Guidelines on Closer-To-Nature Forest Management
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EU has published and translated guidelines on closer-to-nature forest mangement in all European languages.
Forests play a very important role in the carbon cycle and therefore offer an efficient way of controlling atmospheric CO2 which is one parameter responsible for climatic change.
The function of the forest should not simply be understood through carbon sequestration in ecosystems, but as a sustainable resource with opportunities for regular harvests of the best products and for enhancing the energetic value by and end-products (Chenost Rubio, 2008).
The key word for sound management of C in forest is to minimize the decomposition of deadwood thus allowing to substitute high energy consuming products (i.e. cement, iron, fertilizers) [5] with timber extracted from thinning at the appropriate time; in order to preserve stand stability and vitality while maintaining the natural fertility cycle.
Pro Silva forest management system is perfectly compatible with those objectives and with the other roles of the forest by insuring that the multiple functions of the forest are preserved. This system is more favourable than forest management based on age-classes and regular thinnings that lead to the renewal of the forest through final clear-felling and is also considerably better than monoculture systems.