Rio will use drones and artificial intelligence in reforestation

The city of Rio de Janeiro will now count on the help of drones and artificial intelligence in reforestation actions. The equipment, which has the capacity to launch seeds per day in an area of ​​50 hectares, that is, approximately 50 football fields, will be used to reforest difficult-to-access and hillside areas in the city. The actions should begin next week, according to the city hall.

This Friday (5), Mayor Eduardo Paes and the Secretary of Environment and Climate, Taína de Paula, attended the demonstration of the application of the equipment at Mirante do Pedrão, in Botafogo, within Parque Masiço da Preguiça, in the south zone of Rio. According to Paula, the reforestation carried out in the city, in addition to other effects, will allow the population to suffer less from heat waves.

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“We have all seen what has happened in the last few weeks. We lose people to severe heat wave and, without a doubt, increase our reforestation capacity, and of course, support emergency issues, with hydration points, better care for dehydrated people who suffer from heat waves, but having medium and long-term actions is also very important”, highlights the secretary.

The pilot project for the new type of reforestation work will be in Floresta da Posse, in Campo Grande, in the west of the city. The impacts will be felt, according to Paula, within two to five years, the time needed for the plants to grow. The city hall will invest R$27,000 in a type of drone rental, in a partnership with startup Franco-Brazilian Morfo. Only seeds of Atlantic forestnative vegetation of the region.

Studies and mappings

Morfo will provide support to the field teams of Refloresta Rio, a reforestation program run by the city of Rio. According to the municipal administration, a team of two people and a drone can replant a field 100 times faster than if methods were used. traditional. Furthermore, in one action, you can count on at least 20 native species, at a price up to five times cheaper, not only because of the speed of the procedure, but also because planting with seeds avoids the implementation of a nursery and its maintenance for several months.

Actions with drones also involve the mapping and digitalization of Rio's territory, a study of the area to be reforested and monitoring of planted areas, to ensure that this reforestation is effective. Morfo will also work on seed selection. According to the CEO of startup in Brazil, Grégory Maitre, some seeds are even encapsulated. “We use drones to disperse the seeds and some we encapsulate, that is, we developed a capsule that allows us to increase the germination rate of these seeds that are dispersed. This capsule will nourish, protect, retain moisture and allow for better germination,” she explains.

Artificial intelligence will be used to define a planting plan, according to the city hall, calculating which seeds will be planted in which areas, along with which species, the proportion of seeds for each of them and the quantity needed for each space, creating planting patterns.

Help with planting

The program manager of the Mutirão Reforestation Program, Camila Rocha, says that the drone will help workers. “The drone can access more distant areas and will also help with monitoring these areas”, she says. The program, which is currently called Refloresta Rio, was launched in the 1980s. The actions rely on the help of residents of the areas to be reforested.

Rocha says that the beginning of the work is the most challenging, when it is necessary to weed areas with vegetation up to 3 meters high. “They are all manual activities, weeding with a hoe. The transport of seedlings is done manually, each seedling that reaches the top of the hill, the base or the middle third, is taken manually by the hands of each worker. So, he does the weeding, opens the holes, takes the seedlings and, when favorable weather occurs, this planting is carried out. After planting, it is essential that these areas are maintained, with weeding and replanting if necessary, to ensure the success of reforestation”, he details.