Russia Turns to AI to Monitor Forest Health

As part of its national data economy strategy, Russia is training AI systems on aerial imagery to assess vegetation and detect forest degradation in real time.

Russia is adopting artificial intelligence to assess the health of its vast forests. According to Rossiyskaya Gazeta, citing the office of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko, the government has prepared unique datasets and is distributing them to regional authorities to train AI models.

The Lipetsk region is the first to receive these datasets. The AI model will be trained to calculate vegetation indices and evaluate the condition of trees using multispectral images captured by drones. Insights generated from the AI analysis will help regions better manage forestry operations and take timely measures to protect ecosystems.

The initiative is part of the national project 'Data Economy,' led by Grigorenko, and the datasets were compiled through the federal 'Artificial Intelligence' program. So far, about 50 curated datasets have been assembled, mostly consisting of aerial and satellite photos and videos.

These datasets are expected to support a range of industries, including utilities, transportation, environmental monitoring, and agriculture.