EUFODOS

European Forest Downstream Services- Improved Information on Forest Structure and Damages

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'It is the overall aim of EUFODOS to develop specific Forest Downstream Services (FDS) that are urgently required by regional European users in an economically viable manner and utilise the GMES Land Forest Core products as a basis for the development of these services. The specific FDS which will be examined and developed to a pre-operational level are related to assessment of forest damage and mapping forest functional parameters. As the GMES Land Core products are not yet operational the FDS will thus also provide a “pre-operational validation of the GMES services and products.” The FDS programme is based on 3 foundations: technical/methodological developments which will be based on an approach that combines Earth Observation (EO) and in-situ data as well as the GMES Forest Core products; the formation of a functional Service Network (SN) which includes effective representation/involvement of the user community, the service providers and the research community; and the assessment of the economic feasibility of developing the service cases such that they are sustainable. Thus these foundations form the following programme objectives: 1. Development of a FDS Service Network comprised of service providers, users and the research community for effective involvement of all stakeholders and service delivery. 2. The investigation and implementation of methodologies for forest degradation assessment and forest functions parameter mapping for the provision of pre-operational systems. 3. The users commitments to participate in the validation of the Core products, as well as the utility assessment of the downstream services within their own work practices. 4. The assessment of the economic cases for these different regional downstream services to ensure sustainability. All the objectives will be fulfilled within the lifespan of the EUFODOS programme.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

In an EU project satellite and laser scanning data were used by researchers for European forests and the results were made available for forest managers.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

European forests provide resources such as wood, harbour entire ecosystems and affect the climate of the continent. For these forests to be maintained in a healthy and sustainable way, authorities require detailed information on nature's delicate balance.

The EU-funded 'European forest downstream services- Improved information on forest structure and damages' (http://www.eufodos.info (EUFODOS)) project devised high-tech means to provide the required information.

Researchers used satellite and laser scanning technologies to gather information on forest status in a much more cost-effective manner than current technology and practice permit. This enabled authorities to take action against forest damage, and encouraged sustainable forest management through new methods, monitoring of commercial activity and protective initiatives against natural hazards in mountainous regions.

Using spaceborne and airborne sensor platforms streamlines the process of gathering information and is far more efficient than using field trips and helicopter flights. This can help assess damage from fires, storms and insect infestations; plan sustainable logging; update forest maps; and support forest information systems for protective forest planning and damage assessment.

The project team defined user needs and articulated the concept of the EUFODOS information system. Researchers also developed operational toolboxes for distribution to users and service providers.

Tests to validate the technology were conducted in forests in Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland and Finland. The experiments proved that remote sensing is a very valuable tool for monitoring and to sustain protective forests, paving the way for large-scale deployment of the system.

Finally, EUFODOS developed a number of information products to help managers and researchers to maintain forests in a sustainable way. These were incorporated into a greater EU system of global data products for research and monitoring.

Once the forest monitoring tools are available, Europe's authorities will have a powerful resource to encourage forest sustainability and help to protect our environment from natural hazards.