The Marcus Wallenberg Prize organizes a webinar on 16 September from 15.00 to 16.00 CEST to discuss the rapid technological development and how to avoid misinterpretation of complex “big data” on forests.

The EU is moving towards new and revised policies on forests to maintain and enhance biodiversity at the same time as forests may serve other human needs. Policy makers face difficult decisions on how to support the role of forests as a supplier of renewable materials and energy in the emerging fossil-free bioeconomy, while not jeopardizing biodiversity. Correct information on forest biodiversity, health, growth and potential yields is key to sustainable management decisions. The rapid development of remote sensing technology is promising to provide such information. But how can decision makers interpret such complex and abundant data correctly? Can we even be sure that scientists always use and interpret them correctly?

The keynote speaker is Erik Næsset, Professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and Marcus Wallenberg Prize Laureate 2011. His major field of research is forest inventory and remote sensing, with particular focus on operational management inventories, sample surveys, photogrammetry, and airborne LiDAR.