Tree adaptive growth (TAG) model: a life-history theory-based analytical model for post-thinning forest stand dynamics.

Background: Understanding stand dynamics is essential for predicting future wood supply and associated ecosystem services for sustainable forest management. The dynamics of natural stands can be characterized by age-dependent growth and yield models. However, dynamics in managed stands appear somewhat different from that of natural stands, especially with difficulties in explaining the phenomenon of post-thinning overcompensation, based upon some long-term observations. Though overcompensation is an ideal outcome for the forest sector, it had been largely treated as an outlier and thus ignored or dismissed as "out-of-the-ordinary". Methodology: We developed a life history theory-based, state-dependent model of Tree Adaptive Growth (TAG) to investigate this phenomenon and verified that overcompensation should be a common outcome in post-thinning forest stands when the stand growth over time is sigmoid shaped. TAG posits that individual trees will invest proportionately more into growth following thinning because it is evolutionarily adaptive to do so. Results: Our investigation of the model's behavior unearthed diverse stand growth patterns similar to that which is observed in the empirical datasets and predicted by a statistics-based Tree's Compensatory Growth (TreeCG) model. Conclusion: A simple, theory-driven, analytical model, TAG, can reproduce the diverse growth patterns in post-thinning stands and thus assist addressing silviculture-related issues. The model can be applied to various jurisdictions even without detailed regional growth and yield relationships and is capable of incorporating the effects of other time sensitive factors like fertilization, pruning, and climate change.

Green deserts, but not always: A global synthesis of native woody species regeneration under tropical tree monocultures.

Tree monocultures constitute an increasing fraction of the global tree cover and are the dominant tree-growing strategy of forest landscape restoration commitments. Their advantages to produce timber are well known, but their value for biodiversity is highly controversial and context dependent. Therefore, understanding whether, and in which conditions, they can harbor native species regeneration is crucial. Here, we conducted meta-analyses based on a global survey of the literature and on a database created with local, unpublished studies throughout Brazil to evaluate the regeneration potential of native species under tree monocultures and the way management influences this regeneration. Native woody species regeneration under tree monocultures harbors a substantial fraction of the diversity (on average 40% and 68% in the global and Brazilian surveys, respectively) and abundance (on average 25% and 60% in the global and Brazilian surveys, respectively) of regeneration observed in natural forests. Plantations with longer rotation lengths, composed of native tree species, and located adjacent to forest remnants harbor more species. Pine plantations harbor more native individuals than eucalypt plantations, and the abundance of regenerating trees is higher in sites with higher mean temperatures. Species-area curves revealed that the number of woody species under pine and eucalypt plantations in Brazil is 606 and 598 species, respectively, over an aggregated sampled area of ca. 12 ha. We highlight that the understory of tree monocultures can harbor a considerable diversity of regenerating native species at the landscape and regional scales, but this diversity strongly depends on management. Long-rotation length and favorable location are key factors for woody regeneration success under tropical tree monocultures. Therefore, tree monocultures can play a role in forest landscape restoration and conservation, but only if they are planned and managed for achieving this purpose.

Large CO2 reduction and enhanced thermal performance of agro-forestry, construction and demolition waste based fly ash bricks for sustainable construction.

