MENU - renewal of MELA forest calculation system

As a result of the project, the new MELA software ecosystem will be more versatile, transparent, scalable, user-friendly and easier to maintain than the previous version.

In the new software ecosystem, the new dataset interfaces, more versatile production functions illustrating forest resources and operations, optimisation applications of forest resources and modern user interfaces make it possible to:

Improve the overall sustainability of the use of forests,

Increase the turnover resulting from multiple use of forests, and

Plan forest operations to make them more cost-effective and minimise environmental risks.

Benefits resulting from the research: better equipped to do new types of analyses and more impactful research, transparency of computations, quicker application of research results (such as production functions) in practice, as well as improved conditions for international cooperation in research and customer relations.

Benefits for the economy:

The consequence and multiplicative effects of business activities resulting from the revived forest sector

Minimising political risks for investment and hence increased productivity of forests as well as increased turnover and tax revenue thanks to more versatile products and services.

There will be a significant reduction in the country risk for investments based on wood and forests, due to the improved accuracy and acceptability of the calculations on Finland’s forest carbon sinks by the EU.

Benefits for businesses:

Optimisation of forest resources and management of overall sustainability.

The increased productivity and improved acceptability of forest operations also give Finland a relative competitive edge in the forest sector.

Open production functions allow for quicker application of research results in practice as well as more cost-effective software development for ICT companies.

Once scaled into forest owners’ mobile devices, the results will encourage forest owners to use their forests in a more involved, versatile and sustainable manner.

Improved conservation of forest diversity by means of forest planning will make forest conservation and ecological management activities more effective.

Computations done using open source code components are more transparent than current ones. Calculation chains are more traceable and results more easily acceptable. Open source code creates a feeling of community, which benefits for example the development of open components.