NOTES ON POLLARDS BEST PRACTICES’ GUIDE FOR POLLARDING
With funding from the European Community LIFE nancial instrument BEST PRACTICES’ GUIDE FOR POLLARDING FOR GUIDE PRACTICES’ BEST www.trasmochos.net NOTES ON POLLARDS. ON NOTES
NOTES ON POLLARDS BEST PRACTICES’ GUIDE FOR POLLARDING
With funding from the European Community LIFE nancial instrument
www.trasmochos.net AUTHOR’S LIST:
CHAPTER 1. Alejandro Cantero (HAZI) Gerard Passola (Doctor Árbol) CHAPTER 2. Álvaro Aragón (UPV/EHU) CHAPTER 3. Mikel de Francisco (HAZI) CHAPTER 4. Alejandro Cantero (HAZI) CHAPTER 5. Valentin Mugarza (GFA/DFG) Pilar Riaño (HAZI) CHAPTER 6. Alejandro Cantero (HAZI)
EDITION: Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundia-Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa COORDINATION: Fundación HAZI Fundazioa DESIGN AND LAYOUT: Albaola Itsas Kultur Erakundea ILLUSTRATIONS: Albaola Itsas Kultur Erakundea PHOTOS: Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundia-Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa CHAPTER 1. WHAT ARE POLLARDS? 9
A. TYPOLOGY OF POLLARDED TREES 9
B. PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS ASSOCIATED TO PRUNING 13 1. Introduction 13 2. The physiology of the trees 13 2.1. Photosynthetic efficiency 13 2.2. The conditioning factors of the environment 14 2.3. The root system 14 2.4. The hormonal relationship between the two elements making up terrestrial plants: leaves and roots 15 2.5. The continuity of the “living” tree: roots – sapwood - leaves 15 3. Pollarded trees 16 3.1. The cycle of pollarded trees 16 3.2. Pollarded trees maintained without interruption 17 3.3. The “abandoned” pollarded trees 18 3.3.1. The structure of the crown and the lack of hierarchy: 18 3.3.2. Large amount of forced heartwood associated to the xylophage action: 20 3.4. The recovery of old pollarded trees 21
C. THE REASON FOR POLLARDING 22 CHAPTER 2. POLLARDING IN THE PAST (UNTIL THE MID 20TH CENTURY) 27
A. FROM THE UNDERGROWTH TO POLLARDED TREES 28
B. LEAVING “HORCA AND PENDÓN” 31 1. Planting seeds 34 2. Nursery 34 3. First pruning 35 4. Transfer to the plantation 37 5. Thinning out 37 6. First cut of the guiding branch 38 7. Successive pruning 38
C. CHARCOAL MAKING 38 1. Preparing the site 39 2. Accumulating the firewood 39 3. Covering the charcoal kiln to facilitate the charcoal process 39 4. Lighting the charcoal kiln and combustion 41 5. Final stage of the carbonisation and cooling of the charcoal kiln 41 6. Traditional pollarding in the Basque Country and Navarra: end of the 19th century until the mid 20th century 41 7. Transfer to the planting out 43 8. First cut of the guiding branch 43 9. Successive pruning 44 CHAPTER 3. POLLARDING IN THE 21ST CENTURY 47
A. LANDSCAPE. ETHNOGRAPHIC AND CULTURAL VALUE. 47
B. ECOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS AND ASSOCIATED BIODIVERSITY 50
C. PROBLEM OF THE POLLARDED TREES. RISK OF DISAPPEARING 55
D. POLLARDING AS PART OF THE MANAGEMENT OF FORESTRY PRACTICES 55
CHAPTER 4. CONSERVATION ENDEAVOURS 59
A. GIPUZKOA 60
B. IN THE BAC 62
C. IN OTHER ZONES 64
CHAPTER 5. THE EXPERIENCE OF THE POLLARDING AND BIODIVERSITY LIFE+ PROJECT 67
A. OBJECTIVES 68
B. STUDY AREA 69 C. METHODOLOGY 70 1. Re-pollarding pruned old stands 70 2. Creating new pollarded trees 71 3. Managing the generated dead wood 74 4. Forestry teams and forest machinery 74
D. RESULTS 75 1. Re-pollarding pruned old stands 75 2. Creating new pollarded trees 77 3. Improving the habitats of the saproxylic insects of community interest 77
E. A FUTURE COMMITMENT 80
CHAPTER 6. BEST PRACTICES GUIDE FOR POLLARDING. A PROPOSAL FOR THE PRESENT 83
CHAPTER 7. REFERENCES 87
CHAPTER 1. WHAT ARE POLLARDS?
A. TYPOLOGY OF POLLARDED TREES
ere is no classi cation or typology the branches are le at right angles and for pollarded trees. ere is not even an pendón where the branches are at an agreed de nition that covers all the pos- obtuse angle to the main trunk], so that sible types of pollarding. It should be the pruning did not prevent regrowth noted that pollarding, as a special type of at the top of the tree or its future use as pruning, can be carried out in di erent cambered beam usually for the Navy. ways and a ects di erent types of trees according to their species, shape or age. e typology followed in the Instruccio- Furthermore, trees of species without nes para el apeo de las parcelas de campo de ned apical dominance, that have del Inventario Forestal Nacional [Instruc- grown in isolation and without competi- tions for the Shoring of Land Plots of the tion or where there has been damage to National Forestry Inventory], published their apical branches, may also be similar for the Ministry for Agriculture, Food in appearance to pollarded trees, despite and the Environment, can be used. their not having been modelled by hu- ose instructions specify that all the man hands. trees on the inventory must be classi ed It is thus sometimes di cult to ascertain according to the “airspace form”. e aim whether a tree has been pruned or pol- of this parameter is to separate the trees lard or if the shape of its branches are from a single species into more uniform down to natural phenomena. groups based on estimating their volume and then applying di erent equations Even though the terms “pollarding” or more in keeping with each pro le. “topping” are usually used interchange- ably, some authors do distinguish between e three rst types of this classi cation them. us, the historian Álvaro Aragón, are applied to fusiform or free-growing usually speaks of the ipinabarros [guided trees, with the following types used to pollard] oaks as pollard or topped trees calculate the pollard-aspect trees given “leaving horca y pendón” [horca where their high amount of branching:
9 4 m
- Form 4. Trees whose main trunk - Form 5. Trees whose main trunk branches out before 4 m high is twisted, damaged or has a lot of and which belong to one of the branches and they can therefore following species, which are not be classi ed as fusiform or usually widespread in number and free-growing trees. Also bole stands are shade bearing under normal of under 4 m if they are species conditions: Acacia or mimosa, di erent to those of codes 4 and 6. wild apple, wild pear, stone pine, pedunculate or common oak, sessile or Durmast oak, Pyrenean oak, Algerian oak, Holm oak, Cork oak, American oak, common ash, black poplar, willow, wild olive tree, carob trees, beech tree, chestnut tree, Hazelnut tree, walnut tree, banana tree and bay tree.
10 As they are subjective estimates, the di erences between those types of pol- larded trees are usually small and tend to be confused in many cases. One such example is the thick beech, usually over 60 cm in diameter and with a pollard aspect, included in the 2011 inventories of eld plots in Gipuzkoa, as they have been classi ed on 123 occasions as Form 4, on 26 occasions as Form 5 and on 25 occasions as Form 6. If these data are extrapolated to the whole of Gipuzkoa, the total of pollarded thick beeches in the forests of the province can be estimated - Form 6. Topped or pollarded trees to total 260,000. where the upper part of the trunk e following diagrams, taken from Par- and the branches have been cut at do Navarro et al. (2003), show an appro- points close to their insertion on priate typology to describe the pollarded the trunk and which belong to one trees of the Basque Country. of the following species: Common oak, sessile oak, Pyrenean oak, common ash, black poplar, beech and bay trees.
Form 4 seems to the most appropriate for trees with many branches, Form 5 for A trees from repeated lateral pruning, cut- ting back or stump shoots united at the base and Form 6 for topped or pollarded trees. e rules of the inventory recom- B mend that the pollard or “candelabra” trees may be in Form 6 when the branch shoots are young, in other words, they have been recently pollarded, and Form 4 C when they are thick and of a certain age, or that the pollarding had been carried out rather earlier.
11 Form A shows gira e pollarding. ey Form B is typical of guided trees, pruned are one-hundred year old trees, which in the past to produce cambered timber. are to be found on old estates in the e decline of these practices has meant eastern part of Llanada Alavesa, where that some of these branches have grown secular pruning and coppicing have to be large in size and usually threaten shaped pollarded oaks of spectacular the very conservation of the pollarded dimensions. tree due to their weight and their struc- tural imbalances. is form is the one that is usually also seen in the holm and cork oaks pruned on the estates of main- land Spain and Portugal.
12 Form C is the most frequent among the - e root system receives pollarded beeches of the Basque Coun- carbohydrates synthesized by the try and Navarra, the same as with other leaves and which keep or increase species such as oaks, alms and willows. its root absorption capacity. e decline of the charcoal makers and - ere is a ow of hormonal pollarders in the middle of the 20th cen- information between the two basic tury has shown that the majority of the physiological elements (leaves and branches of those trees have not reached sap) and absorbent roots that feed excessive dimensions. back. - e continuity and proportion of B. PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS ASSO- the live tissues between the energy CIATED TO PRUNING generation, water uptake and distribution points between those 1. Introduction two elements (fundamentally) are Pollarded trees are not di erentiated maintained and are su cient for from the biological or physiological point the correct interrelation between of view from the ones that are not. e the parts. general functioning is based, also logi- cally, on the photosynthetic e ciency 2.1. Photosynthetic e ciency associated to a good root functioning. Photosynthesis is the main reaction of eir speci c nature is based on their plants and is what de nes them. Glucose special structure and (in the case that (as a main element) is synthesised by maintenance or recovery work was carried means of atmospheric CO2 combining out) on how it is managed. with the water taken up by the roots. e energy for this union is supplied by sun- light and requires a highly complex and 2. e physiology of the trees. e cient cellular environment. e correct physiology of the trees is based on the existence of a positive feed- Photosynthetic e ciency then occurs in back circle, where: those leaves that have good lighting, ap- propriate temperature conditions and, - e foliage receives the in particular, the necessary water contri- essential elements to carry out bution. Water contribution depends on the photosynthetic function the resources that the environment has (particularly the water) e ciently. at any given time and on the good root conditions. - e environmental conditioning factors (particularly the e trees reactively position their active temperature) are the appropriate foliage at di erent heights to accom- ones for that reaction to occur modate their active structure to the correctly. conditions of each circumstance. In the
13 case of trees in natural environments, However, this adaptation capacity is con- the conditions that modify the resource ditioned by the energy level prior to the contributions mainly depend on the changes that may occur. meteorological conditions associated to the soil behaviour and to the competitive relations. 2.3. e root system e absorbent roots are that part of the us, photosynthetic e ciency is based tree that supplies the leaves with one of on a high input level (glucose synthesis) the 3 key elements of photosynthesis and combined with a low expenditure level as, in principle, there is an excess of CO (glucose consumption). For this relation- 2 and light, it is usually the most limiting ship to be optimum, the tree structures factor. must have a reduced structural cost (cells that consume little but do not produce): e trees size and position their absorb- the structures associated to the cost are ing root system to guarantee the most the branches, shas, trunks, etc., and are e cient possible supply rate. Abrupt fundamental to distribute the leaves in changes in the supplies means that the the air space. air structure built on a speci c amount of contributions is forced to generate quan- 2.2. e conditioning factors of the tity changes (regression, entrenchment, environment etc.). e exact location of a tree determines a erefore, one of the determining factors series of nutrient, water, temperature and in the conservation of a tree air structure soil characteristics that contribute a cer- is its root system functioning correctly, tain amount of resources. e reason that taken to be: the majority of special trees have that status is more down to the special com- - High glucose reserves in the bination of the physical characteristics of bearing roots the environment than their own genetics. - Appropriate proportion of It is the wealth of resources that de nes absorbing roots the nal dimension of the structure and, therefore, impacts decisively on the lon- - Reactive and adaptive distribution gevity of the trees. in an environment that allows all In the case of all trees, including the pol- its resources to be used, including larded ones, those environments with those that do so temporarily (and poorer physical conditions will produce periodically). weaker trees, with a less powerful struc- - E cient root substitution strategies ture and (in general) shorter longevities. and therefore a constant presence e trees in turn are able to adapt their of connected roots and exploring structure to changes in the environment. roots that constantly increase and
14 ne-tune the connection with the element, that connects those two sets environment. of structure and is adequate in terms of function and, above all, of dimension. - Lack of drastic changes in the environment (soil) e two essential components of all root and air elements are phloem and sap- wood. 2.4. e hormonal relationship between the two elements making up terrestrial Phloem is a tissue with a level of low plants: leaves and roots rigidity and with a very high adaptation capacity to changes in the connection e e ciency of the photosynthesis needs. e position where the phloe- generates a positive e ect by means of matic vessels contract and expand is the synthesising glucose that enriches the same and therefore the rapidity in the whole organism. response is high and e cient. Yet, furthermore, to boost those e cient e sapwood is, however, a much more structures, auxins (in the e cient structured tissue. It is made up of ves- elements) are synthesised and are sels with cellulose walls that adapt more distributed through the trees and are, slowly. e sapwood vessel creation and preferably, sent through the connecting elimination positions are di erent. e tissues to the root. sapwood mass contracts at its limit with e root responds to this auxin presence the heartwood, as new vessels are gener- by increasing the root rami cation and ated between the sapwood and cambium. with the synthesis of cytokinins that, due erefore, the continuity in the tissues of to a call e ect of the auxins, move to the the sapwood (throughout the tree) is an centres where the later is synthesised, element that intervenes in the response thus promoting growth. of the trees to the stress conditions: is positive feedback circle is the basis e dramatic loss of foliage implies lower of the adaptive growth of the tree as it pro- water transport needs (as the consump- motes those more e cient substructures tion is reduced), and therefore, the by increasing their e ciency capacity by sapwood must reduce its strength (thick- increasing resources and growth stimula- ness) to adapt to those new needs. In the tors. most extreme cases (in trees with low energy reserves), this reduction (death) of the sapwood is continuous throughout 2.5. e continuity of the “living” tree: the tree and it therefore results in the roots – sapwood - leaves (total or partial) death of the roots that e complex structure of a veteran tree, were connected to it. us, the result of and which we have summarised as ef- a dramatic pruning (in those weakened cient leaves and active absorbing roots, trees) means a loss of synthesis capacity means the presence of a conductive and a massive root death. Apart from the
15 anatomic changes, from the point of view 3. Pollarded trees of the absorbent roots-leaves feedback Pollarded trees share their same physi- circle, the loss of leaves causes a reduc- ological base with trees with a natural tion in the glucose synthesis, this reduc- bearing. However, their speci c structure tion in the glucose contribution a ects (space colonisation strategy) provides them the absorption capacity of the roots that with a set of physiological characteristics will mean a reduction in the contribution and makes them evolve and respond to of water to leaves, with the tree entering impacts in a di erent way to those with into a negative feedback process. natural bearing.
