A large drone flies over the charred remains of Canadian forests devastated by wildfires, spraying the ground with seed capsules...
A large drone flies over the charred remains of Canadian forests devastated by wildfires, spraying the ground with seed capsules to speed reforestation.
This northern Quebec region was ravaged by megafires in the summer of 2023, and for the second year in a row, a pilot project is using drones to plant new black spruce and Scots pine trees.
Rather than simply dropping seeds from a great height, Flash Forest, the company leading the initiative, uses seeds protected in capsules that also contain water and nutrients, as well as fungi, to maximize their growth potential.
“There’s a niche for drone reforestation, which we’ve been working on for the past five years,” explained Cameron Jones, co-founder of Flash Forest.
The company is concentrating its efforts on forests that have burned in the last two years, excluding areas that burned earlier and already have vegetation that could displace new seeds.
- 50,000 capsules per day -
Waiting for Canadian forests to recover on their own is no longer viable, with millions of hectares destroyed each year.
In 2023, Canada experienced a record year for wildfires, with fires affecting every province and burning nearly 18 million hectares.
Quebec, and in particular this area in the north of the French-speaking province, was particularly hard hit that year.
Drone operator and geospatial data scientist Owen Lucas explained that this method uses artificial intelligence to map sites in advance.
“Then we choose our sites based on climatic variables, physical attributes, and topographic variables, to ensure we're placing the seeds in the right place,” he said, his eyes fixed on the drone's remote controls.
The company also has projects in another Canadian province, Alberta, and in Colorado, in the United States.
Each drone in operation in Quebec can deliver 50,000 capsules to the ground per day.
"When you're here planting, you don't see the impact, but when you come back in the fall and see them growing, you know you're doing something positive," Lucas said.
Both in 2023 and this year, when more than 4.2 million hectares have already burned across the country, the spread of wildfires is being fueled by drought, which experts say is linked to global warming.
"It's sad to have lost so much forest," lamented Indigenous leader Angel Mianscum, of the Cree community associated with the project.
However, Mianscum was pleased to see that there are now "innovative ways of doing things."
Indigenous communities are the most affected by fires in Canada because they are often located in remote areas and deep within the boreal forest.
Seed shortage
"In Canada, we're increasingly forced to reforest. Boreal forest trees are adapted to fires, but today's conditions are becoming more complex," said Maxence Martin, professor of forest ecology at the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
Martin noted that, for example, very young forests were burned in 2023. "If the forest is too young, it will take a long time to regenerate, so planting is the only option."
While the use of drones can help reach certain areas more quickly, it also has its drawbacks: many seeds go to waste. "And today there's a seed problem because they're difficult to harvest," and Canada has a shortage of them, Martin explained.
