Advancing field data processing with the new Open Foris Arena 2.0

The Open Foris Arena platform, a free and open-source solution, has reached a new milestone with the launch of Arena 2.0. This latest version introduces significant enhancements, making it easier to capture, store, manage, and process survey data in a secure, web-based platform—representing a major step forward in how we monitor and manage forest survey data worldwide.

What's new in Arena 2.0?

The new release includes several features that enhance user experience and data collection and analysis:

Function builder: A newly integrated function builder simplifies the creation of complex expressions for default values and validation rules.

Customizable user profiles: Users can now customize profiles within surveys, enabling tailored data collection based on individual roles.

Enhanced geospatial attributes: Arena now supports polygon generation from coordinate data, enabling better spatial representation of survey areas.

Improved data exploration: The platform now has a feature to see all nodes when in the form designer as a tree view which provides a full picture of the survey structure.

Arena Mobile updates: Updated Arena Mobile 2 including ability to download records, improved navigation, and new language options including Bahasa Indonesia, English, French, German, Persian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

Real world impact and applications

Open Foris Arena supports a variety of applications, from multicycle forest inventories to botanical and socioeconomic surveys. It also integrates with R programming language for advanced data processing.

Several projects worldwide are already utilizing Arena, including:

Angolan Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry: Supporting a comprehensive forest inventory in the Cubango River Basin, where Arena has helped to collect data and analyze results on more than 9,000 trees across 213 permanent clusters.

University of Seychelles (UniSey) and Island Biodiversity & Conservation Centre (IBC): Enabling ecological restoration efforts with full traceability from seed collection to planting, and with integration of an R/Shiny data dashboard.

Natural History Society in Limburg, the Netherlands: Facilitating a vegetation survey, demonstrating the versatility of the platform and mobile data collection across different ecosystems.

Looking ahead

The Open Foris Arena team remains committed to continuous improvement. Future updates include:

• A new query tool to improve data analysis and reporting;
• enhanced support for two-phase sampling; and
• additional provision of R script templates to streamline data processing.
  

With the support of the UK government through the AIM4Forests programme, Arena 2.0 will continue to provide users with the solutions to efficiently collect high-quality data.

The launch of Arena 2.0 represents a significant step in making forest monitoring more accessible, collaborative, and effective.