Editor's note
Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of Boreal Tech Brief.
Every now and then, it’s worth lifting our eyes a bit beyond the forest edge. There are some incredible things happening out there. This week’s selection steps slightly outside our usual focus, but that’s intentional. The boundaries between forestry, AI, and broader digital infrastructure are becoming increasingly blurred. What happens in adjacent fields today often becomes part of forestry tomorrow.
Thanks for reading and for continuing to explore this landscape with me.
Axel
Semtech & Skylo Launch Global IoT Solution with Seamless Terrestrial-Satellite Switching
Semtech and Skylo have launched the first unified device-to-cloud IoT solution that switches between terrestrial and satellite networks automatically, ensuring uninterrupted data transfer. This simplifies global deployment and guarantees connectivity even deep in remote forest areas - ideal for effective digital forestry operations.
AI-Powered Bird Sound Recognition
A recent Instagram Reel demonstrates AI technology capable of identifying bird species from audio clips. While a bit outside the core focus of this forestry tech newsletter, this tool could support more detailed bird inventories, aiding conservation efforts by mapping species diversity and enhancing forest ecosystem monitoring.
Guyana Completes Pilot of Digital Wood Tracking System for Forestry Transformation
Guyana’s Forestry Commission has successfully completed the pilot test of its Digital Wood Tracking System, marking a major step toward digital transformation in forest management. This web and mobile platform enables real-time traceability and legal verification of timber, supporting improved compliance, resource monitoring, and transparency across Guyana’s forestry sector.
FBET Fuses Ground and Satellite Data for More Accurate Forest Carbon Removal Credits
FBET, developed by OXO Earth with ESA support, combines ground and Earth observation data to deliver reliable annual forest biomass measurements, improving carbon credit verification for CDR projects. Their “horizontal stacking” model eliminates reversal risk, ensuring carbon credits are only issued after storage is verified—making the solution ideal for forest owners and companies needing transparent, flexible carbon accounting.
AI-Driven Harvest Activity Prediction
A recent LinkedIn post highlights an advanced AI tool for predicting harvest activities, showcasing how machine learning models can forecast resource extraction timing and intensity. This is truly fascinating technology, and readers are encouraged to reach out if similar initiatives are being explored in forestry, as such tools could revolutionize operational planning and forest sustainability.