As reported by Farmers Weekly<\/a>, Scion \u2014 now part of the Bioeconomy Science Institute \u2014 purchased its first drone in 2015, when UAVs were only just beginning to move beyond military use. Early systems were limited by short battery life, often offering just 15 to 20 minutes of flight time.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThat same year, Scion combined a laser scanner with a drone built by New Zealand manufacturer Aeronavics, a company better known for supplying the Hollywood film industry. The pairing opened the door to high\u2011definition aerial mapping and forest monitoring, laying the foundation for today\u2019s far more advanced systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Modern drones now support 3D modelling, sub\u2011canopy mapping, sample collection, and multi\u2011function missions in a single pass. These capabilities have transformed how foresters assess tree growth, forest health, and terrain complexity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scion scientist Robin Harley said the team is now capturing high\u2011definition LiDAR imagery for precision tree measurement and rendering detailed maps of forest trials. \u201cWe are also exploring niche areas such as sub\u2011canopy flying for characterising stem and branch structure and collecting upper\u2011canopy samples,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The work is increasingly aligned with commercial forestry companies seeking bespoke solutions, including UAV\u2011based spray systems. As drone power and payload capacity grow, mechanical applications are emerging \u2014 from targeted spraying to planting trees on steep or inaccessible terrain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Afforestation projects are also adopting the technology. In Auckland\u2019s Hunua Ranges, Watercare has used drones to disperse seed pods containing native species, dropping 50,000 pods in just half an hour across rugged catchment land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Globally, the trend is accelerating. China is preparing for large\u2011scale drone deployment in forestry, integrating military\u2011grade technology into agricultural and environmental applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LiDAR\u2011equipped drones are being used to map the country\u2019s expanding tree population and to seed the Great Green Wall \u2014 a vast belt of trees designed to halt the spread of the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts. The project, already the world\u2019s largest seeded forest at 66 million trees, is due for completion in 2050.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By 2020, more than 80% of New Zealand\u2019s forestry industry had adopted drones for aerial imagery, whilst LiDAR adoption had jumped from just 17% to 70% in just a few years. A study of 23 companies covering 1.17 million hectares \u2014 two\u2011thirds of the country\u2019s exotic forest estate \u2014 found drone\u2011linked technologies were being used for forest mapping, harvest planning, and cutover analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Zealand foresters are using \u201cflying robots\u201d to plan, measure, and monitor forests, with drones among the most important tools in modern forestry. A decade after Scion first deployed unmanned aerial vehicles for research, the technology has evolved into a core platform for high\u2011resolution mapping, precision measurement, and real\u2011time forest intelligence across the country. As […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31740,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"default","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[114,45,44],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[69],"class_list":{"0":"post-31739","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"category-sustainability","9":"category-sustainable-forest-management"},"authors":[{"term_id":69,"user_id":1,"is_guest":0,"slug":"woodcentral","display_name":"Wood Central","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/MASTER-BRAND-MARK_POS_RGB-e1676449549955.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/MASTER-BRAND-MARK_POS_RGB-e1676449549955.jpg"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31739"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31741,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31739\/revisions\/31741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31739"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=31739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}