IoT in Forestry

Summary

Extreme weather events and rising temperatures across Europe have led to an ever-increasing amount of bark beetle damage in forests. In collaboration with Embever, Witasek Pflanzenschutz GmbH developed a biotech-based IoT solution to address this issue. The intelligent monitoring system helps forest owners and foresters detect infestations early and take timely action to prevent widespread damage.

Challenge

At the outset of their partnership, some of Witasek’s customers faced major hurdles, especially in areas requiring intensive bark beetle population monitoring.

Early Detection of Infestations
In certain high-risk regions, spotting bark beetle swarms and high population densities early is crucial to prevent mass outbreaks and the resulting forest damage. Climate change has only accelerated their spread in these areas. Traditional monitoring methods were labor- and time-intensive, often resulting in too-late responses to new infestations.

High Personnel Costs
Manually monitoring large forested areas using pheromone traps required a substantial workforce. These traps needed to be checked and cleaned on a regular basis, leading to higher operating costs and delayed interventions.

Hard-to-Reach Monitoring Sites
For cost and logistical reasons, monitoring traps were often set up only in easily accessible locations. Critical sites where infestations could begin remained largely unmonitored and were only discovered after significant damage had occurred.

Solution

Responding to these challenges, Witasek and Embever developed a digital bark beetle counter to bolster forest protection.

Reliable Measurement Methods
Together, they devised and tested a robust technical counting method through an intensive development process. Multiple prototypes underwent extensive testing over a prolonged period to ensure maximum accuracy and reliability.

Versatile Platform for Forest Digitalization
Hardware development took place in close collaboration with the customer in an agile, iterative process, ensuring all outdoor requirements were met. Prototypes were created and tested at short notice. The trap itself consists of a measurement and transmission unit plus a sensor module, all of which can be adapted to different environmental conditions.

Comprehensive Industrialization for Series Production
The product was fully industrialized and prepared for series production, including certification and cost optimization. Embever defined, optimized, and implemented efficient production processes to ensure high quality.

Dashboard

• Management Dashboard: An admin dashboard for Witasek allows traps to be assigned and deployed for various customers.
• End-Customer Dashboard: A customer-facing dashboard enables the management of traps in specific regions, displays geodata, and offers export features for scientific purposes.

Outcome

Collaboration between Witasek and Embever has significantly enhanced forest protection against bark beetle infestations. With IoT monitoring, foresters and forest owners can respond faster and more precisely, reducing the risk of large-scale damage. This innovation not only increases efficiency in forest management but also lowers operating costs by minimizing manual inspections.

About Witasek

Witasek Pflanzenschutz GmbH is a leading provider of forest protection solutions, relying on innovative biotech methods to combat pest infestations. Embever, a spin-off of the University of Magdeburg founded in 2017, specializes in hardware, embedded systems, and cloud applications, delivering advanced IoT solutions that increase operational efficiency and reliability across various industries.