For trees with high reserves, their inver- sion capacity implies that the loss of sap- 3.1. e cycle of pollarded trees wood is not as high and may be reduced Pollarded trees have a cycle de ned by or even none far from the damaged zone. the periodic elimination of the photosyn- Furthermore, the capacity to generate thetic structure. Topping can be carried new healthy and active shoots restores out on branches and shoots of di erent the energy levels in a moderate time. size according to the targeted type of use. e durability of the pollards is based on - Better compartmentalisation of the that the repetition topping cycle (years) gashes always happens while the tree has high - Lower loss of strength of the vitality levels, in other words, it is in the sapwood. juvenile or adult phases. - Less impact on the roots
3.2. Pollarded trees maintained without us, the high energy levels are recovered interruption more quickly and the longevity and dura- e pollards maintained without inter- bility of the trees is high. In fact, many of ruption are those where the topping the species managed correctly by means work takes place with a speci c fre- of topping have longer longevities than quency (those that have been carried out those of trees le to develop by means of traditionally). a natural structuring process. is periodic topping while the tree How the pruning work is carried out is in the adult or juvenile phase (in (tools, cutting point, period, etc.), in- other words it has a high energy level formation that, in general, is part of the associated) enables: cultural legacy that accompanies those
17 trees, plays a key role in the management of the pollarded trees during the period.
3.3. e “abandoned” pollarded trees Abandoning the topping work of those trees usually results in an accelerated ageing of their physiology. is intense reduction of the vitality is particularly related to the structure that the trees have aer having been managed by means of periodic toppings and the main structural characteristics of the abandoned pollards are: - Crown made up by shoots developed with high competition for the light - Lack of hierarchy between the to a global organisation (of the whole di erent shas tree). us, these crowns are de facto - High presence of forced heartwood tree forests (total reiterations) whose sole (generated by each pruning relationship is to compete for light and session) that is usually colonized for root resources. totally or partially by xylophages. e abandonment, and, therefore, the lack of new toppings, means that the 3.3.1. e structure of the crown and majority of the shoots (total independent the lack of hierarchy: reiterations) develop particularly at the When a topping is carried out at the cor- top and are made up of a sha (trunk- rect stage the tree generates shoots that sides) with a reduced proportion of have a high colonization capacity of the leaves (input). space. is capacity is due to high energy As the shas reach their maximum reserves. erefore, the growth of the height, the lack of proportion between shoots is great. wood and leaves increases. Furthermore, e shoots that are generated aer prun- the excess of independent individuals, ing have no type of regulation among which start from the intersection (cutting them that allows them “to order”, zone) means that the amount of light strengthen or stie which shas are de- available for each is reduced. us, the veloped and which parts of the structure abandonment of pollarded trees gener- are secondary and can be subordinate ates a structure with:
18 - Reduced input in each individual- sha, due to the competition for light. - Very high costs in terms of the amount of leaves due to their having large shas and low associated foliage Some species have a high capacity to renaturalise by means of the very com- petition process that eliminates the less energetic shas and generates trees with tree thus enters into a negative fewer shas, therefore with more light circular process. and with a large proportion of leaves. In other species, this capacity to purge is is is a generalisation and the trees can lower and they nd it harder to return to (mainly due to external circumstances) “natural” structural growth. Apart from and in some cases exceed this critical pe- the species factor, the environment fac- riod and produce a more e cient crown. tor (with a speci c amount of resources) Some of the circumstances that help to facilitates or reduces this speci c capacity overcome this period are: according to their wealth. - Fewer dominant shas. e fewer e nal result of this abandonment the shas a tree produces, the process is “trees” with very low energy more e cient each one is and values, due to: the longer longevity and more - e net production of each sha adaptation mechanisms it has. is being null or near to zero. e tree fact has to pitted against the fact overall therefore does not obtain that environment that is richer in the necessary amount of glucose resources and conditions allows the existence of more shas and in - e drop in energy in each sha better condition, or in other words, reduces their capacity to generate the ageing processing is slower and alternative crowns to adapt to the with greater opportunities to be new situation partially reverted. - e competition that all the shas - Increased light due to the tree generate prevents light from loosing branches. is fact reaching lower zones and reduces generates spaces in the tree itself the capacity to strengthen the shas and can create juvenile zones that - e drop in glucose contributions change the general structure of the weakens the root system and the tree.
19 - Increased light in the immediate with the outside and is therefore quickly proximity to the trees, normally colonisable by xylphages. caused by the loss of nearby trees. While the pollarded trees are maintained Even though this increased light as such, the sapwood is very strong and can improve the vitality, it does not may cope with the mechanical needs of vary the space utilisation strategy the trees. Furthermore, the crown is in (and capturing light) that the trees an adult or juvenile state, which implies: have and therefore it does not mean permanent improvement. • Reducing the mechanical e ort of the wind by means of deforming an elastic crown • Less canopy • High physiology and therefore capacity to generate reaction wood and adapt the structure to the dif- ferent mechanical needs. When the pollarded trees are abandoned, they start an ageing process that involves: • A reduced physiology and therefore the adaptation capacity • inning the thickness of the sap- wood and therefore a lower me- chanical support capacity
e natural process of many pollards is death from ageing and progressive reduction of vitality. However, many do not die old as the physiological weaken- ing also implies a mechanical weakening and, therefore, a high risk of breaking.
3.3.2. Large amount of forced heart- wood associated to the xylophage action: e elimination of living parts of a tree is followed by a sudden reduction of the sapwood that becomes forced heart- wood. e forced heartwood is in contact
20 • Large canopies (crowns), with e only solution for the overall con- branches supporting increasingly servation of the pollarded trees would greater weights involve recovering the value of their de- rivatives. • Large cavities and rotting Even though conserving pollarded trees e mechanical characteristics of those is di cult in general, sporadic measures trees mean that the vast majority of have to be carried out that allow trees abandoned pollarded trees end up or groups of trees of special interest to breaking. be conserved. As part of this cultural conservation strategy, we believe that it is important to generate new pollarded 3.4. e recovery of old pollarded trees trees that enable this type of structures e large amount of pollarded trees to be and the age-old culture of using nature found in the Basque Country prevents that it seeks to maintain. their individual management. ere- e conservation strategies of a speci c fore, it has to be accepted that this type tree require an assessment of its structur- of structure (particularly in the case al phase (juvenile, adult, mature or senes- beeches, alms, poplars and other so cence). is rst assessment will enable wood trees) are going to disappear from the response capacity to any measure that our landscapes at great speed (from the may be proposed to be determined. woodland perspective) . e hardwood species (particularly the e majority of pollarded trees are Quercus genre) that also have a greater abandoned and therefore have a vitality capacity to consolidate and reshape the between low and very low. ese reduced crown, have rather better perspectives. vitality values mean that no dramatic measures (similar to the traditional top- ping work) should be carried out, before embarking again on this type of meas- ures, the vitality of the tree must be im- proved. e most common solutions in these restoration processes are based on: • Reducing the competition between shas • Increasing light in the surrounding area • Improving the root conditions • Moderate reduction (to a lesser extent the weaker the tree is) of the crown to foster epicormic growth.
21 ese measures can be carried out to- branches are cut from a tree are usually gether, but the intensity level of each of to improve the quality of the wood of the them must be based on a detailed study trunk, avoiding the presence of knots in of each tree. the timber, or reducing the risk of re, therefore eliminating the lower branches C. THE REASON FOR POLLARDING that could turn a surface re into the canopy being on re.
Pollarding still continues to be a very In the case of pruning shapes linked to speci c type of pruning, where the aim is the arboriculture, the objectives are usu- to create a crown of certain characteris- ally: tics or as a way of using branches of dif- • to raise the height of the branches ferent sizes. erefore, the many reasons or the crown of the tree to a certain for pruning a tree or in woodland must height, so that they are not obsta- be taken into account. cles to people or machinery. In a case of forestry pruning, the most • to balance the general structure of traditional objectives when the lower the tree, providing a shape that is
22 solid, balanced and well-distributed • as they are zones with frequent around the trunk. ground and late frost, normally due to thermal inversion, which may • in some gardens or parks, the aim hinder the budding. may be to give speci c or artis- tic shapes in the trees: geometric shapes, trellising, hedges, etc; in Finally, forestry pollarding may be for this case, the pruning usually re- some or several of these historical rea- quires periodic maintenance prun- sons: ing or cutting of the crown of the trees • there was a need to make the pres- ence of livestock, herbivores and In the case of urban arboriculture, other frugivores compatible with the more speci c objectives are usually continued existence and regenera- added to the above ones, such as peri- tion of woodland and with the pro- odic pruning to prevent the trees getting duction of timber near to the windows of the buildings, to increase the shadow of the trees or • search for special curved shapes to reduce the biomass of the branches, from the trunk and main branches by reducing the risk of woody material of trees, generally linked to ship- dropping on to the street. e drastic building (ipinabarros [guided pol- pruning of the shade banana trees and lard] with “horca y pendón” [horca thorntrees in urban settings are usually where the branches are le at the most extreme cases of this type of right angles and pendón where the pruning. branches are at an obtuse angle to the main trunk], curved trees) e toppings linked to the silvopastural • there was a need to avoid the an- activities usually have the following ob- cient marking by the Navy in the jectives: case of good boles in woodland • to increase future production to near to the Bay of Biscay; some improve the sun exposure inside owners avoided this “seizure” by the tree pollarding their trees and thus reduced their amount of wood of • to allow livestock to get at the most interest for shipbuilding. tender branches • wood production using the timber branches e implementation of the Pollarding LIFE+ project has increased the list of • as they are zones with spring or reasons for pollarding: winter waterlogging, which would make it impossible for the shoot • avoiding the accumulation of thick leaves to breathe and heavy branches on a weak and
23 hollow trunk, in order to reduce the structural imbalances in the tree and the consequent risk of breaking or falling down • fostering the formation of dead or rotting woods in order to increase the population of saproxylic insects • creating new pollarded trees in young beech plantations, so that they can take over in the future from the current old pollarded beeches when they are dying. • slowing down the expansion of those trees whose growth may en- danger the conservation of other trees of interest; it is the case of the pollarding of beeches to slow down their expansion in areas of oak trees, or the case of open- ing up small clearings in uniform and dense beech groves, clearings where the beeches are pollarded to foster the regeneration of other species whose development in- creases biodiversity in the adult beech groves.
