Copyright 2012 Accademia dei Georgofili
Remarks about silviculture systems suited for european beech («fagus sylvatica») high forests. In Italy beech forests occur in the montane belt along the outward side of the Alps and along the whole Apennines ridge down to Calabria. Relicts also in Sicily. Coppice woods occupy some more than 600000 hectars and high forests 400000. High forests occur mostly as even-aged stands, therefore theoretically well suited to be managed following the shelterwood silviculture system. But recently the governments of some region have inacted that (for ecological and landscape reasons) beech forests must be converted in uneven-aged stand under some form of the selection cutting system. It is important to remind that European beech has an high individual variability as regard to stem and crown form and therefore in commercial value. For this reason, without a proper administrative control, commercial logging enterprises are strongly induced to remove the most valuable trees leaving a residual stand composed of trees of poor condition: that has both genetic and long term economic implications. So that, shelterwood system degenerate in a seed-cutting that remove all high grade trees leaving a valueless stand in which removal-cuttings are omitted; in the same manner selection system degenerate in generalized commercial cuts until a poor grade stand is left. As commonly recognized, shelterwood and selection systems are both convenient provided they are applied properly and established with an analysis of the local natural and economic factors that are likely to affect the growing timber crop. The optimum application field for shelterwood system is stands of high site class, with regular structure and easily accessible because a proper tending of young stands must be considered as an integral side of the system. Selection system is suited everywhere a more elastic management is required. The claim for a generalized silviculture system is strongly criticized.
