A 60,000-ha LiDAR‑based inventory enabling precision forestry

Arbonaut and MW Forest Sense delivered a complete LiDAR-based forest inventory covering 60,000 hectares across the Tärna-Stensele & Sorsele Övre (TSA-SÖA) regions in Sweden. The project provides a detailed understanding of forest conditions, supporting smarter timber collection and operational planning.

Traditional field-based inventory methods are slow, labor-intensive, and often not precise enough for modern forestry needs. TSA-SÖA needed reliable data to:

  • Estimate standing timber volume
  • Forecast growth more accurately
  • Plan harvesting operations efficiently

MW Forest Sense subcontracted Opegieka to perform high‑resolution LiDAR scanning, while Arbonaut analyzed the data and produced detailed map products.

The LiDAR data enabled:

  • Consistent and precise 3D forest structure mapping
  • Species-specific diameter distribution analysis
  • Improved stand-level growth forecasting

“The results can support forest planning in several ways. Improved timber stock estimates help identify suitable harvesting sites, while enhanced species-specific diameter distributions strengthen stand-level growth forecasting and product assortment evaluations. Together, these products help TSA-SÖA move toward precision forestry, where decisions and operations are tailored to the unique characteristics of each area.” — Ingrid Dorigetto, Project Manager & Remote Sensing Analyst, Arbonaut

Volume of trees in the forest

Volume m³

The total number of trees currently standing in a specific forest area.
Site index of forests

Growth potential per year m³/ha

How much new wood that forest area can grow in one year per hectare.
Thinning needs analysis

Thinning index m²/ha

A measure of how crowded the trees are and how much the stand might benefit from thinning.

TSA-SÖA now benefits from an accurate picture of their forest resources, enabling:

  • Better harvest area prioritization
  • Efficiency of vehicle mobility and route planning
  • Reduced operational costs and time spent in the field
  • Informed decision-making across all operations

About

Tärna-Stensele Allmänningsskog and Sorsele Övre Allmänningsskog are community-owned forest enterprises (allmänningsskogar) located in Västerbotten, Swedish Lapland. Both organizations operate as long-established forest management entities, responsible for coordinating forestry operations, land stewardship, and community benefits. Sorsele Övre Allmänningsskog provides access to extensive hunting grounds and fishing waters in a vast wilderness environment, while Tärna-Stensele Allmänningsskog covers approximately 55,000 hectares of forest and mountain-adjacent terrain between Storuman and Tärnaby.