New silvicultural approaches for sustainable forest management in Calabria (Southern Italy)

Abstract

We propose several guidelines for sustainable forest management of the main regional forest types based on literature review on silviculture and forest management and taking into account the results from surveys carried out in four test sites located in Calabria (Southern Italy) within the framework of ALForLAB project. The four test sites cover 16% of regional forested area, which included ten of the main silvicultural types. Results highlighted a high variability in stand structure of high forests, while coppice woods were characterised by low structural variablity. The different silvicultural treatments proposed for high forests focused on the maintenance of stand structure complexity where it is already high, and to enhance it where the past management options simplified stand structure. The proposed silvicultural treatments for conifer plantations aimed at progressive renaturalisation. In the regional context coppice management, especially simple coppice with standards, still maintains an important role for fuelwood and charcoal production, poles and posts (chestnut coppice) production, and more recently for forest biomass for energy use. Coppice management, with exception for beech stands and stands within protected areas, can still be maintained with the adoption of suitable tending and thinnings interventions and rotation periods. The management guidelines here proposed for both high forests and coppices represent an important tool for sustainable forest management in Calabria. In addition, they can be an useful and complementary tool for spatial decision support system aimed to Precision Forestry issues.

Keywords

• Silviculture
• High Forests
• Coppice
• Plantations
• Wood
• Forest Biomass
• Precision Forestry
• ALForLAB