Chinese drones sow hope for ecological restoration in Australia

Recently, Guangzhou Jifei Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Jifei Technology) teamed up with the Australian non-profit organization “Heidsbury Land Conservation Network” to help restore the local ecosystem damaged by forest fires.

In the Cobrico Lake Wildlife Reserve in the southeast of Victoria, three agricultural UAVs of Jifei Technology went deep into the remote areas damaged by forest fires according to the established routes, and accurately and evenly scattered grass seeds on the areas with bare soil and sparse vegetation. This is the first project in History of Australia’s history to restore the mountain forest ecosystem through the large-scale planting of grass seeds by unmanned aerial vehicles.

In just two days, three drones completed the mixed seeding task of 40 hectares of muddy swamps. Next, technicians will closely monitor and evaluate the vegetation growth status after drone seeding, and compare it with areas where vegetation naturally regenerates.

The project leader, Paul Hartrick, told Xinhua News Agency that the Heitsbury area was hit by severe forest fires in 2018. “Two years later, we are still working hard to restore and rebuild the ecosystem. The peat swamp in the Lake Corbico area may take longer to restore.”

He said that the degree of damage caused by forest fires varies in different regions of the swamp. In some areas, forest fires continue to burn combustible peat to a depth of one meter underground, causing ground collapse or the loss of vegetation. The ecosystems in these areas cannot regenerate naturally and require manual intervention for restoration.

Although the reconstruction work is urgent, it is difficult for traditional ground workers and equipment to enter the area. After research, Hartrick decided to try introducing drone seeding to assist in local ecological restoration, which was supported by the Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water Resources and Planning. Jifei Technology from China stood out and was ultimately selected as a partner to implement this plan.

According to Gong Jinqin, co-founder of Jifei Technology, drone seeding has many advantages over traditional seeding methods.

Hartrick said that although drones are not new, their current use in Australia is relatively limited. He said that as forest fires in Australia become more frequent, “UAVs can play a greater role in environmental management and recovery such as weed management, pest control and Precision agriculture”.