- Precision Silviculture Programme
The Thinning workstream aims to develop equipment and techniques that enable forest owners and contractors to undertake cost-effective mechanised thinning operations that reduce reliance on manual labour, and to create a safer working environment.
With tree felling and harvesting increasingly mechanised, thinning with chainsaws is now considered one of the more hazardous forest operations.
- Evaluation of the productivity and any health and safety benefits from using battery-powered chainsaws.
- Evaluation and development of systems for waste and extraction thinning on steep land.
- Final crop tree pre-selection prior to thinning (and possibly pruning) based on UAV remote sensing of tree form and spatial location and to make this thinning (and pruning) plan available to assist the chainsaw thinner or the machine operator or to guide an autonomous machine in the future.
- Optimising forest system design considering both biological and machine efficiencies.
- Design options for integration of mechanised pruning and thinning.
If you are interested in learning more about the projects underway or how you can become more involved in the programme. Please contact Claire Stewart, Programme Manager.
Explore other Precision Silviculture Programme workstreams:
Precision Silviculture Programme News
IUFRO 1.01.04 Tree Establishment and Early Growth Dynamics Conference being held in Rotorua 17-20 March 2025.
Scion will be hosting the IUFRO – International Union of Forest Research Organisations 1.01.04 conference in March this year titled, Achieving Forest establishment success at
How can AI assist in Pathogen Detection?
The FGR Precision Silviculture Programme is always looking at how to utilise digital technologies to improve outcomes and the Nursery workstream is no different. FGR
57th International Symposium on Forestry Mechanisation (FORMEC), June 9-13 2025, Joensuu, Finland
FORMEC 2025 is calling again the family of forest technologists and other friends of sustainable forestry to get together in Joensuu, Finland. The theme of
Related searchable documents and reports
| Title | Date | Report Number | Author | Link | hf:doc_categories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology Adoption Human Factors: Operational Lessons Learned M-Planter | February 19, 2025 | PSP-T028 | Brionny Hooper & Richard Parker (Scion) | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Mechanical Planting Options in New Zealand: PlantmaX | February 17, 2025 | PSP-TN004 | C Rolando (Scion), J Palmer (Forme Consulting), S Wright (Pan Pac Forest Products), Z Chen (Forme Consulting) | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Silviculture Micro_Innovation Challenge : High Stump Manual Thinning | November 28, 2024 | PSP-TN003 | Tim Petro | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Viability of Trichoderma Conidia in Nanocellulose Hydrogel | October 31, 2024 | PSP-T025 | Dr Helen Whelan | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Individual Tree Data Value Project – Phase 2 | October 1, 2024 | PSP-T024 | J Palmer, Z Chen – Forme Consulting Group | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Extended planting season trial using hydrogels : Rayonier Matariki Maramarua Forest – Final Report June 2023 | October 1, 2024 | PSP-T023 | C Rolando (Scion), E Vili, K Fleet, K Yallop (Rayonier Matariki Forests), R Schoonderwoerd | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Current Practices & Challenges in NZ Thinning Operations: Results of a Survey and Workshop in 2023 | October 1, 2024 | PSP-T022 | L Holt & Y Dickinson (Scion) | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Review of fertiliser and nutrient enhancers applied in nursery or at planting (April 2024) | October 1, 2024 | PSP-T021 | Steven Dovey (Scion) | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| GOVOR Forest Nursery Trial & Evaluation May 2024 (FGR372) | October 1, 2024 | PSP-T020 | Jacob Kelley – Tui Technologies | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| PSP Pruning Injury Report- Analysis IRIS Data 2018-2022 (December 2023) | October 1, 2024 | PSP-T019 | Brionny Hooper, Christine Dodunski (Scion), Richard Parker | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Review of Planting Stock Quality & Performance – Feb 2024 | October 1, 2024 | PSP-TR005 | Jacqui Aimers | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| UAV Release Spraying – Results from operational UAV trials | October 1, 2024 | PSP-TN002 | D De Silva, J Henry, J Nairn, P Massam, R Hartley, W Yorston (Scion) | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| UAV Survival Assessments Report : RGB Ortho-plotting | April 24, 2024 | PSP-T014 | J Emmens, R Hartley (Scion) | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| UAV Survival Assessments : SOP Series – Best Practice Guidelines for UAV Forest Operations | April 24, 2024 | PSP-T015 | Jacob Emmens (as part of TFF UAV Survival Assessments project) | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| UAV Survival Assessments : SOP Series – Best Practice Guidelines for UAV Forest Operations | April 24, 2024 | PSP-T016 | Whanarau Edmonds (as part of TFF UAV Survival Assessments project) | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| UAV Survival Assessments Report : the value of wall-to-wall site capture | April 24, 2024 | PSP-T017 | Whanarau Edmonds and Robin Hartley | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| UAV Survival Assessments Report Enhancing Survival Surveys : Multispectral vs RGB UAV Imaging | April 24, 2024 | PSP-T018 | Blake Singleton, Robin Hartley, Sam Davidson | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Hydrogel Trials Nanocellulose Hydrogels & Soil Water Retention Feb2024 | March 18, 2024 | PSP-TN001 | Don White & Carol Rolando, Jen Owens | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Battery Powered Chainsaws in Waste Thinning | December 19, 2023 | PSP-T012 | Rob Prebble Consulting & Scion Rotorua/Christchurch | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Economic review of the M-Planter in New Zealand | September 27, 2023 | PSP-T008 | Various | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Seeding selection using computer vision | July 10, 2023 | PSP-T009 | Dr Brian Russell | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Final Report : Investigation of extending the planting season into late March using hydrogels and growth promoters – Final Report 12 months | June 28, 2023 | PSP-T007 | ALloyd, G Coker, J Moore, KFleet, Project Team : C Ford, S Hill, S Smaill, T Stovold | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Investigation of extending the planting season into late March using hydrogels and growth promoters | May 5, 2023 | PSP-T001 | A Lloyd, C Ford, G Coker, K Fleet, S Hill & J Moore (Timberlands), S Smaill, T Stovold | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Economics of Pruning Radiata Report Dec 2022 | May 2, 2023 | PSP-T005 | Ngahere Resources Ltd | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Time and Motion Study of Battery Powered Pruning Devices in Lake Taupo Forest – Final Report | March 14, 2023 | PSP-T004 | J Palmer & Z Chen | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Economics of pruning radiata | November 29, 2022 | PSP-T002 | G Buchanan, Ngahere Resources Ltd | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Manual and Mechanised Pruning Technologies: A review of the literature | October 28, 2022 | PSP-TR001 | Fergus Rural, Tim Petro | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Mechanised Thin to Waste and Production Thinning Technologies: an International and Domestic Review | October 28, 2022 | PSP-TR002 | Awdon Technologies, Don Scott | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Precision Planting Technology Scan | October 28, 2022 | PSP-TR003 | Fergus Rural, Tim Petro | precision-silviculture-programme-public | |
| Modern nursery technology for containerised and bare rooted production systems | October 28, 2022 | PSP-TR004 | A Lloyd, and G Coker – Scion, B Nanayakkara, C Ford, S Klinger | precision-silviculture-programme-public |