24
CHAPTER 2. POLLARDING IN THE PAST (UNTIL THE MID 20TH CENTURY)
Practically until the mid 20th century, the its being, along with the chestnut, the forest was the main source for supply most exploited and repopulated tree in human activities in the Basque Country the Basque Country and Navarra during and north-western Navarra. For a long the Modern Era. time, it supplied wood for tools, farm However, the expansion of human activi- equipment, weapons, furniture, buildings ties in the 19th century, above all agri- and ships; food for animals and even for culture and livestock, led to a clear drop people; fuel for kitchens, forges, dorlas, tileworks and lime kilns, and fertilizer for agriculture work. All the parts of the trees were used: the trunk and branches, as fuel or raw material for manufacturing and construction; the leaves, as fertilizer or food for livestock; fruit, as human or animal food; the bark, to produce dyes, using its tannins, and shoes. In general, the oak was the most used tree until the 19th century, followed, by the chestnut, the beech, poplar, alders, etc. is species was considered the most useful, both for building and shipbuild- ing, and to obtain charcoal, due to the good qualities of their wood and to the in the number of chestnut and oak trees, proximity of oak groves to the iron and and di erent manufacturing activities, steel and shipbuilding production cen- mainly iron and steel, turned their sights tres. Not surprisingly, the oak was main- on the extensive beech woodland, which ly grown on hillsides at heights of up to had been less exploited due to its higher 600-700 metres. is all contributed to location and its further distance from
27 production centres. It continued to be to guarantee the sustainability of forest used until the 1970s in the 20th century management, between the 15th and 18th to cover a series of needs: to obtain re centuries, di erent forestry techniques wood for homes and bakeries, producie were introduced that tried to guarantee charcoal for iron and steel, obtain oars the greatest possible productivity. ese for shipbuilding and beams to be used techniques evolved overtime according down mines and for railway sleepers. to the needs and priorities of the eco- nomic activities, along with the abun- e incompatibility between the rate of dance of forestry resources and materials. exploiting the forest, due to the voracity of the production activities, and the very biological and growth rate of the broad- A. FROM THE UNDERGROWTH TO leaf species, was one of the greatest prob- POLLARDED TREES lems that humans had to face when using the forests until the beginning of the 20th As can be seen from the di erent mu- century, when non-native species were nicipal ordinances, the forests of the introduced. e extent of the demand for Basque Country and of north-western raw materials was clearly greater than the Navarra were dominated by thickets growth of the di erent tree species and and free-growing trees, at least until the the deforestation and supply problems 17th century. ickets particularly pre- became gradually more serious. In order dominated in those places closely linked
28 to the iron industry. e combination As regards these free-growing trees, aer of thickets, free-growing and pollarded being felled at the bottom of the trunk, trees was common in towns along the branches would grow again from the coast of Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, or in stump and they would become thickets. the immediate vicinity. Traditionally, at e new branches were pruned once least until the 17th century, the presence every 12 or 15 years to be used to make of pollarded trees was more common in charcoal, weapons, poles, strips, barrels Bizkaia than in Gipuzkoa, which meant and houses, and their crops were used to that it was forced to import “corbatones” feed the livestock. Aer the pruning, they or pieces of curved timbered, right from had to be fenced o so that the animals the start. did not eat the shoots, something that was impossible in the municipal forests, e free-growing trees were not pruned. as livestock had right of way. Once mature or seasoned, they were felled at the trunk. anks to them, e damage caused by the livestock and the needs were met of di erent sectors, a certain drop in the production of the such as livestock farming, construction thickets, as the cutting periods were not (beams and building frames), iron and respected, precisely contributed to the steel (hammer handles for forges), ship iron and steel industry at a time when building (oars, boards, curved dunnage, the sector was being reorganised, would keels, masts, etc.) and, in some cases, to drive the introduction of certain changes make charcoal. in the forestry management model halfway through the 17th century. Even
though there was previous abundant legislation in that sense, the thickets were guided in order to convert them into pol- larded trees. is process was precisely more important in those places where
29 iron and steel interests predominated already made up of free-growing and and where the presence of thickets and pollarded trees. Halfway through the 18th free-growing trees had been notable up century, the forests of topped—pollarded until them. trees had taken over from thickets and even over from free-growing trees. It is Proof of that change is the fact that, dur- not known if the pollard-topped trees ing the 18th century, the number of thick- were correctly guided, even though ac- ets ostensibly declined – even though cording to contemporary accounts, the they essentially continued to be used for royal authorities were concerned as the the basket and cask making industries, iron industry interests prevailed in most and the majority of the woods and forests of the cases and they paid little attention of the Basque Country and Navarra were to that type of issues.
30 B. LEAVING “HORCA AND PENDÓN” in the Basque Country and Navarra, where it even had its own name. e term e demographic and economic expan- ipinabar is a Basque word, which means sion that occurred in the peninsula to prune or leave branch, which refers during the late Middle Ages culminated to the Spanish term of “leave horca and between the second half of the 15th cen- pendón”. th tury and the rst half of the 16 century, e technique used in those cases was which put a strain on the forestry wealth. similar to the one used for the thickets, In order to avoid this deforestation, dur- but instead of beginning the felling from ing the time of the Catholic Monarchs, the base of the trunk, the pruning was speci cally in 1496, an order was issued carried out at 2.5 or 4 metres high, which that trees should not be cut “... at the prevented animals from reaching the stump, but rather at the branch and leav- shoots. e oaks were felled every 8 or ing horca and pendon where it could grow 10 years and the beeches every 5 or 6, again” e technique consisted at leaving which meant faster and greater produc- two or three main branches unpruned, tion than with the thickets. one perpendicular [horca] and the other forming at an obtuse angle [pendon] However, failure to comply with the leg- islation led to the appearance of a double is requirement continued to be ap- pollard model: guided and non-guided. plied throughout the peninsula during In the case of non-guided topped trees, th the 16th and 17 centuries, as can be all the branches were cut o – only half seen from the legislation at that time. in the case of beeches to conserve the However, it was particularly important tree -, while the horca and pendón were le in the case of guided pollarded trees. e pollarded trees were particularly used for livestock and to produce char- coal, pulley blocks, gun grips and planks, and guided pollarded trees for livestock and to produce charcoal, planks and boats (producing curved timber). e latter were called guiones, even though in Oiartzun they were known as suariçes or suaritza, which means oak for or from re, used to manufacture charcoal. is word probably came from the current suhaitza, which is used for trees that can be used for timber, com- pared to arbola which is used in the case of fruit trees. e guided pollarded trees were also known as corbos or ipinabarros.
31 Halfway through the 16th century (1552- Pollarding ful lled certain functions and 1563), the lack of materials, mainly o ered certain advantages compared to for constructing buildings and ships, the other models, particularly, as pollard- meant that certain measures had to be ed trees could complement the demand taken, including the obligation to leave of a wide range of activities such as iron a pollarded oak, at a certain distance, and steel, ship building or livestock: in the thicket forests. ese measures were generally rejected in those charter • it produced pasturing and feed for towns where thickets prevailed and the livestock in the form of leaves, fresh forges were the main industry. e use branches, acorns, beech nuts or of ipinabarros were already common in chestnuts Bizkaia during the 16th century, while in Gipuzkoa and Navarra, except for some • it allowed grass and undergrowth speci c points where it was applied from to grow to be grazed by livestock the early 16th century onwards, its use and prevented the latter from eat- was not widespread until the end of the ing the o shoots, as the pruning 17th century. was upwards
32 • had two or three main branches, pruning system was brought for- that over time would be used to ob- ward by around four years – if the tain curved timber, tuertas or curva- thickets were coppiced every 12 tones, essential for ship buildings or 15 years, oak pollards could be cut every 10 years and every 5 or 6 • a series of branches would grow years in the case of beech. o those main branches and they could also be used for large planks, • the distance from one tree to but, above all, for making charcoal. another allowed the tree to expand, e added advantage was from which meant that its branches could the increase in productivity as the extend to a total area of 60 m2
33 Between the 15th and 18th centuries, the method to obtain this type of trees was established and improved. In the 18th century, at a time when silviculture or forestry was at an emerging stage, the process was as follows:
2. Nursery Two or three years aer the seeds were planted, the seedlings ready to be transplanted, known as chirpías were moved between November and March, always under a crescent moon to use the strength of the sap, to another plot or nursery that had been previously prepared, dug and fertilized during the 1. Planting seeds months of May, June or July. In the nurs- e rst step consisted of planting the ery, which was fenced to avoid livestock acorn or seeds in good quality soil, either getting in, the chirpias had to be planted during November (in the case of oaks, out in rows with a distance of 70 cm be- holm oaks, beech and chestnut trees) or tween them, so there was room for weed- during the winter, until March (in the ing using a hoe and so that the trees did case of walnuts). e acorn, beech nut not get tangled up when growing. Weed- and chestnut were ideally placed on the ing had to be carried out three or four side, to make it easier for the shoot to times a year in March, June, September come out. and December.
34 3. First pruning Two or three years aer being moved to Every year, between November and the the nursery, between the months of Feb- end of January, the surplus twigs had ruary and March, the oak or beech chirp- to be cut o . Before moving on to the ia had to be pruned 7 or 9 cm from the third step, the tip was cut o the small surface of the soil - this operation was tree: instead of making a smooth cut, it not necessary in the case of beeches and had to be made at the aforementioned walnuts-. In June of that same period, the minimum height of 2.5 metres, when the weakest chirpías were thinned out and branches divided, at the large shoots or only the straightest were kept. where there was new growth, to avoid the tree drying out or the livestock eating the saplings.
35 36 4. Transfer to the plantation metres) and more spaced out on at land e second step would take place aer (7.5 to 8 metres). e trees had to be the chirpía had been in the nursery for thorny – generally using hawthorn - and 6 or 7 years, in other words when the weeded once a year, when the soil was young trees were 9 or 10 years old. It was not very fertile. the time to move it to its nal place in the woodland. e tree had to be approx- 5. inning out imately 2.5 metres high and a minimum Sixteen years aer leaving the nursery thickness of 1 cm. and being in the planting out, in other e trees were extracted selectively be- words, when the trees were already 25 tween November and half way through years old, the trees to be free grown had March. e strongest trees were taken to begin to be thinned out, with a ca- out in the rst year and another year was dence of 10 year. e appropriate rage le between extraction and extraction, so was that, for every 400 trees planted out, that the trees that remained in the nurs- only 100 would remain at the end of 60 ery could recover and could bene t from years. e pollarded trees did not have the shade of the others. to be carried out as they had to be grown spread out so that their trunks were not e transplants were carried out leav- excessively high and long, but rather ing a distance of 3 to 3.5 metres between stocky and lled out with branches. trees, in the case of the free-growing ones, and of 5.5 to 7.5 metres, for the pollards. is depended on the relief of the land, and was thicker on slopes (4.5
37 6. First cut of the guiding branch pruning had to be carried out furthest Seven years aer being planted, the pol- away from the trunk. Warts were thus lard guiding branch had to be cut to a avoided and it encouraged strong growth distance of 3-5 metres from ground level, and in an appropriate away to obtain leaving all the branches whole and intact. wood that could be used by the merchant and royal navy. e best time to top trees for the rst time was during the descending moon – and also for the free-growing trees to be used of ship building – from St. Michael’s Day, 29 September until the Day of Our Lady of the Annunciation or Incarnation -, 25 March. In the case of the trees that had already been pollarded, the pruning was carried out between 20 February and 25 March. No branch had to be le lower than the others, as the shade from the higher o shoots a ected the ones below.
