The Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava” plans to expand and modernise the research infrastructure of its Environmental Laboratory as part of the project Development of Research and Innovation Capacity at LSFRI “Silava” (2025–2029). A procurement procedure has now been launched for a wide range of equipment intended for environmental, forest and soil research, monitoring and data collection.
The planned investments include both state-of-the-art fieldwork and remote sensing equipment, as well as laboratory instruments. The planned purchases include an unmanned aerial vehicle, a handheld LiDAR scanner for developing new forest inventory methods and digitising objects, and unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with LiDAR, RGB, multispectral and thermal cameras for forest monitoring.
The Laboratory’s capabilities will be further enhanced by a range of analytical instruments, automated equipment for soil and water sample analysis, and other auxiliary devices designed to facilitate researchers’ work and improve the quality of the data collected.
The procurement also covers equipment for determining the physical and chemical properties of soil, conducting micrometeorological measurements, monitoring groundwater and soil parameters, and investigating the characteristics of forest machinery and biomass.
The new equipment will enable the Institute to expand and improve research into forest and environmental processes, enhance field measurement and laboratory analysis capabilities, and collect and process spatial and environmental data more efficiently.
These planned investments form part of the project Development of Research and Innovation Capacity at LSFRI “Silava” (2025–2029), which aims to modernise the Institute’s research infrastructure and strengthen its capacity to advance forest science and related environmental research in Latvia.
The project “Development of Research and Innovation Capacity at LSFRI ‘Silava’ (2025–2029)” (Agreement No. 1.1.1.2/1/25/I/011) is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and implemented in cooperation with the Central Finance and Contracting Agency (CFCA). The project aims to strengthen LSFRI “Silava”’s research and innovation capacity by modernising its research infrastructure and introducing advanced technologies.