Editor's note
This week's top pick rhymes with #039's.
In #039, Skogforsk turned harvester StanForD data into a national root-rot map. This week, Mabema, Biometria and Södra turned GPV stack-measurement cameras into a pulpwood age classifier for Södra. Both times, the capture surface was already running at scale, and the breakthrough came from asking the existing stream a bigger question.
Forestry is unusually rich in already-instrumented infrastructure. Harvesters log millions of stems. GPV hauls scan every truck at the mill gate. Biometria pools measurement, transport and scale data into a national data lab. Each of those is one well-posed question away from its own national map.
The question I'm watching: where's the next one hiding? Reply with the best candidate. I'll dig in for #042.
Axel
WHAT GOT ME THINKING
Mabema and Biometria Turn GPV Stack Cameras into a Real-Time Pulpwood Age Classifier for Södra
In Project Black/Orange Wood, Mabema, Södra and Biometria use existing GPV camera data from truck-mounted stack measurement to classify pulpwood as Orange (younger thinning wood) or Black (older final-harvest wood). The classification does not determine payment, but it routes fiber to the right mill and secures end-product consistency. Early results track close to experienced human measurers and beat the current manual registration at unloading. Launched October 2025; real-time output at the unloading truck and Södra system integration are in development.
Axel's notes: I've said this before and it keeps proving out. In forestry, the highest-leverage tech work right now has nothing to do with new sensors. The capture surfaces are deployed. The real work is figuring out which questions those streams can answer beyond what they were built for.
GPV already scans every stack at measurement, with cameras originally deployed to compute volume. The three partners asked whether the same camera data could also tell a thinning stack from a final-harvest stack. The answer is yes, running in real time at the unloading truck, with no new hardware and no new measurement step, just a model layered on the diameter distributions GPV was already computing.
The classification is explicitly not payment-determining, and that is the unlock. If it had to clear regulatory accuracy from day one, it would have stayed a whiteboard idea for another five years. The other unlock was having all three actors in the room. Mabema brings the capture surface, Biometria brings the ground truth and measurement authority, Södra brings the downstream business logic about why age class matters for fiber use. Take any one out and the project stalls.
Skogforsk Extends postdocs.ai Partnership After Successful Research-Workflow Pilot
Skogforsk has extended its partnership with postdocs.ai following a successful pilot. postdocs.ai is an AI platform that helps researchers secure and manage research funding, from grant applications through administration. Research Director Magnus Thor says the tool lets his team focus more on research and less on the work around it.
ICEYE Launches SAR-Powered Deforestation Monitoring Across Its 62-Satellite Constellation
Finnish SAR operator ICEYE launched a deforestation monitoring service for governments and conservation NGOs, extending its 62-satellite constellation into tropical forest enforcement. SAR penetrates cloud and smoke, solving the blind spot where optical satellites fail in the Amazon and Congo Basin. The Jane Goodall Institute is an early partner, tracking chimpanzee habitats. In beta in select regions now, with a wider Q2 2026 rollout.
DroneWild Rolls Out WildTAK to Forestry and Land Scotland Rangers for Live Wildlife Detection
DroneWild has rolled out WildTAK to Wildlife Rangers at Forestry and Land Scotland. Thermal drones locate every animal over 5 kg in a given area, machine learning classifies species from the video feed, and TAK's shared geospatial map pushes the data to every ranger in real time. The deployment started in deer management and now extends to ATVs, working dogs, and other sensors.
Mississippi State Releases Free FORVAL-XL as Excel Rebuild of Its 1999 Forestry Valuation Classic
Mississippi State's Forest and Wildlife Research Center has released FORVAL-XL, a free Excel-based rebuild of the 1999 FORVAL forestry valuation software. The update adds discounted cash-flow analysis, sensitivity scenarios, cleaner tables and graphs, and PDF export. Steve Bullard led development with Clemson's Thomas Straka. Free to download at fwrc.msstate.edu/software.php.