Remote sensing for planning harvesting operations and monitoring their effects on the forest ecosystem: State of the art and future perspectives

Abstract

To balance economic and environmental needs, sustainable forest management is essential, requiring strategies that minimise the disturbance caused by management and operations to the forest ecosystem. Effective planning and monitoring are the foundation of this approach, ensuring that harvesting activities do not compromise long-term forest health. Remote sensing has emerged as a powerful tool for achieving sustainable forestry, offering precise data for planning operations and assessing their environmental impact. To summarise the state of the art in this area and define future research needs, we reviewed remote sensing application for planning and monitoring forest operations. Over the past twelve years, advances in satellite and sensor technologies have significantly improved forest management strategies. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), an active remote sensing sensor, plays a fundamental role in designing accessibility networks and mapping soil trafficability, ensuring that machinery access routes are optimised to reduce soil degradation. It is also a key input for decision support systems aimed at refining felling strategies, allowing for a more selective and sustainable approach to timber extraction. Both satellite imagery and LiDAR data are widely used for monitoring the environmental impacts of forest operations, with satellite imagery primarily assessing canopy disturbance, while airborne or terrestrial LiDAR captures both canopy and soil disruptions. Advances in artificial intelligence and the integration of various remote sensing technologies will further improve the possibility of monitoring the disturbance related to forest operations, by increasing the detection accuracy and improving the process of disturbance detection. However, to transition from research to widespread operational use, it is crucial to develop user-friendly software interfaces and establish training programs tailored to forestry practitioners, whose decision-making often occurs in resource-limited field environments. By addressing these operational realities, such tools can become genuinely accessible instruments for sustainable forest operations.