Visualization of forest management and felling measures
VISUALIZATION of forest management and felling measures
Track 01: Information design and visualization
Tags: visualization, service design, infographics, user interface design, GIS.
Sponsor: Metsä Group
Challenge
The objective is to create a visual concept that can explain, in visual terms, to a new forest owner why management measures and felling are worth carrying out.
The final product should be a demo that displays the impact that a measure (felling/forest management) has on a few stands in terms of the scenery, cash flow and the return on capital employed.
Additionally, you can consider the environmental value, sustainable growth, or other preferences of the forest owner (e.g. preparing the forest as a legacy).
Background
The structure of forest ownership is changing rapidly. Forest owners are urbanising, their education levels are higher, they are less inclined to act on their own initiative and the need for services is growing.
In the future, an increasingly small number of forest owners will have the time, will and skill to manage their forests. Forestry competence will also decline. This is why we need concepts that support decision-making in wood trade and can demonstrate the impact that the measures (felling, forest management) have on the scenery as well as the cash flow and return on capital employed during the forest’s rotation period.
In other words, what kind of impact a particular measure will have on the forest scenery, what the return on capital employed is, and how much the cash flow will improve during the stand’s rotation period if the measure is carried out.
Virtual forests will become possible in the near future, but what we are looking for here is a visual representation of the concept that is as good as possible for the website.
Approach and considerations
Familiarise yourself with Metsäverkko (www.metsaverkko.fi) and think about how to integrate the concept into Metsäverkko’s user interface.
You can find more information on the change of forest ownership in the study Metsänomistaja 2030 (available in Finnish).
To simulate the impact of measures, you can use the MOTTI Stand Simulator http://www.metla.fi/metinfo/motti/index-en.htm
Rather than focusing on precise figures, you should create a concept that is as visually illustrative as possible, helping a new forest owner’s decision-making in relation to their own forest.
Technology
You can consider and try out the below examples and technologies. However, you’re not limited to use them at all, or only them. You should explore different approaches and find technology that supports your idea.
IBM DSX (available in Bluemix)
https://datascience.ibm.com/community
Pixiedust (data visualisation helper)
https://github.com/ibm-watson-data-lab/pixiedust
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYUdXFEmxP4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEo3klBpOV0&t=1525s
Watson IoT
https://developer.ibm.com/recipes/tutorials/?s=water
https://developer.ibm.com/recipes/tutorials/?s=IoT
Watson for Unity