Sylvicultural interventions in beech coppices which have passed the habitual rotation in time and assessment on the obtainable wood biomass

Abstract

Biomass production for energetic uses is traditionally represented by firewood, mainly obtained by coppices
utilizations In Italy the 78% of the 5,1 millions cubic metres of wood for combustible (firewood, bundles and wood to charring) comes from coppices.
Coppices that are not utilized for a long time and are widely over the habitual rotation time.Take particular importance in order to produce biomass as well as the ones regularly managed In these stands biomass is significantly increased and the soils features are bettered. For this kind of woods, mostly belonging to public bodies, but also to private subjects that have abandoned the cultivation for different reasons, choosing to start the conversion from coppice to high forest is forced and becomes a work hypothesis to carry out in the awareness that this cultural practice answers to the common interests moreover than the individual ones.
In this work biomass entity utilizable by thinning interventions in beech coppices, that have over passed the habitual rotation age, is assessed applying the conversion to high forest with standards, which foresees a cultural
algorithm based on light intensity interventions, repeated at short intervals of time.
Application of this method allows to demonstrate that, taking from 13 to 33% of mass, with 29 and 43% of shoots respectively, there are not alterations in structural soil conditions, modifications in the canopy cover efficiency on soil conservation and negative impact on environment and landscape. Moreover, from 50 to 100 m3 ha-1 of biomass are utilised on average and they can significantly contribute to feed the wood factory for energetic uses.