C. CHARCOAL MAKING
Obtaining fuel was the main activity related to the non-guided pollard tech- nique. e timber was for domestic uses or suegurra and to make the charcoal for the steel and metal industry. In the rst of the cases, central heaths did not require large amounts of wood. But half way through the 18th century, the 7. Successive pruning move to the side stove with chimney and draught resulted in a greater demand Subsequently, 8 to 10 years aer making for rewood, which also led to a wave of this rst cut, the smallest branches were illegal felling. pruned, leaving those that looked like they would be curved, in other words, At that time, two wagons of wood, the trunk, the horca and pendón were around a ton and a half, was delivered le. On land that had rich and humid to each farmstead or house owner in the sub-soil, an arm or horca 1.5 to 2 metres majority of municipalities. However, the long located 2.8 metres from the pendón increase in demand from the provincial should be le on the tree. Ideally, the capitals, such as Vitoria-Gasteiz, Donos-
38 tia-San Sebastián, Bilbao or Pamplona, be levelled and prepared before the wood led to widespread imports of rewood and rewood was piled up. and charcoal from other territories and to the exploitation of woodland and for- est that up until then had had a tempo- 2. Accumulating the rewood rary or isolated use, as was the case of the e wood to be used was then coppiced Andia, Urbasa or Altzania ranges. from around the site. Generally, this was collected, in the case of council or e demographic expansion and the communal woodlands, from trees previ- new ploughed areas caused the forests to ously marked by the warden or surveyor, shrink signi cantly. With the construc- as was the case until recently at Ataun, tion of new farmsteads and the conver- Elosu-Legutio, Leitza or Oiartzun. sion of timber huts into stone buildings, the demand for lime and tiles, a symbol In the centre of the carbon kiln, a straight linked to ownership, increased. When it pole was placed - which was taken out came to manufacturing tiles, some ac- once all the wood had been led up to counts refer to around 415 loads of tim- make the kiln - or four boards that would ber (26 tons) being used for each batch. leave inside a gap of around 25 cm2 and which, built up in a cross-intersection At the same time, the demand for char- pattern up to a height of 1.5 to 2 metres, coal remained steady or increased be- acted as the stack. e lower part was tween the 18th and 19th centuries, due to surrounded by dry branches and, the the continuity of the traditional forges pieces of wood, with the larger ones and making of iron billet and to the ap- being placed nearer to the stack, were pearance of numerous puddling and cap arranged radially. e wood was lled furnaces and blast furnaces. Until the up in a pyramid shape, with the smaller 1960s in the 20th century, this charcoal pieces being placed towards the top to served the needs of the Araya, Bilbao, facilitate the elevation. Luzuriaga and Orbegozo steelworks. e method for making charcoal had barely changed from the Middle Ages. 3. Covering the charcoal kiln to facili- In reality, the operation was reduced to tate the charcoal process heating the wood, at a certain tempera- Once the wood had been piled up, the ture, so that the main volatile elements carbon kiln was covered with damp soil, burnt o and only the charcoal remained moss, sods, heather, gorse, damp leaf lit- that was combined with oxygen. ter and fern to help the charcoal process. e usual charcoal kiln, as can be seen from the witness accounts gathered in 1. Preparing the site Ataun or Ezkio-Itsaso, were usually 3-5 e rst step consisted of looking for an m high and used a volume of 100-200 appropriate spot to build the txondarpla- sacks (nearly 20 tons) of rewood, which za or the carbon kiln site, which have to was turned into 4 or 5 tons of charcoal.
39 40 4. Lighting the charcoal kiln and com- was changed to start the cooling process. bustion e openings and holes were covered e charcoal kiln was lit towards the with the same earth, which was attened upper opening of the stacks by means of using the stick, which was carried out lighting the upper branches or a hand- over several days. Once cold, the char- ful of gorse. e carbonisation was thus coal kiln was gradually opened up and triggered and it moved in a centrifugal a wooden hook was used to extract the direction from the top downwards. Once fragments of charcoal, which were load- the covering was completed, a wooden ed into thick wool sacks and transported pole was used to make a series of holes in wagons, mules and asses. all the way round the base of the charcoal kiln to facilitate the air circulating be- 6. Traditional pollarding in the Basque tween the stack and the aforementioned Country and Navarra: end of the 19th conducts. century until the mid 20th century e information provided here are the e re inside heated the fresh wood, result of a survey conducted in 2011 in which cause the humidity to be given o . di erent places of Álava, Bizkaia, Gipuz- In a second combustion phase, the ame koa and Navarra turned white in colour. e wood started [1]. is involved interviewing around to shrink and the charcoal kiln cracked, twenty people who at some time of their which meant it had to be regularly sup- lives had worked in forestry, pollarding plied with more wood and the cracks and making charcoal, using the tradi- covered with earth. e charcoal-making tional methods. e techniques they process of an average sized kiln was used, and which are described here, they around 15 days to a month. had learnt from their parents and elders, the heirs of a long tradition whose roots 5. Final stage of the carbonisation and in the Basque Country and Navarra can cooling of the charcoal kiln be traced back to the 19th century. In order to facilitate the carbonisation is work method was used until 50 or and to help the release of vapours, a stick 60 years ago – and even, although only was used to make vents in the upper and rarely, it continues to be used - to obtain lower part, which were in addition to the rewood for household or “suegurra” the aforementioned holes at the bottom. use, for the industrial production of e heating process ended when smoke bread and to produce charcoal to be used stopped coming out, when the covering in the modern steel-metallurgy industry.
41 42 However, in this last stage, the forestry 7. Transfer to the planting out rates were very di erent to the last third Generally, in winter and spring, the th of the 19 century, when the traditional plants were taken from the nursery - be- forges, based on the direct system or longing to the provincial institutions - to sha furnace, disappeared from the the place where they were going to be Basque Country and Navarra geography. transplanted, which did not require any prior preparation. In the majority of cases, is disappearance inuenced the cop- the moon was not taken into account, picing system, which went from every although it was said in some places that 5 or 6 years, in the case of the beech beeches should be planted under a new trees, and every 9 or 10, for the oaks moon and the oaks under a waning (19th century) to, from the 20th century moon. A hoe was used to dig the holes in onwards, 10 to 12 years, when obtaining a grid layout and the plant was placed in household rewood and for bakeries (as the hole and held in place with a viurra was the case in Belauntza, which sup- or three sticks, to that it grew to the right. plied Tolosa or Ubide, whose destination In the case of plants from the nurs- was Vitoria), and 40 to 60 years to obtain ery, there were two options: As was the charcoal used in the hardening of the case of Ataun and Eskoriatza, they the cast steel in factories (such as Araya, could come already pollarded, with the Luzuriaga, Orbegozo) or to manufacture main guiding sha cut, the intersection engines (such as Construcciones Juaristi). branches prepared and the lower twigs pruned, so that the trunk was smooth e pollarding technique that is going to and whiter in colour than the standard be described does not match what was – in Ataun they were called aldapagoak applied to the ipinabarros, but rather -. It could also be a plant that kept the to the modorras or unguided pollarded main guiding branch to be subsequently trees. erefore, even though there are treated. important similarities with the techniques Weeding was carried out once a year and described for the 18th century, it has some when considered necessary, according to speci c features. In any event, there is a the land and to the production of weeds. great geographical variety when it comes In some cases, the planting out had to be to de ning the pollarding technique in carried out in areas of thicket, briar or Basque: kapetatu, in Urdazubi (Navarra); thick fern to protect the plant and pro- inausi, in nearly all Gipuzkoa; enborratu vide shade. or lepotu, in Oiartzun; mogarratu, in the eastern part of Gipuzkoa and the Narrava massif of Bortzirieta; lepatu or lepotu, in 8. First cut of the guiding branch Oñati. e term mochar was also used in When the plant did not come prepared some areas of Bizkaia. from the nursery, when it reached 20
43 years and a height of between 2.5 and 3 woodworm, as the ribs of the wood are metres, the main guiding branch was cut much more compact. – by saw or by hand – leaving the side When the pruning was carried out, not branches to achieve the pollarding and all the branches were coppiced, except in the lower branches were stripped. is the case of the chestnut, where no guid- was the practice in places such as Be- ing branches were le. In the other cases, launtza, Eibar, Eskoriatza, Oñati – where only the thickest and most twisted were it was known as pagolinderoa - or Ubide. felled, and the thin and straight youngest branches le - known as pagotxaraka, 9. Successive pruning txara o txarakapa in Eskoriatza and Aretxabaleta, as guiding branches, used e pruning could be carried out once by the tree to continue to grow. the leaves fell from the tree, as that was considered to be the time when the sap In some places such as Azkoitia, Be- was in the roots and less damage was launtza, Eibar or Urdazubi, not all the done. e pruning was therefore carried branches of the same tree were cut at out between November and March, even the same time, but rather two branches though the most recommended period were cut each year. If there were lower was January. e beech was preferably branches or at the intersection, they were pollarded under a new moon – the rst coppiced from their base. Otherwise, a Friday of that moon in Azkoitia – and small margin or stump always had to be the oak and chestnut under a waning le, making sure that there was a branch moon. under the cut make. It was sometimes recommended to cut or make a series In reality, the belief was that respecting of incisions in the bark of the stump for the phases of the moon improved the new shoots to appear. quality of the rewood or timber to be e pruning frequency depended on obtained. If the pruning was not carried the quality of the soil, as was the case in out to obtain a certain type and quality Elosu-Legutio. In places where the soil of timber or rewood, it did not matter was not very deep, more time was le when it was carried out and the moon between pruning and pruning, while in cycles did not come into play. In order the case of deeper soils, the time between to obtain beech rewood, it was better to prunings was shorter. prune under a new moon because it led to a more lasting ame and which gave e pruning was mainly carried out us- o greater heat, while if it was pruned ing an axe, as it was convenient and be- at another time, the wood could sweat cause the saw dragged and le a smooth and water given o in the re. In the case surface. at was not the case of the axe of the oak, if it was cut under a waning and it was more e ective for new shoots moon it would hardly be a ected by to appear. e cut had to be chamfered,
44 so that the water ran towards the ground and did not form pools, and it was per- formed for thinning out or clear cut- ting; in the case of thinning out, it only involved those tress that had branches that were su ciently large to provide rewood or the required material. Once the branch was felled, axes, saws and wedges were used. e branches cut to make charcoal or household rewood were le to try at the foot of the tree until summer or autumn, where they were taken to the site of the charcoal kiln. If the charcoal kiln was to be built in winter or when the rewood was for bakeries, it was transported immediately aer pruning.
45
CHAPTER 3. POLLARDING IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Pollarded trees emerged in Gipuzkoa in response to the need to maximise the goods obtained from them. e decline, rst of all, of shipbuilding and then char- coal ceasing to be used as a fuel reduced their utility until, several decades ago, the trees ceased to be managed. e pruning of the existing pollarded trees stopped, along with the creation of new ones. A. LANDSCAPE. ETHNOGRAPHIC AND CULTURAL VALUE. Yet is the production of rewood and timber the only use that can be obtained e extension of land that is seen from from the pollarded trees? For some time a place is called landscape. is de ni- now, we have been aware that, apart from tion is very simple, but it introduces two those material bene ts, pollarded trees essential aspects for its explanation. the provide other important services to the observer, who must see, and the object, communities. which must be seen. is chapter focuses on two of them: erefore, a landscape does not exist their contribution to the mountain land- without the people who see it and inter- scape, and therefore, to the local identity, pret it. In other words, apart from the and the maintenance and conservation of material aspects (shapes, textures, col- certain ways of life, which helps to main- ours, etc.), the landscape has a clear so- tain the biodiversity. cial component. Delving further into this idea, the European Landscape Conven- tion de nes it as any part of the territory, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors.
