Pilot project with the Church of Sweden in the Diocese of Luleå

Using in-house hardware and software, Hyggligt completed a successful selective logging operation (plockhuggning) on one of the Church of Sweden’s forest properties. The project also confirmed that our positioning and visualization software is an effective tool in precision forestry (precisionsskogsbruk).

2 minuters läsning· Publicerad 20 maj 2025

A forest with tall trees, scattered fallen branches, and patches of snow on the ground under soft, golden light.

This spring, Hyggligt carried out a pilot project on one of the Church of Sweden (Svenska kyrkan) forest properties in the Diocese of Luleå (Luleå stift). The goal was to further develop the Hyggligt concept (Hyggligtkonceptet) end‑to‑end: drone data collection, individual-tree analysis, harvest planning using centered selective logging (centrerad plockhuggning), and finally operator support in the harvester through an in‑house positioning system and visualization—so the right trees are harvested according to plan.

In the research-based method centered selective logging (centrerad plockhuggning)—a form of heavy thinning (höggallring)—harvesting decisions are calculated and adjusted to optimize the forest’s value growth. Trees to harvest are selected using algorithms that account for competition for resources, species, timber quality, current timber prices, and the forest owner’s required rate of return. This makes it crucial to follow the harvest plan and cut the right trees.

What made the project and the harvest unique is the technical solution: the positions of both the harvester and the harvesting head are visualized in the harvester computer’s map software—without delay and with an error margin of only a few decimeters. By combining in-house hardware with visualization software and map support directly in the harvester computer, operators get a clear and time-efficient tool for identifying the right trees to cut.

“We’ve received very positive feedback from the operators. That alone is a milestone for us. We feel the operators learned to work efficiently according to our plan and software almost immediately—even though one of them had never done a selective logging operation (plockhuggning) before,” says Jakob Pålsson, CTO and co‑founder of Hyggligt.

The project took place in a spruce-dominated stand in Råneå, Luleå Municipality, and the harvesting cost (drivningskostnad) was roughly on par with a second thinning (andragallring).

About Hyggligt

Hyggligt is an innovative player in forestry, driving change through the Hyggligt Method (Hyggligtmetoden)—continuous-cover, data-driven precision harvesting through centered selective logging (centrerad plockhuggning). The company focuses on profitability, biodiversity, and increased carbon sequestration (kolinlagring), and aims to transform Swedish forestry.

For more information, contact Edith Heppich, CEO and co‑founder of Hyggligt. edith@hyggligt.se