Russia Uses AI to Protect Trees from Disease
Foresters in the Lipetsk region are the first in the country to deploy neural networks at scale to safeguard forests, marking a new era in ecological management.
In Russia’s Lipetsk region, artificial intelligence is now being used to protect trees from disease. The digital system analyzes data with high precision to detect sick and damaged trees, enabling foresters to stop infections before they spread. The technology has already been recognized at the federal level and is changing the way forestry is managed.
The success in Lipetsk could be scaled nationwide and may draw interest from other forested nations around the world.
In the past, specialists would spend days walking through woodlands searching for signs of disease. Now the algorithm does the heavy lifting: foresters receive exact coordinates of problem areas on tablets or computers and head directly to the site for targeted intervention, according to Lipetsk News.
AI adoption is also helping preserve and restore regional forests. Since the beginning of the year, more than 2 million oak, pine, and birch saplings have been planted across 200 hectares. Thanks to digital technologies, these young trees are now under reliable monitoring.
The Lipetsk region’s experience shows that Russia is not only following global “green” technology trends but also creating its own effective solutions for environmental protection.
