Mistra Digital Forest – just in time for the digital transformation of the forest sector

When Mistra Digital Forest was launched, the forestry sector was at a crossroads. Technological development was accelerating rapidly, new data sources were becoming available, and the ability to analyse complex processes in the forest was taking decisive steps forward. So, the programme came at exactly the right time – at a period when machine learning, sensor technology, remote sensing and increasing computing power were all developing rapidly, and when the forestry industry was ready to take advantage of them and adapt them for its own purposes.

The pace of innovation in the wider world matched the ambitions of the programme, and researchers, businesses and societal stakeholders together, were able to explore opportunities that would have been unthinkable just a few years earlier. New analyses of the state of the forest could be carried out with a level of detail that had previously been unmatched. Machine data, satellite imagery and advanced algorithms linked perspectives from ground level to regional level, creating shared knowledge bases that strengthen the entire sector.

Digital expertise has evolved within the programme, laying the foundations for better decision-making support, new ways of working as well as a deeper understanding of the role of the forest in a sustainable society. Through continuous collaboration, research and practice have come together in a way that has accelerated development – whilst also illustrating that the full potential of digitalisation is only realised when it is used to solve actual problems within the industry.

The cumulative highlights of the year reflect this momentum. They demonstrate how the digital transformation continues to take shape, step by step, and how Mistra Digital Forest has made a tangible contribution to strengthening the capacity for innovation within the Swedish forestry sector.
It is with pride that we present the results of the year, at the same time as we are also looking forward.

Although the programme is now drawing to a close, it is clear that the expertise, the technologies and the collaborative structures that have been built up will continue to bear fruit for many years to come.

Sverker Danielsson 
Programme Manager