The exhaust gases in production of burnt clay bricks is responsible for greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission which increase the carbon footprint in the ecosystem. Here, we report carbon emission and thermal performance based evaluation of 8 ft. × 9 ft. × 8 ft. building. The bricks used in building construction are manufactured from fly ash, agro-forestry wastes, construction & demolition wastes (C&D), ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) using NaOH as activator in order to provide compressive strength in the range of 3-6 MPa with ambient curing at 30 °C for 28 days. Life cycle analysis (LCA) reveals the total CO2 emission for fly ash and burnt clay bricks estimated to be 43.28 gCO2 and 290 gCO2 per brick, respectively. Considering the current scenario, by replacing 1-2% of brunt clay bricks with agro-forestry waste, C&D waste based fly ash bricks can potentially reduce 0.5-1.5 million tons of CO2 emission annually. The embodied energy calculation shows fly ash based bricks consumes 10-15 times less energy as compared to burnt clay bricks. Thermal paremeters viz., U-value (0.5-1.2 W/m2K), thermal conductivity (0.4-0.5 W/mK) show adequate insulation of agro-forestry waste based fly ash bricks highlighting its importance of thermal comfort, CO2 reduction along with sustainable and eco-friendly construction practices.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) phytoaccumulation in urban areas by Platanus × acerifolia, Celtis australis, and Tilia grandifolia leaves and branches.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations in the leaves and 1-year-old branches of three common tree species growing in a middle-sized city located in a moderate climate zone were estimated. For this purpose, PAH phytoaccumulation in Platanus × acerifolia, Celtis australis, and Tilia grandifolia species from highly urbanized, traffic congested, and highly PAH-contaminated streets was compared with trees from non-contaminated parks in the same urban core. The gathered data was used to define 17 PAH profiles, identify the main PAH pollution emission sources, and determine the organ and species specificity of PAHs accumulation. Due to the direct absorption of polluted air via stomata, the leaves accumulated up to 30% more PAHs compared to the 1-year-old branches. As expected, PAH concentrations were much higher in street trees, while heavy weight PAHs (with five and six rings) were accumulated in the highest concentrations. The highest foliar Σ17 PAH concentrations were detected in street-grown C. australis, followed by P. acerifolia and T. grandifolia (502.68, 488.45, and 339.47 ng g-1 dry weight (DW), respectively). The same pattern was noted for Σ17 PAHs in branches (414.89, 327.58, and 342.99 ng g-1 DW, respectively). Thus, T. grandifolia emerged as the least effective PAH sink as it accumulated up to ~ 40% less PAHs than P. acerifolia and C. australis leaves/branches. Among the 17 tracked PAHs, benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[a]pyrene, dibenzo[a,h]anthracene, and pyrene were found to have accumulated in the highest concentrations in all analyzed species irrespective of the site, and accounted for more than 50% of the total detected PAHs. Finally, a "black box" about species and organ specificity, as well as specific drivers that limit PAHs uptake capacity by trees, was opened, while this work provides insights into further PAH phytoremediation strategies.

Carbon stock projection for four major forest plantation species in Japan.

Carbon sequestration via afforestation and forest growth is effective for mitigating global warming. Accurate and robust information on forest growth characteristics by tree species, region, and large-scale land-use change is vital and future prediction of forest carbon stocks based on this information is of great significance. These predictions allow exploring forestry practices that maximize carbon sequestration by forests, including wood production. Forest inventories based on field measurements are considered the most accurate method for estimating forest carbon stocks. Japan's national forest inventories (NFIs) provide stand volumes for all Japanese forests, and estimates from direct field observations (m-NFIs) are the most reliable. Therefore, using the m-NFI from 2009 to 2013, we selected four major forest plantation species in Japan: Cryptomeria japonica, Chamaecyparis obtusa, Pinus spp., and Larix kaempferi and presented their forest age-carbon density function. We then estimated changes in forest carbon stocks from the past to the present using the functions. Next, we investigated the differences in the carbon sequestration potential of forests, including wood production, between five forestry practice scenarios with varying harvesting and afforestation rates, until 2061. Our results indicate that, for all four forest types, the estimates of growth rates and past forest carbon stocks in this study were higher than those considered until now. The predicted carbon sequestration from 2011 to 2061, assuming that 100 % of harvested carbon is retained for a long time, twice the rate of harvesting compared to the current rate, and a 100 % afforestation rate in harvested area, was three to four times higher than that in a scenario with no harvesting or replanting. Our results suggest that planted Japanese forests can exhibit a high carbon sequestration potential under the premise of active management, harvesting, afforestation, and prolonging the residence time of stored carbon in wood products with technology development.

Occupational accidents in Slovak Military Forests and Estates: incidence, timing, and trends over 10 years.

