Interactive virtual planning tools for sustainable forest production in mountain areas

Abstract

Forest wood harvesting in mountain areas needs a deep and accurate planning to avoid possible failures and criticalities due to the complex morphology of the terrain. Steepness, difficult accessibility and on the field manual work are cost effective factors to reckon, but not always taken into account on all phases, due to the heterogeneity of competences and instruments adopted by the involved actors. Geographical information systems planning tools, demonstrated their usefulness to analyze spatial data in such conditions, but their specificity makes their adoption difficult among operators especially in a conservative industry like forestry. This document introduces an interactive web 3D planning tool based on an accurate virtual forest environment reconstruction, to support the entire wood processing chain in mountain areas, from tree marking to timber production within sawmills, accommodating the needs of all the involved actors bringing novel simulation, planning and monitoring tools at their disposal.