How is technology helping to reforest planet Earth?

Climate change is one of the biggest concerns of governments, scientific communities and companies worldwide; It’s no surprise that many governments and companies are already working to reduce fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse effects.

Fortunately, we live in such a time that technology can increasingly help save the planet from a potentially catastrophic future for nature and therefore for humanity.

There are various ways to combat climate change, conservation of biological diversity, protection of natural environments, reforestation, among others. In fact, technology can replace or assist traditional methods in efforts to support these processes.

Millions of hectares of forestland have been reduced worldwide due to criminal activity that encourages deforestation or our failure to care for our forests. In addition to damaging forest areas, these actions (or their absence) can directly affect the loss of biodiversity, natural habitats of various animals, among other problems.

To understand a little more about how technology is helping to reforest planet Earth, TecMundo chatted with Adrien Pages, co-founder and CEO of French-Brazilian startup MORFO. Check out!

What is reforestation/reforestation?

In Brazil and around the world, the loss of fertile soil has become one of nature’s biggest problems, which is exacerbating climate change. Think with me: The fewer trees there are in the world, the greater the amount of greenhouse gases. After all, it is nature that makes living things alive.

Reforestation process One way to prevent the effects of climate change from getting worse for the planet. Replanting trees in declining environmental areas; that is, to regenerate a forest damaged by illegal farming, mining, deforestation, fires and other causes.

In simpler words, we can say that the purpose of afforestation is to restore forests that have been destroyed due to various environmental problems. This allows for the restoration of natural habitats, oxygen production and, of course, contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases by helping the planet absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.

“There are 900 million hectares of land in the world suitable for reforestation and afforestation. The United Nations aims to reforest 80 million hectares per year, but we are still only able to reach 8 million hectares per year. It is clear that it is imperative to significantly accelerate the reforestation process,” Adrien said in an exclusive interview with TecMundo.

How can technology help reforest planet Earth?

MORFO is a Brazilian-French startup developing a large-scale solution. Reforestation of ecosystems in Brazil and other parts of the world, especially in tropical and subtropical environments Like in the Atlantic ForestIn the Amazon and the African Equatorial Forest. In some parts of these regions, forests have become deforested and unproductive due to environmental crimes or fires; Therefore, MORFO is carrying out a reforestation process divided into different stages.

The company’s process essentially uses drones to sow seeds over large areas; including steep and difficult to reach terrain. For example, A single drone has the capacity to plant 180 capsules per minute on 50 hectares per day.. The startup claims this is a process approximately 50 times faster than common reforestation methods.

Stages of reforestation using drone:

• In the first stage, MORFO analyzes data on the area to be reforested using drones and satellites;
• The second stage is the selection and collection of local or endemic seeds that have been previously studied and tested in the laboratory;
• In the third phase, planting is carried out using drones to distribute thousands of seeds into capsules that offer all the biological and nutritional elements necessary for long-term reforestation;
• The final step is to monitor these areas for 5 to 30 years using images from drones and satellites.

According to Adrien, some of the main beneficial differences in using the technology are that it is not a very costly, labor-intensive method or one that will present many challenges in scaling the operation, and it is also much faster than traditional methods. .

The co-founder also emphasized that the aim of the operation is not to replace people using technology, but to facilitate and accelerate the entire reforestation process. Therefore, on average, 20% of all projects are carried out by humans.; For example, in one action north of Rio de Janeiro, MORFO used drones to reforest 75% of the area, but the people living there were responsible for finishing the remaining 25%.

Benefits of using drones:

• Efficiency: Drones are much more efficient than manual planting by humans. They can cultivate 20 to 100 times faster than humans. A single drone can cover up to 50 hectares per day and plant 180 seed capsules per minute.
• Cost reduction: Using a drone is up to 5 times more economical, mainly due to the speed of cultivation. Additionally, drone-based planting eliminates the need to set up nurseries and maintain them for several months.
• Improved safety: Drones can reach remote areas and facilitate planting in areas too dangerous for human intervention, common in many reforestation projects.

“We have plans to restore millions of hectares in the coming years as we are currently finalizing several contracts. We are also expanding our laboratory in Brazil and strengthening our collaborations with universities. [brasileiras] (We already have scientific programs with UFV, UFPR and UFScar). We will continue to actively recruit new team members to support our growth and mission,” says Adrien.

Can Artificial Intelligence (AI) help?

In addition to drones, the French-Brazilian startup also uses different technologies such as computer vision for terrain analysis and monitoring, satellites for monitoring, soil sensors, geographic information systems (GIS) to carry out the reforestation phases.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions are also extremely important in helping reforestation and protecting forest ecosystems. For example, Using AI in conjunction with satellite imagery can accurately track changes in hundreds of deforested areas and those suffering from the effects of climate change. There are also artificial intelligence that can help predict, detect and map fires in forest areas.

“I believe AI tools are essential at every stage of a restoration project. One of our most advanced teams consists of data scientists. Their work involves turning satellite imagery and data collected by drones into actionable information to identify planting patterns. AI comes into play at different moments of the project: for analysis before the start of the project, just before planting to determine the species to be planted and the planting plan to be followed, and for monitoring and follow-up after planting,” explains Adrian. .

The world is our natural habitat, we plant food and medicinal plants on it, and as a society, we build societies that can live healthy. This is why it is so important to take good care of our planet to provide a safe and healthy home for future generations..

Did you like the content? Stay up to date with more science and technology curiosities at TecMundo. If you wish, also learn why trees grow less in tropical forests.