Introduction: Forestry provides a wide range of employment opportunities worldwide and is seen as one of the high-risk industries in terms of occupational accidents. Objectives: The submitted study analyzed the injury rate in the Military Forests and Estates of the Slovak Republic (62.6 thousand ha) between 2013 and 2022. Methods: The data analyses included regression and correlation analyses, χ2 tests to analyze the relationships between studied variables, and incidence rates. Results: During the observed period, employees suffered 26 occupational accidents, of which 19.2% were light, 57.7% were registered, 23.1% were severe, and 0% were fatal. For every 1 million m3 of harvested timber, 7.7 accidents occurred. The incidence rate during the observed period was 672.1/100,000 employees. The highest proportion of accidents was in the age group 51-60 years and in employees with the lowest length of work experience <5 years. Regarding time, the highest proportion of occupational accidents occurred between 8:01 and 10:00 AM (53.8%) and day-wise on Thursdays (46.2%). The highest proportion of accidents occurred among forest workers (65.3%) during pruning and silviculture activities (42.3%). The most common injury site was forest stands (65.3%). Superficial injuries (34.6%) were the most common, mainly affecting the lower limbs (50%). The most frequent material agents causing the accidents were work and transport areas as sources of worker fall (38.5%), and the most frequent reason for an accident to occur was the lack of personal requirements for proper work performance (92.4%), whereas only (3.8%) of accidents occurred due to the use of forbidden or hazardous working procedures. Conclusion: The presented study identified the most vulnerable worker groups and provided an overview of the overall injury rate at the state forest company in Slovakia. The documentation can be incorporated into the safety strategies of forest enterprises.

Tannins and Climate Change: Are Tannins Able To Stabilize Carbon in the Soil?

The interaction between tannins and proteins has been studied intensively for more than half a century as a result of its significance for various applications. In chemical ecology, tannins are involved in response to environmental stress, including biotic (pathogens and herbivores) and abiotic (e.g., drought) stress, and in carbon (C) and nutrient cycling. This perspective summarizes the newest insights into the role of tannins in soil processes, including the interaction with fungi leading to C stabilization. Recent knowledge presented here may help to optimize land management to increase or preserve soil C to mitigate climate change.

Carbon sequestration potential of plantation forests in New Zealand - no single tree species is universally best.

BACKGROUND: Plantation forests are a nature-based solution to sequester atmospheric carbon and, therefore, mitigate anthropogenic climate change. The choice of tree species for afforestation is subject to debate within New Zealand. Two key issues are whether to use (1) exotic plantation species versus indigenous forest species and (2) fast growing short-rotation species versus slower growing species. In addition, there is a lack of scientific knowledge about the carbon sequestration capabilities of different plantation tree species, which hinders the choice of species for optimal carbon sequestration. We contribute to this discussion by simulating carbon sequestration of five plantation forest species, Pinus radiata, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Eucalyptus fastigata, Sequoia sempervirens and Podocarpus totara, across three sites and two silvicultural regimes by using the 3-PG an ecophysiological model. RESULTS: The model simulations showed that carbon sequestration potential varies among the species, sites and silvicultural regimes. Indigenous Podocarpus totara or exotic Sequoia sempervirens can provide plausible options for long-term carbon sequestration. In contrast, short term rapid carbon sequestration can be obtained by planting exotic Pinus radiata, Pseudotsuga menziesii and Eucalyptus fastigata. CONCLUSION: No single species was universally better at sequestering carbon on all sites we tested. In general, the results of this study suggest a robust framework for ranking and testing candidate afforestation species with regard to carbon sequestration potential at a given site. Hence, this study could help towards more efficient decision-making for carbon forestry.

LAMP assay to detect Elsinoë necatrix; an important Eucalyptus shoot and leaf pathogen.

Eucalyptus scab and shoot malformation caused by Elsinoë necatrix is an emerging disease and a serious threat to the global commercial forestry industry. The disease was first discovered in North Sumatra, Indonesia and now requires a simple and effective method for early pathogen detection. In this study, a rapid and sensitive Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was developed for E. necatrix. A unique region in a secondary metabolite gene cluster was used as target for the assay. To test robustness of the assay, LAMP amplification was verified in 15 strains of E. necatrix. A specificity test against 23 closely related Elsinoë species and three fungal species commonly isolated on Eucalyptus showed that the LAMP assay exclusively identified E. necatrix isolates. The assay had a high level of sensitivity, able to detect 0.01 ng (approximately 400 target copies) of pure E. necatrix DNA. Furthermore, using a simple DNA extraction method, it was possible to use this assay to detect E. necatrix in infected Eucalyptus leaves.

Extracted Eucalyptus globulus Bark Fiber as a Potential Substrate for Pinus radiata and Quillaja saponaria Germination.

