Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Senator Pippa Hackett has encouraged forest owners to make use of Ireland’s Tree Volume and Carbon Calculator.
The calculator, developed by the department, uses information for the main conifer and broadleaf tree species based on data collected from forests across the country.
It means that forest owners and managers can estimate both tree volume and carbon.
Users can separately calculate the volume and carbon of a single tree, a batch of single trees, or a forest stand.
The tool supersedes the existing tree volume calculator, which was launched in 2019, by providing additional functions, an improved interface and a number of pre-processed results for users.
Minister Hackett, who has responsibility for forestry, said that the calculator, available on the DAFM website, can provide useful information for forestry owners.
“With the supporting user manual, the calculator offers a simplistic interface for forest owners to input information from their own forests.
“This online tool provides another step in assisting forest owners to develop their forestry knowledge and assists them in taking a hands-on approach to managing their forest.”
The minister said that the forestry sector has a crucial role in helping the country reach climate neutrality through utilising and managing our home-grown timber resource.
“Tree volume is an important unit of measurement as it details the size of a tree, which can be used to inform forest management decisions.
“When this information is coupled with the Felling Decision Tool it can assist forest managers and owners in making an informed decision to the timing of management interventions.
“This will contribute to the local economy, employment in rural areas and the supply chain of roundwood to processors,” Hackett said.