47 e current preoccupation with the human beings and to determining their landscape is based on the certainty that identity. it plays a key role in the social, environ- Pollarded trees are much more frequent mental, ecological and cultural elds. in Gipuzkoa than in other territories and It is a bene cial resource for economic have become characteristics of the region activity and contributes to the setting and as part of their identity. ey form up of local cultures, to the well-being of part of mountainous Gipuzkoa, that area located over 500 metres high and are present in some of the most charac- teristic spots of the province. ey are sometimes found in small groups, while in others they form large forests covering hundreds of hectares. e highlands of Gipuzkoa are noted for limestone, the green pastureland used by the herds of Latxa ewes, cows and mares, the folds used by shepherds and beech forests. e latter are sometimes free growing and others are pollarded obtain timber (beams for buildings, keels trees. Small pollarded trees are usually for shipyards or mastheads for vessels) found close to the chapels scattered over and rewood, making it compatible with the mountains of Gipuzkoa, traditional the tree itself and with use by the live- gathering places for the inhabitants of stock. the neighbouring valleys. Economic and social changes have been e landscapes that are the result of the reected in the pollarded trees and in interaction between nature and man are their presence in the landscape. e known as cultural landscapes. ey il- need for timber for shipbuilding was the lustrate the evolution of society and of driving force behind its origin and their human settlements over the years, under existence spread from the coast inland. the inuence of the natural environment ey were initially mainly guided pol- and the economic, cultural and social lards to obtained timber for ships or forces. ipinabarras. Subsequently, this type of Pollarded trees are undeniably a cultural pollarded tree began to disappear from landscape. ey are the result of several the mountains of Gipuzkoa once ships generations of people managing natural ceased to be made out of timber and it elements (trees of di erent species), to was replaced by non-guided pollards. In recent ages, a new change has oc- B. ECOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS AND curred once pruning stopped. In this ASSOCIATED BIODIVERSITY way, the pollarded tree which is now characteristic, with thick branches on the Pollarded trees are usually to be found intersection, must have previously been in groups, forming forests and coppices very scarce. e repeated pruning every of di erent sizes. Individual trees are less 10-20 years prevented the main branches frequent. In any event, pollarded trees from growing to a large diameter and are part of larger habitats and coexist reached the heights to which we are now with di erent characteristics and typical used. species. Some of those species are very speci c and they exclusively used speci c Cultural landscapes are not unchang- niches, with very few possibilities of be- ing and those of pollarded trees are no ing developed in other environmental exception. Apart from the morphological conditions. Others, however, have broad change that the trees themselves usually vital spectra, which enable them to grow adopt when developing and growing, the in di erent habitats and environments. environment also adapts to the adminis- trative, economic and social conditional e majority of Basque forests are made factors that have developed jointly, and up of young trees, even though some are in response to the natural environment. large in size. is structure arises from the intense exploitation to which they e landscapes of Gipuzkoa with the were subject in past centuries. erefore, presence of pollarded trees reveals the this type of young forest is preferably naval past of the province, the rst in- mainly colonized by general species, that dustrialisation of the valleys and the are adaptable and able to use many types existence of di erent trades that have of resources. now disappeared (blacksmiths, axe men, ere are very few mature, age-old, se- woodsmen, charcoal makers, carpenters, nescent and dying trees, with many holes shipbuilding carpenters or joiners, etc.) and wood in di erent stages of rotting... is diversity of environment means that ere is currently a movement work- old trees play an important role as reser- ing to protect, manage and conserve the voirs of forestry biodiversity, as they are landscapes. is is driven by the convic- many species that depend, to a greater or tion that it is an important aspect for lesser extent, on those holes and rotting social and individual quality of life and wood to complete their biological cycle. for economic activity. e fact that the landscape with pollarded trees is a cul- Given the lack of old trees in Basque for- tural landscape means that the trees need ests, some species nd the environments to be managed again. If that does not they need in the pollarded trees. e happen, like any living being, they will presence of gashes and rotting woods, enter senescence, death and disappear. usually the result of the intensive pruning
50 pollarded trees. e presence of other organisms is important because they cre- ate di erent niches that are used by many species of insects that feed or seek refuge in them. e rotting and mature wood of the pol- larded trees are essential elements for certain fungi to develop. ere is a very high diversity of fungus species living in them. Some create symbiotic associa- tions, known as mycorrhizae, where the to which they had been subjected, led to rootlets of the trees associate with the very unique environments that allowed hyfas of the fungus, to the bene t of both a variety of life forms to thrive. In fact, organisms. Others are saprophyte fungi they are many numerous life forms that and feed o the remains of the tree, ei- live on the trunks of pollarded trees and ther when it is dead or decomposing, and examples can be found from the plant, o the organic remains that it produces animals and fungi kingdoms. (leaves, branches, etc.). ere are special- Numerous plant species settle on the ised fungi in each of the stages that the trunk and branches of pollarded trees, wood passes through as it decomposes, including algae, lichens, mosses and creating a sequence of the species present ferns. Higher plants, or even other trees from the wood beginning to rot until it or shrubs, sometimes grow on some large nally disappears from the environment.
51 e relationship existing between the presence of age-old trees and those of saproxylic invertebrate has been known for a long time. e saproxylics are a broad group of invertebrates that are characterised because they depend dur- ing part of their life cycle – mainly larval stage and reproduction – on the senes- cent or dead wood of trees, on the fungi of the wood or on the presence of other saproxylics. e best known include the saproxylic beetles or weevils, such as the stag beetle of trees with hollows and dead wood, (Lucanus cervus), a species that develops as they use the hollows to nest or as a in the bulky and dead parts underground source of food. of all the deciduous trees (stumps, roots, e birds associated to those trees in- parts of live trees or remains of dead clude woodpeckers, which peck their trees). own nests in the thick trunks of the ma- Rosalia alpina – Rosalia longicorn bee- ture trees and make hollows that can be tle - is a very eye-catching species that used by other species. mainly depends on the presence of dry e majority of the nocturnal birds of beech wood and it is found in great num- prey need trees with suitable hollows to bers in some pollarded forests. is spe- nest, such as the tawny owl, a species cies is of particular interest for conserva- that is typical of forests. Yet some species tion and the European Union considers it adapted to the rural environment and the to be a priority species. countryside, such as the Scops owls, the Another priority species, but less aesthet- little owl and the screech owl, sometime ically attractive, is Osmoderma eremite breed in hollow trees. (hermit beetle). is large black beetle Small birds, such as some passerines, also lives in large hollows of deciduous trees need small gaps and hollows in which to and in Gipuzkoa, so far, has only been build their nests. is is the case of the found on pollarded trees. blue nuthatch, short-toed creeper, great However, the list of saproxylic beetles tit or coal tit, whose presence is frequent and weevils to be found in the forests of in the zones with pollarded trees. Gipuzkoa is very long and easily exceeds Among the mammals, forest bats are one a hundred species. of the groups most linked to old trees. Pollarded trees are also important for ese small ying animals need cracks birds. A least a third of forest birds are and hollows in the trees to rest during considered to depend on the presence the day. e setting of those trees is usu-
52 ally an appropriate zone to feed given the process to increase their maturity, with a insects to be found then. growing number of old trees to maintain broad and stable forestry communities. Bats are considered to be one of the Until the current trees acquire that ma- animal groups with the greatest number turity, other type of trees will be needed of threatened species, mainly due to the that provide those micro-environments, widespread use of insecticides to control where such important and unique spe- pests. In the case of forest bats, this fact cies can survive and thrive. has been further aggravated by the lack of mature forests, habitats where those is situation is common to the major- species were to be found in greatest den- ity of European forests. In Scandinavian sity. countries, such as Sweden, techniques are used to speed up the ageing of the Many of those species therefore need the trees in very young forests by means of pollarded trees to survive. Without them, creating di erent types of hollows and they would disappear from our forests gashes in trunks and branches. e out- and it would oen be di cult for them to come is that the environments are cre- colonise again, given their lack of disper- ated in those forests that are necessary sion capacity. to develop and conserve unique species until the natural dynamics themselves e current emphasis on conserving bio- produce a mature forest with the pres- diversity is clear. However, the latest data ence of old trees. collected from successive forestry inven- tories allow us to be optimistic, as our In Gipuzkoa, the work of the charcoal forests are currently immersed in a slow makers and blacksmiths has le us a
53 54 great many trees that ful l those func- repeated pruning and spreading rot are tions. We will need them to conserve not capable of supporting the weight and the forest biodiversity until our forests snap. become su ciently mature. Two examples illustrate the size of this problem. According to the resurveyed C. PROBLEM OF THE POLLARDED plots in the Forestry Inventory of the TREES. RISK OF DISAPPEARING BAC, it is estimated that around 20,000 pollarded beech trees, approximately 8% of the total, disappeared from the forests e socio-economic changes that oc- of Gipuzkoa between 1996 and 2005, th curred during the last half of the 20 even though it is not known how many century account for the nearly total dis- were due to the power saw or axe and appearance of pollarding in Gipuzkoa. how many for natural causes. e rural depopulation, the need for greater productivity in the primary sec- On the other hand, in Oieleku, where tor and the impact of fossil fuels brought there are 200 hectares of pollarded beech, the pruning of the pollarded trees to an it is estimated that around 10 or 12 a year end. disappeared due to the snow storms and gales. Previously, every 10-20 years old, those branches were coppiced and the cycle erefore, it is a relatively quick process started again. But when the pruning that is going to mean that the presence stopped, the branches on the main of pollards is going to become rarer in branch continued to grow, they increased the woodlands of Gipuzkoa. is process in thickness and more biomass contin- is not expected to reverse, given that no ued to accumulate on the main trunk. new pollards are being created by means is ongoing process has progressively of new pruning of free-growing or plant- increased the centre of gravity of the ed trees, as was the case in the past. trees, which negatively impacts their sta- bility and makes them increasingly more D. POLLARDING AS PART OF THE vulnerable. MANAGEMENT OF FORESTRY A signi cant number of trees break every PRACTICES year, which is not only limited to the branches, as many trunks are hollow or e reasons have already been described rotten, the trees split to the bottom. A for conserving pollarded trees as func- percentage of those are due to snowfalls. tional elements of the forests that provide e large crowns that characterise the them with spatial heterogeneity and as unpruned pollarded trees trap signi cant characteristic features of a cultural land- amounts of precipitation in the form of scape, the result of the customs and life- snow, and the trunks weakened by the styles from the not so distant past.
55 ese reasons are also the ones that have where there is room for conservation and driven Gipuzkoa Provincial Council over productive measures. 25 years old to subsidise the individual Among the measures that are seen as owners of outstanding woodland to necessary to achieve mature forestry conserve the old and pollarded trees that systems, with the appropriate ecological they had on their land. It was the rst functions and structure, some are easy to step in the management of the forest sys- incorporate in the management and only tems from a more conservative approach. the willingness of the managers is neces- e subsequent implementation of the sary to implement them. For example, it Aiako Harria LIFE and Pollarded trees involves respecting the death wood once and Biodiversity LIFE+ projects high- the life cycle has started of the saproxylic lighted the importance of pollarded beetles and weevils that have been able to woodland as habitats of numerous spe- colonise that dead word by not marking cies, including some priority ones for mature or dying trees for thinning out or the European Commission such as the as rewood. Rosalia alpine and Osmoderma eremite On the other hand, other type of ac- beetles and weevils. tivities such as the very pruning for the e results of the Aiako Harria LIFE pollarding requires a great e ort and directly pinpointed the important con- it seems that it would only be e ective tribution of pollarded trees to conserve if associated to an economic pro t for the forest biodiversity and the Pollarded those who decide to carry out period trees and Biodiversity LIFE+ was fun- coppicing. e emerging forestry bio- damental to begin to act in the natural mass market to provide fuel at local level, environment and work directly on the in small boilers or in traditional hearths, woodland to conserve this type of trees could be a strong demand for wood and that are so unique. the selecting pruning of rams (pollard- ing) could be a good alternative to felling However, there is a great uncertainty the tree at its base. regarding what is going to happen once the current LIFE project ends and that will mean the end of the economic funds behind the key work to conserve and improve the forests of Gipuzkoa, by means of protecting the pollarded trees and creating new pollards in the future. In order to overcome this uncertainty, conservation goals, in the broadest sense and in the long term, need to be incor- porated in the forest eco-systems, so that balanced management is generated
56
CHAPTER 4. CONSERVATION ENDEAVOURS
It is becoming increasingly clearer that the Basque Country in recent years by pollarded trees have a great role to play the Authorities and related to pollarded regarding the conservation of the bio- trees has gradually been increasing. e diversity, the genetic heritage and the following list of initiatives is broken historical and cultural heritage of the down according to the public institution Basque people. However, this recogni- behind them, with a great variety seen tion does not usually go hand in hand within the initiatives implemented. with measures to foster their conserva- Yet beyond the speci c measures listed tion. Indeed, they are a nancial burden here, special mention should be made for many forest owners, as they usually of the change in attitude seen during involve signi cant investment for their recent years among many owners, for- active conservation, and a legal burden, est wardens and technicians. It has gone due to the limitations raised occasionally from considering old pollarded trees by the authorities to carry out any forest- as the one to mark and eliminate, to be ry work. Against this background, many converted into rewood or candidates owners have chosen to opt out. to be felled in any forestry intervention On the top of the lack of return on the due to their lack of commercial value, to pollarding work, there are also other being respected for their naturalistic and practical problems for the owners of cultural values. e results achieved in those trees, such as the structure of the recent years, as regards the increase in property (many of those pollarded trees biodiversity associated to those trees and are located on small plots) or their geo- to conserving their genetic heritage, can graphical location (they are usually lo- be clearly seen. cated on high land, with low productivity e provincial councils, in their capacity and far from the forest road network). of being responsible for forestry admin- In recent years, there have been very istration in terms of managing public few actions of this type driven by pri- woodland and overseeing private wood- vate owners and those few have been land, have been implementing di erent very limited in space. However, the list tasks related to conserving old and pol- of conversation actions carried out in larded trees:
59 • awareness-raising with private ures to be developed in deciduous owners and local councils and woodland. training forestry wardens and • acquiring land with pollarded trees.