This study aimed to explore alternative substrates for growing forest species using eucalyptus bark. It evaluated the potential of extracted Eucalyptus globulus fiber bark as a substitute for commercial growing media such as coconut fiber, moss, peat, and compost pine. We determined the physicochemical parameters of the growing media, the germination rate, and the mean fresh and dry weights of seedlings. We used the Munoo-Liisa Vitality Index (MLVI) test to evaluate the phytotoxicity of the bark alone and when mixed with commercial substrates. Generally, the best mixture for seed growth was 75% extracted eucalyptus bark fiber and 25% commercial substrates. In particular, the 75E-25P (peat) mixture is a promising substitute for seedling growth of Pinus radiata, achieving up to 3-times higher MLVI than the control peat alone. For Quillaja saponaria, the best growth substrate was the 50E-50C (coconut fiber) mixture, which had the most significant MLVI values (127%). We added chitosan and alginate-encapsulated fulvic acid phytostimulants to improve the performance of the substrate mixtures. The fulvic acid, encapsulated or not, significantly improved MLVI values in Q. saponaria species and P. radiata in concentrations between 0.05 and 0.1% w/v. This study suggests that mixtures with higher levels of extracted fiber are suitable for growing forest species, thus promoting the application of circular economy principles in forestry.

Detection of morphological and eco-physiological traits of ornamental woody species to assess their potential Net O3 uptake.

Urban greening can improve cities' air quality by filtering the main gaseous pollutants such as tropospheric ozone (O3). However, the pollutant removal capacity offered by woody species strongly depends on eco-physiological and morphological traits. Woody species with higher stomatal conductance (gs) can remove more gases from the atmosphere, but other species can worsen air quality due to high O3 forming potential (OFP), based on their emitting rates of biogenic volatile organic compounds (bVOCs) and Leaf Mass per Area (LMA). Presently, there is a lack of data on eco-physiological (gs, bVOCs emissions) and foliar traits (LMA) for several ornamental species used in urban greening programs, which does not allow assessment of their O3 removal capacity and OFP. This study aimed to (i) parameterize gs, assess bVOCs emissions and LMA of 14 ornamental woody species commonly used in Mediterranean urban greening, and (ii) model their Net O3 uptake. The gs Jarvis model was parameterized considering various environmental conditions alongside isoprene and monoterpene foliar bVOCs emission rates trapped in the field and quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results are helpful for urban planning and landscaping; suggesting that Catalpa bignonioides and Gleditsia triacanthos have excellent O3 removal capacity due to their high maximum gs (gmax) equal to 0.657 and 0.597 mol H2O m-2 s-1. Regarding bVOCs, high isoprene (16.75 µg gdw-1 h-1) and monoterpene (13.12 µg gdw-1 h-1) emission rates were found for Rhamnus alaternus and Cornus mas. In contrast, no bVOCs emissions were detected for Camellia sasanqua and Paulownia tomentosa. In conclusion, 11 species showed a positive Net O3 uptake, while the use of large numbers of R. alaternus, C. mas, and Chamaerops humilis for urban afforestation planning are not recommended due to their potential to induce a deterioration of outdoor air quality.

A drained nutrient-poor peatland forest in boreal Sweden constitutes a net carbon sink after integrating terrestrial and aquatic fluxes.

Northern peatlands provide a globally important carbon (C) store. Since the beginning of the 20th century, however, large areas of natural peatlands have been drained for biomass production across Fennoscandia. Today, drained peatland forests constitute a common feature of the managed boreal landscape, yet their ecosystem C balance and associated climate impact are not well understood, particularly within the nutrient-poor boreal region. In this study, we estimated the net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) from a nutrient-poor drained peatland forest and an adjacent natural mire in northern Sweden by integrating terrestrial carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and methane (CH4 ) fluxes with aquatic losses of dissolved organic C (DOC) and inorganic C based on eddy covariance and stream discharge measurements, respectively, over two hydrological years. Since the forest included a dense spruce-birch area and a sparse pine area, we were able to further evaluate the effect of contrasting forest structure on the NECB and component fluxes. We found that the drained peatland forest was a net C sink with a 2-year mean NECB of -115 ± 5 g C m-2 year-1 while the adjacent mire was close to C neutral with 14.6 ± 1.7 g C m-2 year-1 . The NECB of the drained peatland forest was dominated by the net CO2 exchange (net ecosystem exchange [NEE]), whereas NEE and DOC export fluxes contributed equally to the mire NECB. We further found that the C sink strength in the sparse pine forest area (-153 ± 8 g C m-2 year-1 ) was about 1.5 times as high as in the dense spruce-birch forest area (-95 ± 8 g C m-2 year-1 ) due to enhanced C uptake by ground vegetation and lower DOC export. Our study suggests that historically drained peatland forests in nutrient-poor boreal regions may provide a significant net ecosystem C sink and associated climate benefits.

