The conferences have been developed within the framework of the Technical Conferences of the Annual Technology Transfer Plan (PATT) of the DAAC
The Forestry Science and Technology Center of Catalonia (CTFC) in collaboration with the European project FIRE-RES organized two field days to carry out a practical demonstration of small and light forestry machinery. These gatherings aimed to show forestry companies a type of machinery for cutting, processing, and extracting trees from the forest, adapted to the thinning of young stands that are common out in our forests.
This is a new generation of forestry processors, small and versatile machines capable of performing all forest work. The machines presented stand out for their reduced dimensions, which reduces both the costs of acquisition and maintenance, as well as for transport. The demonstrations were carried out in Odèn, in an area with a proliferation of young Scots pine and black pine forests, and Viladecavalls, with regenerated post-fire Aleppo pine vegetation. During the conference, participants were able to see how these machines work and adapt to the characteristics of young forests with a high density of trees.
The demonstrations were organized by the FIRE-RES project partners, CTFC, and the Italian National Research Council (CNR) as an Innovative Action of the project. One of the objectives of the FIRE-RES project, coordinated by CTFC, is to develop and demonstrate new tools and strategies to prevent and extinguish forest fires and thus contribute to the transition towards fire-resilient landscapes. In this sense, the use of light machinery can help to improve forest management in Catalonia, making the work cheaper and allowing the extraction of wood, thus contributing to fire prevention.
“Working with these machines allows to carry out forest treatments of extensive post-fire regenerated areas and other relatively young forested areas in Catalonia. They are multipurpose tools that can perform all the necessary work to be done with these treatments (cutting, classification, and removal of wood on the track) in a more careful way than current machines, considerably reducing the high costs of manual actions; therefore, it covers a sector where mechanization is still under-developed and thus, of much need in the country,” explains Francesc Cano, deputy director of technologic transfer of the CTFC.
The gatherings, held on Friday, November 24, and Tuesday, November 28, were part of the Technical Conferences of the Annual Technology Transfer Plan (PATT) of the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda of the Generalitat de Catalunya. The events have brought together over 130 people linked to the forestry sector in Catalonia, Aragon, and the Balearic Islands, from administrations and companies to students of agricultural schools.
Last modified: 10 April 2024
