He brings 70 years of forestry formulas into the digital age

The result is a comprehensive, open-source toolkit that empowers researchers, policymakers, and tech-savvy forest owners to build their own advanced analysis tools for forest planning.

As a side project during his PhD studies, Vigren focused on organizing forestry models and functions in a consistent, user-friendly way. Today, much of this material is freely available on GitHub—documented, quality-assured, and packaged for seamless integration into digital forestry applications.

 “As simple and clear as possible”

A key motivation behind the work is the need for a shared forestry model base—one that the sector can agree on for calculations and functions. Such a foundation creates transparency, comparability, and makes it easier for new digital players to build on established knowledge rather than reinventing the wheel.

“It’s about creating structures that are as simple and clear as possible, so you can see what’s really going on and minimize the risk of errors,” says Vigren.

This spring, Vigren will leave Swedish university of agriculture sciences, SLU, to continue developing tools for digital forest planning at Ecotype.

“We want to make research results accessible and easy to implement for all the digital companies now emerging in the forestry sector,” he explains.

Driving data-driven innovation

The project has been supported by the innovation and collaboration platforms Digital Impact North and the National Forest Data Lab, partly funded by Tillväxtverket and Vinnova.

“These kinds of platforms allow us at SLU to spend time sharing our data, tools, and expertise with external actors. That lowers the barriers for different types of users and fosters innovation,” says Anna-Lena Axelsson, coordinator for collaboration and environmental analysis at SLU’s Faculty of Forest Sciences.

You can explore the forestry formulas on GitHub.