assist eucalypt plantation development by providing broad indications of future wood product flows and their value.
Industry Relevance
Wood Futures© will indicate the extent of eucalypt plantations, and the management regimes needed to make particular wood processing industries viable in a region. It will also show how local employment opportunities are likely to be affected.
Potential users include regional and strategic planners, large commercial forest growers and industry development agencies.
Analysis
Wood Futures© is a Microsoft Excel workbook model comprising "summary", "data", "employment" and "plantation scenario" worksheets.
The scenario sheets allow users to examine any type of eucalypt management regime - from low intensity management to regimes involving intensive thinning and pruning.
After entering information on variables such as rotation length, pruning time and product prices and recoveries on the data sheet, users can examine plantation outputs on the scenario sheets.
These show the wood flows from thinnings, and provide breakdowns of the volumes of logs directed to different processes and product volumes and values from those processes. Different options cover veneer, roundwood and composite products.
The employment sheet provides employment estimates based on multipliers associated with the various activities carried out in each processing industry.
Pricing
No obligation quotes can be provided upon request.
For further information please contact:
Dr Simon Potter
CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products
Private Bag 10, Clayton South
VIC 3169
Ph: +61 3 9545 2150
Fax: +61 3 9545 2133
Email:
...back to top
Ensis is able to provide recommendations for optimal recovery of targeted products individually specified for mills and their resource. Many years of experience in milling trials have enabled the team to develop a unique software package that assists in planning for profit.
Software
CSIROMill is currently in development to recommend effective processing strategies and product mixes for plantation-grown and native forest eucalypts. The software comprises a database of information on wood quality, product values, log quality and dimensions, resource information, sawing patterns and equipment used in processing.
Applications
- Enables scenario modelling to be undertaken for alternative sawing systems and strategies by calculating processing costs, product values and mill wood input costs for different processing systems and resources.
- Can be used to recommend forest management practices and optimum processing systems.
- Particularly applicable to plantation grown eucalypts.
Pricing
No obligation quotes can be provided on request.
For further information please contact:
Russell Washusen
Ensis
Private Bag 10
Clayton South VIC 3169
Ph: +61 3 9545 2173
Fax: +61 3 9545 2133
E-mail:
...back to top