Forest management is facing growing challenges:
Many private and municipal forest owners have managed their land for generations, often based on experience, local knowledge, and personal memory. Individual trees, damaged areas, or planting sites are kept in mind or marked on-site.
As soon as larger areas and multiple stakeholders are involved, this quickly becomes hard to manage.

What if findings or planned actions could be captured directly on-site, using a photo, a short description, and automatic location tracking, visible to everyone on a shared map and prioritized by urgency?

The Challenge

Build a mobile solution (e.g. an app or messenger bot) that allows forest owners and stakeholders to easily capture and use structured information.

Focus on:

📸 Documentation: photo + description + location
🗺️ Map view: overview of all marked points in the forest
⚡ Automatic prioritization: what’s urgent, what can wait

Constraints

⚙️ Use in the field, potentially without internet access
⚙️ Must be simple and fast to use
⚙️ Users are not necessarily tech-savvy
⚙️ Multiple people work in parallel

Data

Here at Unterreiner, forest management is our core business.
We’ll provide you with real-world sample data and are available for questions throughout the hackathon.

Examples

#1 Bark beetle infestation –  quick action needed
A private forest owner notices a few spruce trees with brown crowns and peeling bark during a walk – classic signs of bark beetle infestation. He roughly remembers where the affected trees are and marks a few with paint. A few days later, he hires a contractor to remove them. On site, however, it turns out that:

• not all affected trees are found
• some healthy trees are accidentally cut down
• the infestation has already spread further

#2 Thinning an overgrown forest stand
A forest stand has grown too dense and needs thinning to promote stable future trees. The forester marks trees on site that should be removed. An external contractor carries out the work a few weeks later. Problems arise:

• markings have faded or are hard to see
• selection criteria are not documented
• no way to ask questions because the forester is not on site

#3 Reforestation after a storm event
After a severe storm, a large forest area lies bare. The owner plans reforestation with different tree species. Over several weeks, different sections are planted, sometimes by different teams. After a while, it becomes unclear:

• which tree species were planted where
• which areas have already been completed
• where replanting is needed

#4 Multiple machines working in parallel
In a larger forest area, several operations are running at the same time:
• logging with a harvester
• forwarding with a forwarder
• maintenance work in nearby areas

Without central coordination:
• machines get in each other’s way
• paths are used multiple times or get damaged
• safety risks arise