International Forest Day – 21 March
This 21st March 2024, Data Terra celebrates the 11th International Forest Day, established since 2012 by the United Nations General Assembly. Data Terra mobilises scientific and technical experts every year and develops specific projects and services to meet society’s needs.
A sustainable partnership for OFVi forests: Between scientific cooperation and capacity building for the protection of tropical forests and wetlands
One Forest Vision initiative aims to provide scientific support to the countries of the tropical basins in preserving the environmental integrity of the vital biodiversity and carbon areas of tropical forests and wetlands.
One Forest Vision initiative (OFVi) will enable transparent monitoring of forests, carbon stocks and tropical biodiversity. This initiative mobilises the scientific teams of 6 major French research organisations: CEA, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD and MNHN, and is being developed in partnership with research institutions in the partner countries. The initiative is already receiving French funding for the Congo Basin.
One Forest Vision initiative (OFVi) will be structured around five scientific pillars, the results of which will be available on a data platform.
Theia tools and products for forest monitoring
To monitor the health, composition and extent of woodland areas in France and abroad, Theia, Data Terra’s continental surfaces division, mobilises its teams every year and develops specific products to meet society’s needs.
The result of close collaboration between public and private players, researchers and users, these tools combine reliability and accessibility. Discover our latest products:
INRAE’s LESSEM laboratory is releasing on THEIA, Data Terra’s continental surface division, two tools dedicated to the management of aerial LiDAR HG data for forest characterisation. LiDAR HD is an R package for downloading and locally managing files from the national LiDAR HD coverage distributed by the IGN.
On this basis, the LiDaRtRee R package can be used to analyse and map forest structure using object or pixel approaches. Tutorials are provided, for example, for implementing tree and gap detection functions, or modelling forest variables (dominant height, growing stock, etc.) by comparison with field measurements. These tools have been developed and implemented as part of research and applied projects relating to forest management and the conservation of forest ecosystems.
“Spatial data to monitor and conserve forests” thematic webinar
The themed webinar “Spatial data to monitor and conserve forests” will be held on 26 March. This webinar, which is open to all, will consist of three 10-minute presentations, with time for discussion on the use of Fordead data to monitor softwood disease crises in the Jura mountains.
There will also be a presentation on the operational use of the Fordead method, developed by Inrae and using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, to monitor softwood (spruce and fir) disease crises in the Jura mountains. The webinar will end with a question on the uses of IGN HD LIDAR: “What forestry variables can be modelled from the point clouds obtained by IGN HD LIDAR for stand qualification and forest management? Exciting topics to discover in a few days.
There are several other projects and services where the development of the tools involves Theia and IR Data Terra in numerous public (IRD, CNES, CESBIO, ONERA, etc.) and private partnerships.
Find out more in our news item dedicated to IWD 2023:
