CASE STUDY: FOREST HEALTH ANALYSIS AND ASPEN MAPPING TO SUPPORT FOREST MANAGEMENT IN THE CITY OF KUOPIO

In 2025, KOKO Forest conducted a remote sensing-based Forest Health analysis of dead trees across forest properties owned by the City of Kuopio to support forest management planning and damage mitigation. The mapping covered approximately 6,000 hectares and included detailed data on the number, canopy area, and volume of dead trees, specified by forest compartment. In addition, a visual change analysis was carried out in the Puijo area to identify new clusters of dead trees, building on KOKO Forest’s earlier mapping conducted there in 2024.

To support biodiversity monitoring, we also produced Aspen mapping for the same area, describing the occurrence and quantitative distribution of aspen by forest compartment. Aspen is a key broadleaved tree species for maintaining biodiversity, and locating it helps identify valuable habitats and supports the planning of nature management and forest operations.

The City of Kuopio gained access to accurate and up-to-date geospatial data, enabling more targeted forest management actions and timely responses to risks, particularly those related to insect damage. KOKO Forest’s expertise helped translate remote sensing insights into practical forestry decisions, supporting both ecological and operational planning. The aspen data also provided the city with a concrete evidence base for taking biodiversity-supporting sites into account.