Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) also known as drones, may soon have a new role to play in the landscaping industry in Canada. The Canadian Forest Service has decided to test out drones for planting trees. The goal is to use drones to replant forests that have been devastated by wildfires.  The Canadian Forest Service Edmonton recently carried out demonstrations to test the effectiveness of drones as robotic seed planting machines. Members of the government and the forest industry were also present during the demonstration.

David Price is a researcher who specializes in solutions for climatic change. He noted that by using drones to plant trees, Canada will be the first nation in the world to leverage drone technology for this purpose.  He explained that although his team of scientists are still exploring the feasibility of their system, they are mostly focused on discovering how possible it will be to plant seeds that will grow into forests.

Even though the process is still in its infancy, it is clear that there are many advantages that drones have over human planting.  On average, the number of trees a human can plant is about three thousand per day using an aircraft. While drones on the other hand, can plant tens of thousands of trees in just one day.

The benefits that drones have over aircraft also include the ability to enter tight areas that may be too dangerous for humans or aircraft. Price believes that the future of farming will include drones.  Although the technology is promising, there are still skeptics in the Alberta government and forest industry. Their doubts are a result of previous failed attempts at aerial planting. But as Price noted, there is a big difference using drones.  Drone technology has really increased over the past few years and drones are now outfitted with precision planting technology which means that they’re capable of planting trees using exact coordinates.  Drones can plant seeds with precise accuracy.

Using drones for planting tress is just one part of the process. Drones can also be an effective tool with spraying herbicides and other fertilizers.  Many believe that drones are the future of farming, and many countries are expected to take advantage of these amazing machines.