Virtual Forest

Project lead

Stefan Holm

Deputy

Janine Schweier

Project duration

2021 - 2024

Financing

In this project, realistic digital twins of existing forests are created. These digital twins allow to walk through or fly over the forest on the computer. The application is based on a game engine and contains on the one hand data on the modelled site (digital elevation model, aerial images), on the other hand data on the trees present at the site (species, location, height, dbh, crown shape). By connecting the application with forest growth simulators, long-term effects of different forest management strategies and climate scenarios can be explored visually. The shading of the forest floor by the trees over the course of the day and the year is also realistically simulated. The created application can be used for education and training purposes as well as a communication tool.