Södra introduces new technology for forest management plans

In collaboration with the AI company Terra Labs, Södra is now launching an initiative to ensure that members have continuous access to regularly updated insights about their forests. Broad knowledge of forest owners’ needs is being combined with AI, automated data, and new working methods to provide members with the best possible decision-making support regarding their forest.

The forest management plan, a central tool in a forest owner’s planning and decision-making, has remained largely unchanged for decades. Södra is now leading a major project to develop planners’ tools using remote sensing and next-generation AI technology. 

“We are now on the brink of a technological leap that will give us access to automated forestry data in a new way. Empowering our members in their forest ownership and decision-making is a key part of our mission, and we aim to create even better decision support for forest owners,” says Peter Karlsson, Head of Södra Skog. 

There is significant potential to streamline work through automated forestry data, which, among other benefits, reduces the need for field measurements. To achieve this, Södra is developing its own Planner App, used on a tablet in conjunction with new remote sensing data. Södra has now entered into a long-term partnership with Terra Labs to ensure stable access to highly accurate and frequently updated data. The joint development work to adapt and train the AI model has been ongoing for several months. 

“We’ve contributed various perspectives to the development process and have now found solutions that provide us with very high-quality forest information. We are leading the market here and will soon be able to offer Södra’s members the best possible information about their forests, which we hope will enhance the member experience,” says Peter Karlsson. 

The app for forest planners will be launched this autumn, and in parallel, the forest management plan is being developed as a product. The aim is to make more information available via the member portal Min skogsgård, thereby transforming the forest management plan into a more dynamic decision-making tool where members have greater opportunities to actively engage with their plans. 

Terra Labs is a new AI-based platform that inventories and analyses forests in real time using satellite data, with the goal of enabling the next major technological shift in the industry.