Artificial Intelligence for Modelling Biophysical Elements of Forest Ecosystems: Opportunities and Challenges
Abstract
Biophysical elements of forests are essential for tree health, biodiversity, and ecosystem services, with their effects increasingly influenced by climate change and global environmental dynamics. Understanding the interactions between biotic and abiotic components of forest ecosystems poses challenges due to the large spatial extent, size, and inaccessibility of tree massifs, along with the often complex relationships among various factors, including soil, hydrology, relief, meteorological conditions, and other ecosystem components. This review serves as an introduction to the field of forest biophysical elements, outlining significant challenges such as multifactorial links, and the responses of roots and vascular systems to soil quality. It highlights emerging issues related to environmental dynamics that complicate the study of these interactions. Furthermore, the paper explores the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in modeling the connections between biotic and abiotic components of forest ecosystems. This involves the integration of advanced techniques such as remote sensing, imaging, geospatial data analysis, and cartographic methods, which are employed across various spatial and temporal scales to enhance our understanding of these complex ecological relationships. Lessons from silviculture systems highlight tools and pitfalls for forestry, emphasising the necessity for interpretable models backed by machine learning (ML), the integration of ecological context, and validation of various algorithms such as random forest (RF) and Support vector machines (SVM). We conclude that coordinated data infrastructures are essential for ensuring that AI provides actionable insights and scalable solutions for monitoring complex forest ecosystems.
Keywords
References
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Environmental Management (Other) , Forest Botany , Forest Ecosystems
Journal Section
Review
Authors
Publication Date
April 30, 2026
Submission Date
April 1, 2025
Acceptance Date
April 13, 2026
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 28 Number: 1