PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Quercus pyrenaica (Pyrenean oak) forests cover an area of more than one million hectares in Spain (5.7% of the national forest area). Up to 70% of this area is located in the region of Castilla y León, with 707 497 ha. Overall, the Iberian oak forests are subject to a degradation process, with a high risk of fire. The possible outputs from these stands have currently little commercial value or easy market access, therefore the active management of this type of forest has been gradually abandoned. In the absence of active forestry activities or adequate management, these forest stands cannot develop complex structures, significantly increasing the risk of fire. Currently, wood from Iberian oak forests is almost only used for energy purposes (firewood), with an average production of 20 000 t/y. This management model entails a fast conversion of stored carbon into atmospheric CO2, and leads to a ‘bad’ conservation status of the forests. The same trend is also observed at European scale: gradual abandonment of forest management in areas with a tradition of high human intervention. Climate-Smart Forestry (CSF) offers a more sustainable alternative to approaches based on quick economic profit or the maximum production of goods.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE +REB project will apply a Climate-Smart Forestry (CSF) approach to the Quercus pyrenaica forests of Castilla y León in Spain. The aim is to manage the forests to improve their capacity to mitigate climate change, while ensuring their adaptation to climate change and greater resilience through the conservation and improvement of biodiversity. As a key element of this strategy, the cascading use of wood products with good market penetration capacity will be incorporated. The model will be evaluated in 20 forest stands of 5 ha each, distributed in different provinces of Castilla y León. These stands will generate 300 tonnes of wood.
The project will provide a good example of the capacity and limits of the LULUCF sector for climate change mitigation. It will also contribute to achieving the commitments established for this sector in Regulation 2018/841 on the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions and removals from LULUCF in the 2030 climate and energy framework. Furthermore, the Quercus pyrenaica stands in this project are included as the habitat type ‘9230 - Galician and Portuguese oak woods with Quercus robur and Quercus pyrenaica’ in Annex I of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). 75% of the area of Quercus pyrenaica included in the project’s demonstrative stands is part of the Natura 2000 network. More generally, 27% of the area of Quercus pyrenaica in Castilla y León (193 641 ha) is part of the Natura 2000 network, so the proposed management model will significantly contribute to the improvement and conservation of these forest habitat.
RESULTS
Expected results:
- Sequestration of 510 tonnes/year of CO2 in new long-life Quercus pyrenaica wood products, during the life of the project;
- Compilation and publication of useful information on the status of 707 497 ha of Quercus pyrenaica forest stands in Castilla y León through a web-based viewer available for public and private owners;
- Identification of Quercus pyrenaica stands of priority interest for conserving biodiversity;
- 8% of the wood currently used as firewood will become wood products with a longer shelf life and longer cycles of carbon storage (25 to 75 years).
