In the face of the advance of increasingly devastating fires, innovations for reforestation in Canada have begun to be considered. In this regard, the country is betting on technology to revitalize its forests.
In Quebec and other provinces, drones from the Flash Forest company are used to plant seed pods in areas deforested by high-intensity fires.
Cutting-edge Technology at the Service of Reforestation in Canada
The drones fly over areas affected by megafires from the summer of 2023 and deposit pods containing black spruce and white pine seeds. They are accompanied by water, nutrients, and beneficial fungi.
This system, developed over five years, focuses on recently vegetation-less soils, using artificial intelligence to map flight routes and avoid overseeding areas that have already recovered.
Each drone can release up to 50,000 pods per day, at a rate of five seeds per second, at a speed sufficient to embed the pods about 2.5 cm underground.
Forest fires in Canada in 2023.
Federal Boost and Ambitious Reforestation Plans
Flash Forest received over 1.3 million Canadian dollars from the federal government’s “2 Billion Trees” program, which will support the planting of over a million trees in the next two years.
This initiative is part of the national commitment to plant 2 billion trees to contribute to climate neutrality by 2050.
The use of drones multiplies the planting speed by ten compared to traditional methods, reduces costs, and allows access to remote or dangerous areas for human operators.
However, the seed survival rate is still low, between 0 and 20%, according to studies highlighting the need to improve technology and share clear metrics on effectiveness.
Brothers Cameron and Bryce Jones founded Flash Forest after witnessing the fires in Okanagan Park in 2003. Their goal: to plant a billion trees by 2028 and develop biodiverse forests, not monocultures.
In addition to their work in Quebec, they also operate in Alberta and British Columbia, with pilots who inspect sites to assess germination rates, health, and species diversity.
Balance and Future Perspectives
Aerial seeding with drones represents a key complementary tool against climate change.
Forests of Canada. (Photo: Freepik).
It allows for quick responses after fires, coverage of large areas, and cost reduction. However, its real impact will depend on improvements in seed pods, adaptation to local conditions, and the ability to measure results over time.