A. GIPUZKOA
Gipuzkoa is the Basque province with the greatest extension of pollarded beeches. Using the data of the Forestry Inventory of the Basque Country, it is calculated that out of the 15,000 hectares that beech trees cover in Gipuzkoa, the surface area with pollarded ones comes to 7,200, within which the more or less pure pol- technicians on the importance of conserving those structures and the dead wood. • clearing around the adjacent stands to foster the pollarded trees and avoid their “drowning” in some cases • experiments to bring back “inter- rupted” pollarded beeches (in other words, pollards whose pruning stopped being carried out decades earlier) and fostering dead wood • experiments to mechanise the work to bring back interrupted pollarded larded trees would not exceed the 3,000 beeches hectares. • managing and monitoring the pol- Gipuzkoa Provincial Council has been lard word in cleaning and extend- particularly active regarding the meas- ing electricity lines ures to conserve the old woodland, a fact • response to the request of private due to its being the Basque province with owners and local councils that are the greatest surface area occupied by pol- asking for advice on possible meas- larded beech:
60 • Study on compensation for refusing the Province. Some of those trees felling permits (2007). is study are pollards and may be future can- listed all the plots of private wood- didates to be declared special trees land for which economic subsidies by the Basque Government. were granted in exchange for an • Between 2005 and 2010, the Aiako undertaking to conserve those trees Harria LIFE+ Project was im- for at least 20 years. Since 1988, this plemented, also under the aegis has prevented the felling of around of Gipuzkoa Provincial Council, 16,600 trees distributed over 164 which enabled contact with dif- ha, 7,300 of which were beech trees ferent European experts on the and 7,000 oak, with 2,000 pollarded conservation of pollarded trees and trees included in total. facilitated the conducting of di er- • e “Special Trees in Gipuzkoa” ent biodiversity studies and speci c study, commissioned to IKT measures in pollarded beech groves (2009). is study was based on in the aforementioned Natural Park the information gathered by the and Aiako Harria SCI, mainly in forest wardens on nearly a hundred Oieleku (Oiartzun). large and spectacular trees within
61 • e “Biodiversity and Pollarding” tive Provincial Councils. No special tree LIFE+ project, or to give its full has been declared since 1997. time “Managing and conserv- ing the habits of *Osmoderma Some of those 25 trees declared as Spe- eremita, *Rosalia alpina and other cial in the Basque Country are pollards, saproxylic beetles and weevils of as is the case of the Altzo Beach Tree community interest in Gipuzkoa” (Gipuzkoa) or the Angosto Holm Oak deserves special mention. is under which oaths were taken (Álava). project, which was conducted be- tween 2010 and 2013, was made • Publications up of di erent interrelated actions to be implemented in ve SCI in Di erent books on the trees declared the mountains of Gipuzkoa: Aiako as Special or candidates to be so in the Harria, Aizkorri-Aratz, Aralar, Basque Country have been published. Pagoeta and Hernio-Gazume. • Days on arboriculture
e Itsasmendikoi institute held several B. IN THE BAC of those days, where there was usually a special emphasis on pollard and monu- Even though the Basque Government mental trees. In 2009, the Delegation in barely has forestry competences, it has the Basque Country of the Professional implemented di erent measures aimed at Association of Forestry Engineers took disseminating and increasing the degree over that role and organised a session on of protection and knowledge of the pol- old and pollarded trees in Derio. larded trees, including: • Álava Provincial Council. • Special trees declaration Álava Provincial Council manages a large e legislation is based on the Conserva- area of public woodland (around 150,000 tion of the Nature of the Basque Country ha) and a considerable surface areas of Act 16/1994, of 30 June, speci cally its beech trees located in public woodlands Article 16: (around 30,000 ha, 60% of the total of the total extension of beech groves in “Special trees are examples of trees that for the Basque Country). Quantitatively, the their outstanding or extraordinary char- pollarded woodland do not occupy a acteristics (size, age, history, beauty, situa- considerable surface area of that wood- tion, etc.) deserve special protection.” land, but they do have a great qualitative Decree 265/1995, of 16 May, declared 14 value, as they are concentrated in scat- special trees, while Decree 23/1997, of 11 tered spots of great natural interest due February, declared the remaining 11, all to their rarity and natural value within of which were proposed by their respec- the Basque Country.
62 Some of the measures carried out in • Approval of Provincial Law 11/97 recent years regarding those pollarded regarding the speci c system for woodlands have been: di erent native forestry species, which has enabled the natural de- - Work to research, disseminate and ciduous coppices and trees to be relevance of monumental pollarded protected, including protecting the oaks of the Arimotz zone (Munain pollarded trees from felling. and Okariz mountains) • Publication of the “El haya en Biz- - Creating forestry reserves in kaia” [ e Beech in Bizkaia] book, woodlands of great natural interest, where Antonio Buesa describes his pursuant to the Woodlands experience with that species and Provincial Law No. 11/2007 his groundbreaking forestry re- - Initiatives in Natural Parks: generation actions in the Otxandio Gorbeia, Aizkorri-Aratz and pollarded beech grove (MUP El Izki. In the rst of them, Forestry Limitado). Management Plans have been • Acquisition of private pollarded deployed in the public beech groves beech land in Natural Parks. In of Urkabustaiz, Zuya and Zigoitia 2002, Bizkaia Provincial Council and a dozen of old beeches have tasked IKT with producing the been re-pollarded in the vicinity management plan for di erent of Mairulegorreta (Gopegi). In beech trees located in recently the second case, an inventory was purchased heritage woodland in conducted of the Zalduondo and the part of Bizkaia of the Gorbeia Gordoa monumental pollarded Natural Park (around 165 ha). oaks, with some one-o measures planned and started in the vicinity • Measures to receive the pollarding of those Zalduondo oaks. In the activity in di erent Zeanuri beech third case, a new LIFE+ project groves (Gorbeia Natural Park) and called Pro-Izki has just been in the vicinity of Urkiola, between approved, by means of which 2009 and 2012, in order to conserve di erent actions to conserve those forest and enable, in the cases oak groves and their associated where it is possible, the silvopasto- biodiversity are planned to be ral activity. implemented. • Local Councils • Bizkaia Provincial Council. Local authorities, such as local councils Bizkaia Provincial Council has imple- or parish councils (in the case of Álava) mented di erent actions aimed at in- are owners of a large part of Basque creasing their pollarded surface area and public woodlands and, also, of their pol- to regenerate or conserve that woodland: larded woodland.
63 Mention should be made of the recent organises visits to the woodland in order measures carried out by the Trepalari as- to showcase the wealth of the old trees of sociation and driven by Amurrio Coun- Navarra. cil in the Goikomendi-Kuxkumendi e Asmoz Foundation, answering to pollarded beech grove, located in public Eusko Ikaskuntza, successfully organised woodland, where a charcoal kiln and an online course in 2011 on “Pollarded di erent routes have already been es- trees: Tradition, management and con- tablished. Re-pollarding measures have servation”, with the involvement of di er- also been undertaken involving a dozen ent stakeholders and experts in the eld. gall oaks in the Armentia forest (Vitoria- Likewise, in 2012, the Asmoz Founda- Gasteiz) tion, in conjunction with HAZI, organ- Di erent local councils of Gipuzkoa and ised a shorter new online course, entitled Navarra are being very active in the de- “Past, Present and Future of Pollarded ployment and planning of measures in Trees”. e lectures of both courses are the pollarded beech groves in their local available online. jurisdiction: • it is the case of Oiartzun and their C. IN OTHER ZONES di erent measures to recover the pollards during the last decade in the Oieleku beech grove New experiments with creating new pol- lards by means of forestry processors • maintenance measures are being are currently being conducted in some planned in Eibar in the Arrate and woodlands of Castilla y León. e hike in San Roman pollarded beech groves the price of rewood is helping to drive (from (de Usartza to Kalamua) the forestry work on these deciduous • Azpeitia has heritage plots with woodlands. pollarded beech groves on Mount at is the case of a public woodland Izarraitz in the north of León (Dehesa de Cor- • In the case of Navarra, special rales), which was formerly pastureland, mention should be made of the and today occupied by a Pyrenean oak di erent re-pollarding measures in (Quercus pyrenaica) grove, with small Leitza and Jauntsaras beeches, with diameters on average, and where the root an important impact on the media. and stump shoots grow profusely aer the trees have been felled. As in this case • Other stakeholders the experiment is being self-funded by Outside the public sphere, special men- means of selling the wood generated, a tion should be made of the activities similar activity is being carried out on of the Association to conserve the ma- further public woodland in Burgos, in ture trees and forests in Navarra www. the Sierra de la Demanda range, even arbolesviejos.org/), which periodically though in this case it is being funded
64 by the Improvement Fund and aimed at example of an area where the pollard is providing rework for the local residents. widespread and intense, and other more southerly zones, where the pollarding is e central idea of these measures is con- less frequent and forestry authority in- trol the re-shooting of the felled oaks and tensely regulates those pruning practices. avoid epichromic shoots in the future stands, by proceeding to cut the bole of Finally, di erent forestry, agriculture the oaks without future at a height of 3-4 and traditional landscapes, generated by metres, so that there can be re-growth at the repeated practice of pruning woods, that height in the form of pollard stands, should be mentioned: Soutos of chestnuts without competing with the boles with from the north-west of the peninsula, future. former cattle pastureland of gall oaks, elms and ashes, woodland of ashes ese innovative experiences seem to be used as pastureland in both Castillas, showing initial success as they are not black popular landscapes in Teruel... In very expensive (the rework can usually general, those landscapes are related to be sold) and as woodland with trees with extensive livestock farming and their future is being created, with future value conservation, as has been the case in as quality wood, with a sub-level of leafy recent centuries, is under threat due to trees aimed at fostering biodiversity. e the gradual loss of pruning practices. lower slopes of that woodland, that facili- tate the mechanising of the work, mean that the experiment cannot be exported to woodland with more irregular relief. In the proposal section, mention must be made of the researches carried out during the last 20 years in the Montejo de la Sierra beech grove by Luis Gil and his collaborators of the Politécnica University of Madrid. eir management recommendations include making clearings around the pollard and/or old trees and encouraging the survival by acting on those branches with mechanical problems.
e traditional Iberian landscape of the pasturelands in a huge set of pollarded trees, generally holm oaks, cork oaks and ashes. e management of those pas- tureland species varies between two ex- tremes: e Salamanca pastureland, as an
65
CHAPTER 5. THE EXPERIENCE OF THE POLLARDING AND BIODIVER- SITY LIFE+ PROJECT.
it is time to implement all the acquired know-how from so many years of study. When the DFG embarked on the adven- ture of this LIFE project, it already had the prior and positive experience of the Aiako Harria LIFE project, focused on e Pollarding and Biodiversity LIFE+ management for the conservation of the project began in January 2010 under the natural values of this Site of Community aegis of the Environment and Woodland Interest (SCI), with special emphasis on Directorate of the Department for De- the beech tree and river bank ecosystems. velopment of the Rural Environment of Gipuzkoa Provincial Council (DFG). e results of the forestry policies im- plemented in Aiako Harria, along with e full title of the project is Managing those obtained from other natural parks and Conserving the habitats of Osmo- in Gipuzkoa, which pointed towards a derma eremita, Rosalia alpina and other narrow relationship between the pres- saproxylic beetles and weevils of commu- ence of beetles and weevils of community nity interest in Gipuzkoa, and its planned interest (according to the Habitat Direc- duration is three years. It has a budget tive) and the old pollarded woodland, over 3 million euros, half of which are was the nal impetus to implement a provided by the European Commission. nature conservation project that guar- antees the long-term duration of the e LIFE projects are designed to imple- pollarded trees. is type of intensely ment speci c conservation actions in the pruned trees have currently become one natural environment, leaving long-term of the few shelters that many organisms studies, research and monitoring to the nd in greatly managed and anthropized background, as it is based on the premise forests, where the pollarded trees are the that the knowledge is already known and best representation of the old woodland.
