Drone developer FlyingBasket, along with partner Bayerische Staatsforsten (BaySF), a state-owned company in Bavaria, Germany, that manages 7,500 square kilometers of forest, recently deployed the FB3 cargo drone to plant trees in the mountains near Kampenwand.

The team, after receiving cross-border operation authorization from the Federal Aviation Office in Germany, transported 2,000 young trees from Aschau, Southern Bavaria, to 18 planting locations, according to a news release. Forestry professionals provided guidance throughout the successful test.

BaySF plants 6 million young trees a year in an effort to increase forest ecosystem diversity and resilience during climate change. Some of these trees are planted in steep, remote terrain, which is why the team wanted to learn about the benefits and limitations of deploying UAS to plant trees under real forestry conditions. FlyingBasket specializes in developing multicopter drones that carry heavy payloads to remote areas, such as mountains.

“Work with the team was great. Everyone gave 100% and we had a lot of fun and learned a lot,” said Bernd Meier, deputy head of the BaySF training center in Laubau, Ruhpolding, according to the release. “We see big potential in the use of the technology not only for planting in steep terrain, but also to provide our people with forestry equipment, which they otherwise need to carry. Remote sensing is another interesting field with big innovation potential.”