Virtual forests – A journey into the forests of the future

What will our forests look like in 50 or 100 years? How will they respond to climate change, droughts, storms and different forest management strategies?

At our booth, you can put on a VR headset, step into a forest and take a journey into the future. Explore different scenarios and observe how forests develop under changing environmental conditions.

How does a forest change over the course of decades? What impact do today’s decisions have on the forests of tomorrow? Virtual reality makes visible processes that often unfold only very slowly in nature.

The VR tool is being developed at ETH Zurich in collaboration with Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). It combines real forest data, computer simulations and modern visualisation technologies to create an interactive learning environment.

Try the current prototype for yourself, explore possible future scenarios and discuss with researchers how forests can become more resilient to climate change. Discover how digital technologies can open up new perspectives on the future of our forests.