67 e most important threats to the bio- only the odd trees being kept on an iso- diversity that are quoted over and over lated basis and which need speci c man- again include the loss of appropriate agement. ey are small coppices cover- habits for the species and their fragmen- ing up to 300 hectares, with a density of tation, which prevents the expansion of over 100 trees per hectare, which means the populations and the genetic exchange that the managing of their conservation between individuals. has to contemplate guidelines for manag- ing the forest. is is precisely the ultimate purpose of the Pollarding and Biodiversity LIFE+ project: long-term conservation of the A. OBJECTIVES saproxylic beetles and weevils of com- munity interest to be found in Gipuzkoa. In other words, keeping decaying or dead e general objective of the project is the old trees and in di erent stages of de- long-term conservation of the saproxylic composition, which in Gipuzkoa meant beetles and weevils of community inter- conserving the pollarded woodland. est present in Gipuzkoa by means of maintaining the pollarded woodland. ere are many European specialists who are struck by the number of old pollard- In order to achieve this objective, other ed trees to be found over the Gipuzkoa more speci c ones have been established mountains forming real forests. It is not that involve:
68 • Increasing knowledge about the populations of Osmoderma eremita, Rosalia alpina, Lucanus cervus and Cerambyx cerdo to be found in the ve SCI being studied (Aiako Harria, Aizkorri-Aratz, Aralar, Hernio-Gazume and Pagoeta) • Guaranteeing the long-term avail- ability of the pollarded woodland, as a habitat for the saproxylic com- munity in the forests of Gipuzkoa. • Characterising the coppices of pol- larded trees, by relating forestry B. STUDY AREA parameters and ecological param- eters. Five SCI of Gipuzkoa that are forestry in • Developing an appropriate meth- nature, which are Aiako Harria (6,779 odology for the long-term conser- ha), Aizkorri-Aratz (14,947 ha), Aralar vation of the pollarded trees and (10,962 ha), Hernio-Gazume (2,158 ha) their associated biodiversity and Pagoeta (1,336 ha), in order to im- plement the Pollarding and Biodiversity • Creating reserve zones of pollarded LIFE+ project. All of them, except for woodlands Hernio-Gazume, are also Natural Parks • Documenting and recovering tradi- that are home to numerous habitats and tional pollarding techniques species of high European and regional interest. • Contributing to European global awareness regarding the impor- tance of the pollarded trees for biodiversity and as structural typi- cal elements of mature forests. Without forgetting the environmental awareness-raising of private individuals, local population and society in general about the importance of old woodland to maintain forest biodiversity.
Figure 1. Location of the SCI study areas
69 C. METHODOLOGY until an agreement was reached regard- ing the work plots and the measures to As has already been mentioned, the LIFE be implemented in them. In short, to projects fundamentally seek to imple- establish the Plan of Action. ment speci c conservation actions in the territory. In order to guarantee the long-term permanency of the pollarded woodland, the plan was to apply two ap- proaches: 1) re-pollarding trees that had already been pruned for them to last in time and 2) creating new pollarded trees using the young stands that will replace the current ones in the near future. e task was not at all easy. e work sphere of the Pollarding and Biodiversity During the project, it was noted that a LIFE+ covers over 36,000 ha surface area, great deal of the guidelines set in this out of which, over 22% were occupied by Plan of Action are correct, while others natural forests. have had to be corrected. First of all, the zones of action were se- 1. Re-pollarding pruned old stands lected according to the public ownership of the woodland and of their accessibility. When it came to re-pollarding pruned It was then necessary to visit many plots, neglected stands and where it was clear talk to the technical and institutional that the felling cycle had been abandoned agents tasked with their management, over half a century ago, the risk of the discuss and return to visit the zones, tree being knocked down by wind or in
70 a blizzard, so that the rst pruning cri- SCI), where a notable number of pol- teria must be to eliminate those braches larded trees could be pruned, distributed that may weaken and endanger the tree, in 5 plots with each one being 1 ha. branches that are usually large in size and Notwithstanding all these premises, in it is therefore complex to coppice them. certain cases, the experience provided A second criterion that has proven to by English experts was taken into ac- be important is to leave young branches count. ey recommended the progres- under the intersection point, as they are sive pruning of the crowns, lowering the going to help the tree to recover from the height by between 5 and 10% and moni- stress su ered. toring the reaction of the tree before Once the tree has been pruned, it is fun- proceeding to a second partial pruning. damental to provide the appropriate light Presumably, this process is less aggressive so as not to limit its recovery. A clearing and allows the pruning to be abandoned therefore has to be made around the tree is a sup-optimum reaction of the tree is to eliminate the stands that could create detected. In the framework of the Pol- shade and compete for the nutrients. larding and Biodiversity LIFE+ project, it is unfeasible to apply this methodology, However, the tree should therefore be le mainly due to the limited duration of the in isolation, unprotected from the wind project (three years) and due to the high or extreme temperatures. economic cost that this type of prun- It was therefore decided that it was ap- ing involving. erefore, in the case of propriate to working on opening up some very large stands from the Txotxeta small pollarded coppices, so that the light zones (Aralar SCI) and Guardetxe (Pa- could reach the pruned stands and the goeta SCI) has applied an intermediate trees could protect each other. methodology by lowering the crowns to 50% of their height, in order for those When it came to opening up clearings in stands to last in time by making them the coppices, the decision was taken to more resistant to wind and snow. eliminate some trees from their stumps, pollarding and ringing other stands, so that a group was created that would nd 2. Creating new pollarded trees it easier to resist any adverse weather. e type of plots selected to create new Furthermore in the case of the ringed pollarded trees has enabled the di erent individuals or others that may perish, ways of forestry work to be addressed, standing dead wood (snag) would be above all, according to the size and the generated, which is fundamental in the species. food networks of the forestry systems. In general, work has been carried out in An example of this type of measure in zones with contemporary individuals the framework of the LIFE+ are the plots from young plantations or stump growth, of the Artaso mountain (Aizkorri-Aratz some with stands of no more than 20 cm
71 normal diameter or DBH (diameter at for their progressive elimination. In a breast height) and others with a DBH of second stage, the pruned beech stands around 30 cm. with the poorest future prospects must be weeded, which thus encourages light In all cases, the pollarded trees were to come in and the availability of nutri- created by cutting the central guiding ents for future pagomotzak (pollarded branch at a height of between 2 and 3 beeches). metres, according to the technical pos- sibilities. In other plots, such as Guardetxe (SCI Pagoeta), the creation of new pollards As the same way as is the case of the old has been carried out on the basis of small standing trees, the largest number of coppices, where a young beech, with a young branches were also le under the DBH of at least 20 cm and with good intersection point in these cases to help branches, was selected as a central point the tree to recover. and all the beech trees were pollarded in
Another circumstance that was di erent radiuses of 10 metres or 5 metres. All the was the pollard species. us, in the ma- trees of non-native species were removed jority of the plots, the dominant species from the stump in those coppices and is the beech (Fagus sylvatica) and where all the native species other than beeches the work has been carried out to achieve have been respected. future pollards, even though in other Yet undeniably, the most striking experi- cases, plots dominated by sessile oaks ence in the creation of new pollarded (Quercus petraea) were selected and in beeches has been the one on Mount others, plots with plantations of northern Iturrigorri (Aizkorri-Aratz SCI), a ho- red oaks (Quercus rubra). mogenous wooded area of 500 ha, with In Karalugarriko Hegia and Urmendi contemporary boles of an average thick- (LIC Aiako Harria), all the beeches pre- ness of around 30 cm DBH. In this zone, sent in the work plots were pruned and ve small coppices, each measuring 0.25 the stands of exotic species were ringed ha, were opened up. e approach was
72 initially to choose the most appropriate standing trees to prune and eliminate the surrounding competition, but it was subsequently decided to pollard all the beech trees, to carry out, subsequently, the selection of the future standing trees and remove the poorest performers from the clearings. Nobody has been le unmoved by the result of the coppicing. However, and even though it is still early, some of the pruned stands began to con- tradict the most pessimistic forecasts and produced shoots where it had previously trees and ringing the thickest ones with seemed impossible. the lowest possibilities of falling down. On the Matia plots (SCI Aizkorri-Aratz) Some oaks within a radius of between acquired in the Pollarding and Biodiver- 10 and 20 metres around the future pol- isty LIFE+, the sessile oak prevailed over lards were also pruned and other native the beech. In this zone, the future pol- species other than beech were respected, larded oaks have been selected and the with the exception of some birch groves competition of the nearby beeches has that have been ringed when they were been eliminated by felling the youngest abundant. Other oaks that have also been pruned in In other plots such as those of Artaso their central sha were the Quercus rubra (SCI Aizkorri-Aratz), apart from those planted 40 years ago in the Basaunen stacks, support has been placed against Janlekua and Urmendi zones (SCI Aiako the trunk of the trees, some recently cut Harria). ose oaks were pruned at over branches, of around 20 cm in diameter, 3 metres high, some of them thanks to imitating the dried trees of live trees, the help of a boom truck, in the same which may also be selected by Rosalia way that the crown has been thinned and alpine. space was opened up to germinate beech saplings from the beeches located over the plantation.
3. Managing the generated dead wood Forestry interventions such as those car- ried out in the Pollarding and Biodiver- sity LIFE+ generate a great quantity of sawn wood. e general premise has been to keep this wood in the forest to increase the percentage of fallen dead wood (log) per hectare. However, based on the recommendations e other ner branches were pulled o of the entomologists that collaborate in and spread out or piled up on the work the LIFE+ relating to the suitability of plots for their progressive decomposition certain diameters and provisions of re- in situ. cent dead wood (recently coppiced) for Only in a few cases, such as that of Rosalia alpina, wood has been stacked Iturrigorri (SCI Aizkorri-Aratz) part of up in all the work plots of the project. the wood generated in the pruning work ey have been made in two di erent was cut up and stacked up at the bottom ways. e most wide-spread one was to of track for Oñati local council (the leave the thinnest branches at the base owner of the woodland) to remove 13 and pile on the thickest branches, out of batches of rewood to distribute among contact with the ground, that seem to be the local residents. selected positively by the females of this longicorn beetle to lay eggs. ese stacks 4. Forestry teams and forest machinery have been le in small sunny clearings, Di erent professional teams were organ- which will allow an optimum prolonged ised in order to carry out all the forestry drying out for the larvae development of works contemplated in the LIFE+. In to- this species.
