a - How can we manage forests to increase NWFP yields?

Rational fertilization can improve tree health, growth and potentially benefit pine cone and pine nut production. The reduction of forest exploitation costs without neglecting environmental factors and promoting biodiversity is an important management achievement in the context of climate change.

To establish fertilizer recommendations in stone pine for cone production, it is crucial to evaluate soil fertility, tree nutritional status and, if irrigated, the quality of the irrigation water. Here we present part of the results of the operational group FERTIPINEA, focused on the...

1. Evaluate the influence of tree size, stand characteristics, debarking coefficients and climatic variables on cork thickness and its evolution between consecutive cork extraction operations, i.e. between successive cork growth periods (cgp). Cork growth is assessed using the cgi, defined as the radial width of the first eight complete years of cork growth after stripping.
2. Assess the impact of the increase in debarking intensity on cork growth. Debarking intensity is quantified by the cork debarking coefficient – the ratio of the vertical debarking height to the perimeter at
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Estimate reproduction cork thickness as a criterion to examine the commercial value and to fit a non-linear model for predicting cork weight to guide the forest decision makers toward a reasonable harvest.

The objective is to guide forest decision-makers towards a reasonable cork harvest by:

• examining the thickness of cork as a criterion for estimating commercial value

• evaluating the intensity of the debarking operation on the tree

• establishing a non-linear model for predicting cork weight.

Assess inter-tree competition in permanent plots established in un-debarked, even-aged stands located in Portugal by i) comparing with the self-thinning line and ii) assessing when stand density affects cork production, iii) stand structure and iv) tree relative growth rate (RGR) pattern over tree size. Spacing coefficient (SC) values < 1.25 are assumed to affect cork production; therefore, detecting when stand density is approaching this value is important. Relative spacing (RS) is easier to evaluate, being important to find the RS value equivalent to a SC = 1.25.