Making complex systems understandable
Smart Forests
About the project
Our Smart Forests project applies technology to monitor forest health, allowing us to develop more effective reforestation strategies.
Over the past twenty years, we’ve planted over 250,000 trees in the Atlantic Forest. Now, we’re gearing up to plant thousands more and want to ensure our methods are more efficient and effective than ever.
We are building a detailed picture of forest ecosystem health, using data on vegetation, fauna, soils, water, weather, and sounds. This will allow us to quantify and monitor changes in forest systems, as well as develop scientifically validated, data-based reference conditions for forest restoration.
All data will be stored in our GIS and shared freely to support global reforestation efforts.
THE CHALLENGE
Despite huge efforts over the past years to reforest the Atlantic forest, there remain significant difficulties in evaluating the success of reforestation efforts.
Firstly, the fragmented nature of reforestation sites makes it difficult to establish long-term monitoring in these locations. Currently this requires continuous effort that impacts our ability to reforest new areas.
Also, historically, there have been few baseline standards to compare against, making it challenging to gauge the health and growth of restored forests. This gap complicates our ability to measure our own success and effectiveness of our planting strategies.
Finally, while saving our rainforests is a global challenge there remain gaps in universal access to up-to-date information and knowledge sharing. We need to enable real-time data collection and analysis, which in turn will help to foster informed decision-making and adaptive management practices globally.
Reforestation priorities
WHAT WE'RE DOING
Our Smart Forests program uses advanced technology to monitor ecosystem health in the Atlantic Forest and provide us with the data needed to inform further reforestation efforts.
Using a combination of remote sensing, on-the-ground surveys, and specialized monitoring equipment, we are gathering comprehensive data that includes wildlife habitats, soil conditions, and climate patterns. This data-driven approach enables us to establish baseline standards for restoration and develop adaptive strategies that enhance forest resilience.
We are committed to sharing our data openly, benefitting global conversation efforts and collaboration.
Luiz Gusmão
Forest Restoration
We really need support for this project. If you are interested in helping us please contact us.