NEWFOR (NEW technologies for a better mountain FORest timber mobilization) is a research project funded by the alpine space programme. It brings together 14 institutes of the 6 countries of the alpine space with the aim of improving forest timber evaluation and mobilisation. The project considers the whole wood supply chain, from forests to wood yards, with a particular emphasis on new remote sensing technologies and geographical information systems. The project has begun in september 2011 for a 3 years duration.
Project
Topics
Forest resource & LiDAR Recent developments in LiDAR technology, combined to other available data sources (aerial photographs, aerial photo series by UAVs,…), are now allowing a precise mapping of mountain forest resource volumes and qualities. Integrating this technology will provide an innovative response to the challenges of a precise and robust knowledge on the available …
Context
Mountain forests: a natural resource to be developped Although forests represent a key resource of mountain environments, their valorization is hampered by accessibility constraints that prevent an efficient mapping, management, harvesting and transport of wood products. Forests fulfil multiple functions in mountainous areas. They have an ecological function as host of many habitats and species. …
Objectives
The main objective of the NEWFOR project is the improvement of mountain forest accessibility for a better efficiency of wood harvesting and transport in a context of sustainable forest management and wood industry in changing climate. Operational objectives: Sharing of knowledge and development of tools regarding the use of an innovative remote sensing technology (LiDAR: …
Consortium
Forest timber resources mobilization problems are common to all Alpine space countries: poor knowledge of growing stocks; absence of economical evaluation of accessibility to forest resources; no evaluation of the whole supply chain connectivity to wood industries. Until now these problems have only been addressed at national scale. Due to the complexity of the topic …
Funding
The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the framework of the Alpine Space Program, which is the EU transnational cooperation programme for the Alps. Total budget of the project is 2,419,400 EUR, including an ERDF grant of 1,809,484, EUR.
