“Forests are among the most important ecosystems in nature, constantly evolving, yet their monitoring is often delayed,” says Rytis Maskeliūnas, a professor at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU).
“Forests are among the most important ecosystems in nature, constantly evolving, yet their monitoring is often delayed,” says Rytis Maskeliūnas, a professor at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU). Climate change, pests, and human activity are transforming forests faster than we can track them – some changes become apparent only when the damage is already irreversible.
KTU researchers are proposing innovative technological solutions: an innovative forest regeneration model and a sound analysis system that can predict forest conditions and detect environmental changes in real time.
Forest management today is increasingly challenged by environmental changes that have intensified in recent years. “Forests, especially in regions like Lithuania, are highly sensitive to rising winter temperatures. A combination of factors is causing trees to weaken, making them more vulnerable to pests,” says Maskeliūnas.
According to the scientist, traditional monitoring methods such as foresters’ visual inspections or trap-based monitoring are no longer sufficient. “We will never have enough people to continuously observe what is happening in forests,” he explains.
Read more at Kaunas University of Technology
Image: For example, Figure 1 displays a normalized sound waveform of bird sounds recorded in an urban forest under windy conditions. Of course, this waveform is a mixture of the signals present there. However, the signals at work can be seen using signal processing and reviewing the time and frequency domains (as represented in Figure 2). Bird chirpings, which tend to be at high frequencies, and the sound of the wind passing through the forest were seen in different groups. (Credit: KTU)
