Signage in the Alto Tajo mountains
During this month of May, we’ve had the opportunity to offer our services to carry out the marking of lots for the Association of Owners of the Alto Tajo. This temporary union (and hopefully lasting) of municipalities aims to jointly manage forest resources by selling the timber from Public Utility forests within their municipal areas.
These local entities include Zaorejas, Villanueva de Alcorón, Peñalén, El Recuenco, and Armallones, all located in the province of Guadalajara.
In this pilot experience in the Alto Tajo region, we’ve conducted the auction of 6 lots of round timber from Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Austrian Pine (Pinus nigra) species through selective thinning treatments. This system allows for the development of forest stands, ensuring a representation of trees from all age classes grouped into different diameter categories.
Following recent events in the international geopolitical arena, timber has not been exempt from the rise in commodity prices. This is likely to have a clear impact on the most disadvantaged and depopulated areas in rural environments. Villages with fewer than 70 inhabitants are experiencing diminishing services and opportunities.
The figures provided by the Directorate General of Natural Environment and Biodiversity within the Ministry of Sustainable Development are, at least initially, encouraging. Six lots with a total volume of 12,000 m3 and a total value of 360,000 euros have been acquired by both local companies and others from as far away as Cantabria.
Within our experience, we highlight the innovative way in which the marking has been conducted. Typically, timber is auctioned off with the lots prepared and marked so that potential buyers can decide whether to participate in the auction or bid on another lot they find more favorable. However, in this instance, all announced timber sales have been completed with an estimated possibility through sampling strips in the plots where work will be carried out, utilizing a forest processor for the first time.
In our opinion, this method is more effective and precise than the ones typically used.
Marking is a crucial step in the course of forest management, with accurate adherence to silvicultural prescriptions incorporating biodiversity conservation criteria ensuring sustainable forest use.
From a technical standpoint, it is a significant responsibility to estimate which trees should remain standing to achieve forest perpetuity, and which have already fulfilled their function of seeding and aiding regeneration in their environment.
This region, situated within the influence area of the Alto Tajo Natural Park, has been experiencing population decline over the past few decades. Currently, the number of inhabitants represents only a fifth of what existed in the mid-20th century. The area is particularly characterized by four types of economic activities that have shaped the livelihoods: agriculture, livestock farming, timber resources, and mining, with the presence of kaolin mines in nearby areas.
Gone are the days when the profession of “ganchero” represented an entire region, as aptly described by José Luis Sampedro in “El Río que nos lleva” (1961), whose film adaptation starring Alfredo Landa pays homage to this once-demanding profession. These weeks are serving us to witness firsthand these traditions that were once replaced by technology but are now being remembered as they can be recovered under the umbrella of forest bioeconomy.