Project presentation
Forests provide essential ecosystem services, making their protection against environmental threats crucial. A growing challenge in Europe is the rapid spread of forest pests, which causes major ecological and economic damage. As demand for effective solutions increases, digital technologies are emerging as powerful tools to address this issue.
The FORSAID project brings together 17 partners from 10 countries to create an innovative, cost-effective toolkit for monitoring forest pests. Focusing on nine high-risk species (three fungi, five insects, and one nematode), the project aims to enable timely intervention to prevent forest degradation.
Across its six Work Packages, FORSAID will improve existing digital solutions and develop new ones. Remote sensing via satellites and drones will help map areas of interest and identify pest disturbances. Automated insect traps will complement this effort on the ground by employing deep-learning algorithms capable of continuously analysing large amounts of incoming data. In addition, automatic species identification will simplify and quicken detection. Environmental DNA analysis will further support early pest detection.
To ensure long-term impact and sustainability, economic assessments and stakeholder consultations will be conducted. Citizen science input will also be integrated to make tools accessible and user-friendly for professionals and the public. This multi-actor, interdisciplinary approach aims to deliver practical, scalable solutions for forest monitoring across Europe.
Forest surveillance with artificial intelligence and digital technologies
Ongoing | 2024-2028
- Main funding source
- Horizon Europe (EU Research and Innovation Programme)
- Geographical location
- Italy, Slovenia, France, Portugal, Germany, Sweden, Bulgaria, Denmark, Ukraine, Switzerland