Evaluate thinning from above? Promising results from new TreeTools platform

The status quo for thinning operation QC is to get boots on the ground to check that the target SPH has been achieved. It’s accurate, but it’s slow and costly. Interpine is putting a different approach in front of forest managers: use LiDAR and drone imagery to check stocking from the office and only send people in where it really matters.

TreeTools, recently launched at ForestTech, is Interpine’s new online platform bringing these tools together. SilvaCloud automates LiDAR processing to deliver detailed stocking maps. VirtualPlot uses drone imagery to produce precise tree counts and flexible stocking assessments. Everything is accessed through a straightforward web interface at treetools.ai.

Interpine led a recent project comparing post-thinning outcomes from three sources: field measurements, RGB imagery and LiDAR data. High-grade GPS was used to align plot centres so that field plots, VirtualPlots and SilvaCloud plots were identically sized and located. TreeTools then produced total tree counts for each plot, which were compared against the traditional field data.

A detailed comparison was made between tree counts and stocking values derived from VirtualPlot and those from the SilvaCloud assessment. Most plots fell within about ±5% error, indicating good agreement for most areas, with only a few plots showing larger differences where VirtualPlot appears more sensitive to local plot conditions. On average, the stocking difference between the two approaches was just 1 tree per hectare (512 from SilvaCloud versus 511 from VirtualPlot), demonstrating a high level of consistency between independent remote-sensing methods.

A second comparison looked at average stocking across the entire study area using three sources: field measurements, SilvaCloud and VirtualPlot. While individual field plots were located near, but not exactly at, the same positions as the virtual plots – and plot sizes also differed – the overall averages still tell a clear story. Field plots measured an average stocking of 514 stems per hectare, SilvaCloud reported 512, and VirtualPlot 511. In other words, both LiDAR- and drone-based assessments tracked the field measurements to within roughly 1% on average, providing strong evidence that TreeTools can support reliable thinning assessments at operational scale. TreeTools is now being extended to additional sites and the platform is already available for operational use.

Friday Offcuts & ForestTECH News readers can trial TreeTools at treetools.ai using the coupon code FORESTTECH for an introductory discount on SilvaCloud and VirtualPlot plans.