Russia Turns to Drones and Algorithms to Replace Paper Forest Maps

Forestry drones are building digital twins of Russian woodlands, promising faster, more accurate tree counts than ever before.

Russia’s federal forestry service is preparing to ditch tape measures and paper maps in favor of drones and machine learning. Roslesinforg, the state agency responsible for tracking forest resources, is testing a new system called 'LesProfi,' developed by the Perm Pulp and Paper Company.

The technology deploys drones equipped with high-precision sensors to scan vast tracts of woodland. A single flight can survey up to 250 hectares, and in one day the drones can cover as much as 1,500 hectares—a process that would take teams of human surveyors weeks with outdated methods.

After each flight, data is processed into a 'digital twin' of the forest: a virtual model that maps every tree by species, height, diameter, crown size, and exact coordinates. Accuracy reaches 95 percent. Early test runs have already revealed that previous paper-based records underestimated timber volumes by 10 to 21 percent.

If the pilot continues to deliver results, the technology could be scaled across Russia’s forests, making planning and management of the country’s vast woodland resources far more efficient.