Long-term effects of vegetation restoration and forest management on carbon pools and nutrient storages in northeastern Loess Plateau, China.

It is crucial for understanding the variations of carbon and nutrient pools within the ecosystems during long-term vegetation restoration to accurately assess the effects of different ecological restoration patterns. However, the long-term spatio-temporal variations of carbon and nutrient pools under different vegetation types remain unclear. The sites for long-term natural and planted forests (i.e., Natural secondary forest, Pinus tabulaeformis planted forest, Platycladus orientalis planted forest, and Robinia pseudoacacia planted forest) on the northeastern Loess Plateau, China were selected, to measure and analyze the differences and interannual variations of vegetation attributes at four synusiae and soil properties at 0-100 cm over the period of 12 years (2006-2017). The principal component analysis (PCA) and Mantel test were also conducted to explore the relationships among vegetation attributes, soil properties, and carbon and nutrient pools. The results showed that: compared with the planted forests, the natural secondary forest had lower arborous biomass (84.21 ± 1.53 t hm-2) and higher understory biomass and plant heights. Compared to planted forests, the secondary forest had higher soil carbon and nitrogen contents (13.74 ± 3.50 g kg-1 and 1.16 ± 0.34 g kg-1). The soil carbon pool in the secondary forest was 22.0% higher than planted forests, while the vegetation carbon pool in the P. tabulaeformis was 75.5% higher than other forests. Principal component analysis (PCA) and Mantel test revealed that vegetation attributes and soil properties had significant correlations with carbon and nutrient pools, especially at the arborous synusia (p < 0.01). The findings indicated that in the ecologically fragile Loess Plateau region, the selection of appropriate vegetation restoration types should be guided by varying ecological restoration goals and benefits, aiming to expected ecological outcomes. This insight offers a strategic implication for forest management that is tailored to improve carbon and nutrient pools in areas with similar environmental conditions.

Proceed with Caution: Social Acceptability of Forestry Practices in Puerto Rico among Members of Local Environmental Organizations, Academia and Professional Associations.

Social acceptability of forestry practices plays a key role in defining sustainable forestry policies and strategies. In this study an online survey was distributed among members of environmental, non-governmental, professional, and academic organizations to assess the acceptability of forestry practices in Puerto Rico among members of civic society interested in environmental management issues. Participants were asked about their perception of forest uses, their preference of tree harvesting technologies, methods that may apply in small scale wood production settings, and trust in organizations providing forest information. We also inquired about attitudes towards economic activity in forests and the impact of such activity on recreation and biodiversity. The results show that even though participants do not place a high priority on economic development through forestry activities, acceptance of forest management for wood harvesting will be possible by considering adherence to particular forestry technologies and methods to safeguard current recreation activities and biodiversity conservation. Social acceptability information would be worthwhile when seeking consensus among a broader group of local stakeholders. As a next step we suggest the creation of a council constituted by diverse forestry sector stakeholders that would engage in a strategic planning exercise to delineate a clear road map that can guide short and long-term sustainable forest management, including wood industry development.

Terrestrial LiDAR point cloud dataset of cocoa trees grown in agroforestry systems in Cameroon.

This paper presents a dataset aimed at characterizing cocoa trees cultivated within complex agroforestry systems managed by smallholder farmers in the Central region of Cameroon. The dataset highlights the architectural structure of the trees as well as the distribution of their leaves and wood using 3D point clouds obtained through the Leica ScanStation C10 terrestrial LiDAR. The data collection campaign was conducted in August 2019 in the district of Bokito (latitude 4°34' N and longitude 11°07' E), specifically within the village of Yorro located in a transition zone between forest and savannah. The dataset includes information on 55 cocoa trees, spread over five distinct architectural types. These trees were sampled from various age stands ranging from 5- to 70-year-old. For 29 of these trees, a leaf/wood segmentation of the point clouds was performed. For each of these trees, the dataset comprises the raw point cloud of the entire tree, as well as separate point clouds for the leaves and wood, each in two distinct sets of 3D points. The data provides the foundation for conducting numerous cocoa tree measurements based on their representation in point clouds, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of their architecture, photosynthetic capacity, and distribution of above-ground biomass.

