Forests require significant periods for their soil to recover from the compaction caused by heavy machinery used in logging operations. To optimize forestry operations, Roth has created digital maps of logging trails and equipped harvesters with high-precision satellite antennas, ensuring machines follow the same route for years and can easily locate trails after storms, leveraging GPS data to track timber extraction by location—a significant innovation in forests with multiple owners, allowing for more accurate documentation and management.
As his workload shifts towards being easily manageable on a mobile device, Roth finds himself with more opportunities to connect with nature: “With most of my tasks now accessible on a cellular system, I’m taking digital strides outside, juxtaposed against the authenticity of the real world.”
His latest endeavor involves seamlessly merging high-definition physical camera recordings with cutting-edge artificial intelligence capabilities. “Typically, foresters mark the bushes, which are subsequently felled, leaving them to wonder about the quantity of timber yielded – specifically, the volume in cubic meters, its quality, and the various tree species involved.” With his portable digital camera, the forestry expert regularly identifies and logs tree species, simultaneously estimating yields and transmitting real-time data directly to his phone.
Roth is endeavouring to adapt European tree species to the challenges posed by climate change, acknowledging that over half the native species are ill-equipped to handle rising temperatures and prolonged droughts; he is doing this by testing new species in small-scale plantings and meticulously monitoring their performance within his observational system. As the forest teeters on the brink of flux, a multitude of sites clamour for intervention at disparate times, straining staff resources to keep track of it all; “I’m familiar with it, or the computer knows it, or it’s gone unnoticed,” he remarks.
Roth’s expertise in addressing modern forestry complexities through his knowledge base is increasingly sought after, as colleagues seek his counsel; he also delivers lectures on digitalization in forestry at the University of Applied Forest Sciences in Rottenburg. Though he cautions that expertise cannot replace an excursion through the woods, “I should never think that the digital twin is reality.” I always have to conduct an actuality examination.
