Technology is changing the face of Australia’s forestry industry.
Investment in new technologies such as drones, infra-red mapping, laser scanners and sensors, 3D sensing and imaging and advances in tree breeding has enabled the industry to minimise its ecological footprint, while maximising wood resources.
Innovation and technological advances are unlocking a huge array of new and exciting wood materials including food additives, solvents, medical applications, biofuels and recyclable food packaging.
Australia’s forestry industries are using cutting-edge wood processing technologies to minimise wood waste. Today, offcuts and wood-waste are turned into important products that produce bio-energy and heating.
The opportunities of technology are endless; they are helping to better manage Australia’s forests more sustainably.
It helps with the management of fire risks in forests and provides more detailed information, helping the planning and management process.
Advances in technology are even allowing access to timber resources that once were considered lost.
Advances in DNA timber profiling allows the tracing of wood products back to their forest of origin, helping in the fight against illegal logging.
Mike Sutton, manger, innovation and research at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry says technology is an important part of the science of forest management and it’s going to become increasingly so.
“The work that we do now is going to determine the types of forests that are available for people in the future,” he said.
Driven by investment in technology and innovation, the potential growth for Australia’s forest industries is huge – Australian forestry. Planning for tomorrow, today.
“So when you buy Australian grown wood, you can be sure it’s come from sustainable, well-managed forests that will be here for future generations,” Mr Sutton said.