Are the ladybugs Cryptolaemus montrouzieri and Exochomus quadripustulatus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) candidate predators of Toumeyella parvicornis (Hemiptera: Coccidae)?

BACKGROUND: Toumeyella parvicornis is an alien pest of recent introduction in Italy that infests stone pines (Pinus pinea L.), its main host plant in Europe. Infestations are currently controlled through endotherapic treatments, but the high costs and the long-term inefficacy highlight the need for alternative control strategies applicable in natural systems as well. An analysis of the effectiveness of autochthonous and naturalized predators is the first step to achieve this goal. This work focused on two candidate predators, Exochomus quadripustulatus and Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), that may potentially control T. parvicornis. The analysis was carried out under laboratory-controlled and semi-field conditions. RESULTS: Laboratory tests were carried out to assess: (i) the predation rate of the ladybugs over different densities of pest preimaginal stages, and (ii) the effect of the presence of heterospecific and conspecific predators on the attractiveness of prey colonies. Semi-field experimentations were carried out by wrapping infested stone pine twigs with net sleeves and applying one of three treatments: (i) Exochomus quadripustulatus, (ii) Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, and (iii) control containing only the pest population. Both the ladybugs were attracted by T. parvicornis, offered as prey. Exochomus quadripustulatus was more attracted to conspecific and heterospecific ladybugs than Cryptolaemus montrouzieri and responded to prey more quickly. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained could be useful for planning further experimentations to explore the potential use of these predators in biological control programs that may be applied in infested areas. Besides the use in an urban context, where pesticide use is strongly limited, the release of natural enemies may help safeguard stone pine forests. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Multi-source information fusion-driven corn yield prediction using the Random Forest from the perspective of Agricultural and Forestry Economic Management.

The objective of this study is to promptly and accurately allocate resources, scientifically guide grain distribution, and enhance the precision of crop yield prediction (CYP), particularly for corn, along with ensuring application stability. The digital camera is selected to capture the digital image of a 60 m × 10 m experimental cornfield. Subsequently, the obtained data on corn yield and statistical growth serve as inputs for the multi-source information fusion (MSIF). The study proposes an MSIF-based CYP Random Forest model by amalgamating the fluctuating corn yield dataset. In relation to the spatial variability of the experimental cornfield, the fitting degree and prediction ability of the proposed MSIF-based CYP Random Forest are analyzed, with statistics collected from 1-hectare, 10-hectare, 20-hectare, 30-hectare, and 50-hectare experimental cornfields. Results indicate that the proposed MSIF-based CYP Random Forest model outperforms control models such as support vector machine (SVM) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), achieving the highest prediction accuracy of 89.30%, surpassing SVM and LSTM by approximately 13.44%. Meanwhile, as the experimental field size increases, the proposed model demonstrates higher prediction accuracy, reaching a maximum of 98.71%. This study is anticipated to offer early warnings of potential factors affecting crop yields and to further advocate for the adoption of MSIF-based CYP. These findings hold significant research implications for personnel involved in Agricultural and Forestry Economic Management within the context of developing agricultural economy.

Sensors for Digital Transformation in Smart Forestry.

Smart forestry, an innovative approach leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), aims to enhance forest management while minimizing the environmental impact. The efficacy of AI in this domain is contingent upon the availability of extensive, high-quality data, underscoring the pivotal role of sensor-based data acquisition in the digital transformation of forestry. However, the complexity and challenging conditions of forest environments often impede data collection efforts. Achieving the full potential of smart forestry necessitates a comprehensive integration of sensor technologies throughout the process chain, ensuring the production of standardized, high-quality data essential for AI applications. This paper highlights the symbiotic relationship between human expertise and the digital transformation in forestry, particularly under challenging conditions. We emphasize the human-in-the-loop approach, which allows experts to directly influence data generation, enhancing adaptability and effectiveness in diverse scenarios. A critical aspect of this integration is the deployment of autonomous robotic systems in forests, functioning both as data collectors and processing hubs. These systems are instrumental in facilitating sensor integration and generating substantial volumes of quality data. We present our universal sensor platform, detailing our experiences and the critical importance of the initial phase in digital transformation-the generation of comprehensive, high-quality data. The selection of appropriate sensors is a key factor in this process, and our findings underscore its significance in advancing smart forestry.