SWEDEN -- Digitization of the forest industry is on the rise. Usage of Södra's digital forestry application, the forest owner's app, has risen 30 percent in 2016. This is a marked increase compared with the preceding year and provides opportunities for increased nature conservation and improved profitability.

In 2012, Södra launched the forest owner's app. Four years after the launch, there has been a drastic increase in number of users, services and volume of forest data in the app. While initially only property borders could be viewed, forest owners can now track ongoing forestry assignments in real time, and, in principle, manage their own forests through a green forestry plan directly in the app.

"The digital technology represents an enormous development, both for forest owners and for us," says Håkan Larsson, President of the Södra Skog business area. "We have improved overview and the ability to make better decisions while contributing to both increased production and improved nature conservation."

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Wayne Bucher will report on a high performance waster water treatment system at the 7th Annual Light Green Machine Institute Conference (16 - 18 Oct 16 in Raleigh, NC)

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Laser scanning reveals watercourses
The most recent step in Södra's development of digital forestry was taken last summer, when the "water map" was launched as a feature of the forest owner's app. The service enables both forest owners and contractors to make calculations from laser scans to obtain a map sheet that indicates where the ground is wet or humid. This provides increased protection from driving injuries while undertaking forestry assignments that require heavy machinery.

In June, Södra launched its most recent app, the contractor's app. Continuous access to up-to-date information provides Södra's contractors with more opportunities to improve the efficiency and precision of the assignments they carry out daily. As with the forest owner's app, the number of users has been increasing steadily since its launch.