Arboricolture for wood production in Mediterranean environments. A case study: the Malitano farm (Cosenza)

Abstract

Fast growing tree plantations can contribute to the recovery of abandoned agricultural land and at the same time can produce great quantities of wood, in short periods. Native and exotic species plantations for wood production create agronomic type bio-ecologica1 systems, characterized by intensive silvicultural regimes and the reversibility of the forest production cycle. This paper analyses forest plantations for wood production in the Mediterranean environment, at a farm scale; the stands were planted in the '80s in the Malitano farm, located in the Presila of Cosenza (Calabria). Current results are analysed today, when the stands have reached the middle of the rotation.