74 tal, the services of six forestry teams and D. RESULTS two teams of specialists in climbing and pruning at heights were contracted. In all e rst forestry measures of the Pol- the cases, all the requirements regarding larding and Biodiversity LIFE+, both for occupational health and safety were met. re-pollarding old trees and to create new Forestry machinery was used wherever pollards, were carried out in December possible. us, in the plots with adequate 2010. Some more years will have to pass access routes, a boom truck would be before the response can be nally assess used that allowed the pruning to be car- of the trees to the pruning carried out ried out very e ectively, as the number of and test possible di erences according standing trees pruned per day was higher to the methodology used and the species to the average when manually pruning. involved. e boom truck has also allowed prun- Nonetheless, some initial results can be ing to be carried out at a height of over 2 assessed. metres. e forestry tractor was also used on 1. Re-pollarding pruned old stands other plots to facilitate the works to move and cut up the large trunks, even though It is gradually being seen that, in the case the di culties to access and move within of the beech trees, the youngest branches the work zone were limiting when it that had remained under the intersection came to being able to use this type of point are re-shooting normally even in machine. those old stands and with trunks that are
75 oen hollow and semi-rotten, when in In the case of the oaks, stands both of the cutting zone of the branch, the shoots Quercus petraea and Quercus rubra have are rarer even though not infrequent. It is been pruned. In both cases, the appear- supposed that the vigorous growth of the ance of new shoots in the trunk, in the tree, the richness of the soil, the lighting cutting zone or at the base of the tree is and/or their orientation are determin- very frequent, which further reinforces ing factors in the response of each tree the idea of the better performance of the intervened. oaks in terms of intensive pruning. In both cases, the response of the beeches Even though it is true that is possible that to pruning may be later and the new some of the newly pollarded trees end shoots would then begin to be observed up dying at the end of over 50 years, it is from the second year from the cutting. It also true that many will survive the work is also possible that some of the pruned done and the result will be that many stands end up dying. large pollarded trees remaining standing e answers will emerge over time. and, otherwise, they would have ended
76 up felled. Furthermore, the recently vidual trees die, the gaps le will open up pruned more vigorous individual trees space in the woodland which, undoubt- will be forced to grow new branches, it edly, will help to achieve a great spatial is therefore very possible that they will heterogeneity, associated to the presence be stronger and their life expectancy will of a greater number of environments thus be extended. Read, H. (2007) thus and, therefore, greater biodiversity. points out that an interesting e ect of the pollarding is that, by means of regular pruning, the pollarded trees may live to 3. Improving the habitats of the saprox- be much longer than the non-pollard ylic insects of community interest ones. e pruning also generates new e impact of the endeavours to increase hollows and other irregularities in the habitat availability for the saproxylic tress, thus creating di erent optimum beetles and weevils and reduce their ecological niches as shelter and food for fragmentation in Gipuzkoa has also been numerous species. able to be assessed in the Aiako Harria SCI, while it is still too soon to know the e ect of the measures at the Aralar SCI 2. Creating new pollarded trees and at the Aizkorri-Aratz SCI. As regards the younger trees that have is is because in the Oieleku beech been cut at their central sha, the re- grove (Aiako Harria SCI), work has been sponse is generally very good, above carried out on monitoring the Rosalia all in those individuals with branches alpine populations for several years now. under the intersection point. Such is the e methodology and the sampling response of those leafy young stands, zones have been standardised since 2007. that in many cases, it is hard to work out where the pruning was carried out. In e data time series, even though it is fact, some of the lower branches can be still short, provides an idea of the evolu- eliminated on some plots and that facili- tion of the populations of this longicorn tates the growth of other branches and, beetle in one of the best conserved pol- in general, of the tree. larded beech groves of Gipuzkoa. e standardisation of the sampling allows In the case of the pruned trees with a di- the impact of the increased recently cut ameter (DBH) of over 30 cm and without dead wood (in the rst phases of decom- branches under the intersection point, posing) on the population dynamics of the regrowth is more di cult, even the species. though some new shoots can be seen on the surface of the cut branches. us, an overview of the 2010 and 2011 samplings (years when the Pollarding e majority of the new pollarded and Biodiversity LIFE+ was being run) trees have been created in contempo- shows the e ect of the increase in recent- rary stands from plantations or stump ly dead wood in terms of an increase in growth. erefore, should some indi- the numbers of this insect. Furthermore,
77 78 the 2011 results place Rosalia alpine in in the Ezkalusoro zone (Aralar). During the scenario of the repollarding of ne- the intense sampling in 2011 as part of glected trees that had been pollarded the LIFE+ project, only one adult female years earlier, speci cally in the Karalu- was found that is the rst living imago of garriko Hegia zone, where the rst prun- the species located in the Basque Coun- ing took place in autumn 2010. try. However, the absence of a new gen- eration of larva in the zone is very con- Future follow-up campaigns in this beech cerning and the fear is of a drop in the grove (even beyond the LIFE project numbers of the already small population itself) may allow individual of future of Osmoderma eremite in Ezkalusoro. generations of Rosalia alpine to be seen emerging from the dead wood generated e results of this project regarding by pollarding. saproxylic insects consolidates the hy- pothesis that the pollarded trees, in the As regards the endeavours to improve absence of other representatives of old the habitat availability for the saproxylic trees in the forest, provide the optimum insects and decrease their fragmentation ecological conditions to develop saprox- both in Aralar and in Aizkorri-Aratz, it ylic populations. is still years away from when the impact can be assessed of the work carried out e Pollarding and Biodiversity LIFE+ throughout the Pollarding and Biodiver- highlighted these species of insects and sity LIFE+ project. But data have been extols the importance of conserving all obtained that highlight the importance the elements that intervene in the eco- of standing dead trees located in large logical processes, that they support the clearings and sheltered from the humid goods and services of the ecosystems for north-westerly wind, for the e ective society. Rosalia alpine larva development. As regards the Osmoderma eremite, it should be mentioned that the species is very scarce in Gipuzkoa and only the presence of one group of larvae is known
79 E. A FUTURE COMMITMENT
Even though it is di cult to understand the need for maintained neglected pruned trees and the creation of new pollarded trees, one only has to look at any coppice of pollarded trees that characterise the wooded landscape of Gipuzkoa to understand that they have previously been subjected to intense pruning. If information is also sought on the situation a few years ago, either by consulting old aerial photos or by talking to the elderly people living in the place, further proof could be surely found of the existence of more pollard stands that, in one way or another, have been disappearing from the forests. It is therefore clear that intervention is required now so that future generations will be able to enjoy that forest legacy. Even those people who opt for passive conservation (do not touch, leave them to evolve) will also nd it easy to under- stand the role that pollarded trees play in today’s forest. Not only are the trees older, but also their premature “age- ing” allows them to meet their inherent functions, above all as the habitat of the saproxylic community and as a place of shelter and food of other species depend- ent on the presence of old trees. While the non-intervened zones, the integral reserves, evolve naturally until it reaches a state of optimum maturity, the pollarded trees will help to keep a great part of the diversity of species typical of the better conserved forests.
80 81
CHAPTER 6. BEST PRACTICES GUIDE FOR POLLARDING. A PROPOSAL FOR THE PRESENT
Implementing di erent forms of pollard- pends on the layout of the branches, the ing in public woodlands of Gipuzkoa in location and the vitality of each pollard the framework of the LIFE+ Project has beach. e nal unit costs were similar enabled the e ciency and cost of di er- whether the operator climbed the tree ent pruning to be veri ed. or if a boom truck was used (between 60 us, for example, it has been seen that and 140 euros per standing tree). the work to create pollarded beeches In any event, it should be stressed that has cost less in general than the mainte- all that pruning work, and even more so nance work of old pollards. Within the in the case of bulky branches and if the rst, the cheapest and easiest work (just operator works hanging from ropes or a few euros per standing tree) has been up a tree or a platform, are very danger- to create young pollarded trees, in the ous. e very environment in which pol- thicket stage and just a few centimetres larded beeches are usually located, damp, in normal diameters. On the other hand, irregular relief and away from inhabited there is the work to create new pollards areas, adds further to that hazard. ere in adult beeches, where the need to deal is always a risk of a health and safety with cutting thick branches at various accident, both in the pruning operation metres of heights slow down and make using an axe or motor-saw and in the the work more expensive, involving ei- piling up and dragging work with a forest ther the operator climbing up a ladder or machine. erefore, the operators must a Skidder or using a forestry truck with a always have the appropriate safety equip- liing basket (around 45 euros per stand- ment (PPE) and never work alone, out of ing tree). contact or away from the forestry escape As regards the aforementioned work to routes. Traditionally, the pollarding and maintain the old pollarded trees that climbing work was the cause of numer- was undertaken in these recent years, ous serious accidents and they must be the economic and technical e ort de- undertaken by experts.
83 e following general proposals have • e preference is for trees without therefore been prepared, by adapting structural stability (with an uneven the bibliography available to the lessons crown) or which can show possible learnt by means of the eld experience natural tears. with beeches in the aforementioned LIFE+ Project in Gipuzkoa. • e preference is for trees with - Decalogue / Criteria to select trees for actively growing epicormic shoots, (re)pollarding: particularly in the lower part of the crown and around the top of the • e beech is one of the decidu- tree. ous trees in the Basque forest with the worst regrowth capacity aer • e preference is for trees of a more pruning. is low regrowth capac- or less open location. e growth ity in general increases with the of callus aer the pruning is usually age of the tree and the diameter of greater in the trees with greater ex- the pruned branch. However, in a posure to the light before the work beech grove, beech trees necessarily is carried out. have to be selected for this opera- tion and there is that risk. • e preference is for trees that sup- • It is preferable to pollard the trees port importance plant or animal with many branches or shas populations (for example fungi, sprouting from the “head” or saproxylic insects, epiphytic moss), thickening of the tree. In general, which require the tree to remain the smaller the diameter of those standing, particularly its trunk, branches is (in the case of the head and low branches with the beech, it is preferable not to cut largest diameter. branches with diameter over 20-25 • cm), the greater the probability of Avoid compacting or changes to gashes closing and regrowth. e the roots, caused by trampling, time from the last pruning must be continuous toing-and-froing or the least possible and/or have other from tra c circulating. the greater small or younger branches (called the compacting around the tree, the “tirasavias”, which are very useful poorer the response of the tree aer for the trees in the years aer the the pruning. pruning). • Avoid necessarily choosing the • e trees with great vitality are largest or the oldest tree of the oak preferable: this can be appreciated grove, except when there are other by analysing the density of the reasons for doing so, such as a crown, fruit production, among of special tree that requires to be con- epicormic growth or the growth served. In the case of exceptional response of the callus. or very old trees, it is usually more
84 advisable to eliminate the competi- tion from the adjacent trees prior to pruning the tree itself. • Apparently, the cuts by axe are more certain than those caused by power saw in terms of encouraging the subsequent regrowth. ose cuts should be straight and help the rain water to run o , not be accu- mulated. Small amounts of pond- ing water can facilitate subsequent rotting and hinder regrowth.
85
CHAPTER 7. REFERENCES
-Aragón Ruano, A. (2001): El bosque -Carrión Arregui, I.M. (1991): La guipuzcoano en la Edad Moderna: siderurgia Guipuzcoana en el siglo XVIII, aprovechamiento, ordenamiento legal Bilbao, UPV. y con ictividad, Sociedad de Ciencia Aranzadi, San Sebastián. -Fenley, J.M. (1950). Age-Old Practice Permits Grazing in Pays Basque Forests. -Aragón Ruano, A. (1999): “Basoa Euskal Journal of Range Management, Vol. 3, N. Herriko historian zehar”, Uztaro, 29, pp. 4, pp. 316-318. 25-38. -Gogeaskoetxea, A. (1993): Los montes -Aragón Ruano, A. (2009): “Una comunales en la Merindad de Busturia, longeva técnica forestal: los trasmochos siglos XVIII-XIX, Bilbao, UPV. o desmochos guiados en Guipúzcoa durante la Edad Moderna”, Espacio, -Mansion, D. (2010): Les trognes, l´arbre Tiempo y Forma, Serie IV, Historia paysan aux mille usages. Editions Moderna, 22, pp. 73-105. OUEST-FRANCE. Rennes. 144 p. -Ayerbe Iríbar, M.R. (2005): Origen y desarrollo del derecho y de la -Martín Jiménez, E., Pardo Navarro, administración forestal en España y F. y Gil Sánchez, L. (2003): “El Guipúzcoa. El Servicio Forestal de la aprovechamiento tradicional de la dehesa Diputación de Guipúzcoa. I. Desde boyal en un área de montaña del centro los orígenes a 1925, San Sebastián, de España. Puebla de la Sierra (Madrid), Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa. Estudios Geográ cos, LXIV, 252, pp. 407- 434. -Cantero, A. (2012): “Experiencias de conservación de árboles trasmochos -Odriozola Oyarbide, L. (1997): La en la Península Ibérica y Europa”. En el construcción naval en Gipuzkoa. Siglo curso “Pasado, Presente y Futuro de los XVIII, San Sebastián, Diputación Foral Árboles Trasmochos“. 27 p. de Gipuzkoa.
87 -Odriozola Oyarbide, L. (2002): La construcción naval en el País Vasco, siglos XVI-XIX. Evolución y análisis comparativo, Donostia, Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa. -Pardo Navarro, F., Martín Jiménez, E. y Gil Sánchez, L. (2003): “El uso tradicional de la dehesa boyal de Puebla de la Sierra (Madrid): efectos sobre la vegetación a corto y largo plazo”, en Guerra Velasco et al. (eds.), Actas de la II Reunión sobre Historia Forestal. Cuadernos de la Sociedad Española de Ciencias Forestales, 16, pp. 173-178. -Read, H. (2000): “Veteran Trees: A Guide to Good Management”. English Nature, Peterborough. 176p. -Read, H. (2007): “A brief review of pollards and pollarding in Europe”, en Les trognes en Europe: rencontres autour des arbres têtards et des arbres d’émonde: actes du 1er Colloque européen sur les trognes, La Chapelle du Bois. -Read, H. (2012): “Resumen de los aspectos más importantes a considerar cuando se podan hayas añosas trasmochas”. En el curso “Pasado, Presente y Futuro de los Árboles Trasmochos“. 5 p. -Uriarte Ayo, R. (1988): Estructura, desarrollo y crisis de la siderurgia tradicional vizcaína (1700-1840), Bilbao, UPV. -Villarreal de Bérriz, P.B. (1736): Máquinas hidráulicas de molinos, y herrerías, y gobierno de los árboles, y Montes de Vizcaya, Madrid, Antonio Marín.
88 e esteem that we feel for beech trees has, on occasions, caused us to consider them as the paradigm, the epitome of the forest, even more so in the case of a pollarded beech grove, a quintessential magical place, a sanctuary of pristine nature. Yet if you ever see a beech tree blown down by the wind, the impression will be weakness, helplessness. It is a fallen giant, supported by mud sandals, by surface roots that the wind can overcome a er the rain.
The Woodlands of the Future: a Glimpse from their Past. José Ramón Guzmán Álvarez
“Pollards, the ancient keepers of so many tales; source of life for a wide diversity of tiny brave-hearted beings”
LIFE 20th Anniversary NOTES ON POLLARDS BEST PRACTICES’ GUIDE FOR POLLARDING
With funding from the European Community LIFE nancial instrument BEST PRACTICES’ GUIDE FOR POLLARDING FOR GUIDE PRACTICES’ BEST www.trasmochos.net NOTES ON POLLARDS. ON NOTES