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The preservation of the forest heritage in Chile

EAASI companies: GEOFIT, Heligràfics, RIEGL

Categories: Forest monitoring, Climate Change


Project Overview

In collaboration with Arauco and Heligràfics Chile, GEOFIT undertook airborne LiDAR and aerial photography missions to map vast forest areas in Chile. Covering between 350,000 and 600,000 hectares annually, this project aims to sustainably manage the forest ecosystem, particularly protecting Chile’s native biodiversity, like the iconic Araucaria.


Using a RIEGL Vux-240 sensor, airborne LiDAR scans and photographs hundreds of hectares of forest per hour, allowing for rapid data collection. The captured data is processed to create an orthomosaic, providing highly detailed, 3D representations of forest inventory and topography.


Project Outcomes

The data enables accurate timber volume estimation, vegetation density assessment, and inventory generation. This approach optimizes forest management by reducing the need for clear-cutting and preserving essential habitats.


Why Crewed Aerial Surveying?

The use of crewed aerial platforms allows for large-scale, precise mapping of forested areas in short periods, offering a level of detail and efficiency unattainable by ground-based methods.


By combining LiDAR, hyperspectral data, and on-site investigations, each species and tree can be precisely identified and georeferenced, facilitating precise monitoring of vegetation changes, including that of the Chilean Araucaria.

This case study appeared for the first time in the article How can aerial surveying help to monitor climate change? published by GIM International.



 

Learn more about how other EAASI members utilize crewed aerial technology to address global challenges in our Use Cases series, a dedicated section showcasing real-world applications, and achievements by EAASI’s diverse members.


This collection of use cases highlights the unique advantages and capabilities of crewed aerial surveying in various fields, from environmental monitoring to infrastructure planning.


Each success story presents a featured project by an EAASI member, illustrating how their expertise and technology drive impactful solutions. From collecting high-resolution aerial imagery to leveraging AI for advanced data analysis, these stories emphasize the value of crewed aerial technology for accurate, large-scale geospatial data.

 

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