novoberdo pilot project for rehabilitation of degraded coppice forest

7/31/2019 Novoberdo Pilot Project for Rehabilitation of Degraded Coppice Forest

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Novoberdopilotprojectforrehabilitationofdegradedcoppice

forestHakiKOLA

August2012

IntroductionVegetationtypesdominatedbyoakcoppiceforesttreescoverabout115800hectaresinKosovo,from

totally464800

ha

forest

area,

or

roughly

25

%

of

the

Kosovo

Forest

area.

These

extensive

oak

woodlands serve a number of important ecological functions. Oak woodlands play a critical role in

protecting soils from erosion and land sliding, regulatingwater flow inwatersheds, andmaintaining

waterqualityinstreamsandrivers.

Coppiceforest115800haisforestthatduringalongperiodoftimehavebeensubjecttoharvestingof

firewoodusingveryshortcuttingcycle,oftenasshortas57years.Thisintensiveharvesting,givinglittle

possibilitiesforthestandstorecover,hasresultedinmanydegradedforestswithlowstockingandslow

growthrates(average27.2m3/ha,growth1.3m3perhaandyear(FAO2003).

Theneed

for

oak

woodland

restoration

is

aconsequence

of

past

and

current

management

practices

that

havedegradedordestroyed theseecosystems.Thus, restorationandmanagementofoakwoodlands

are inseparably linked. For either oak woodland restoration or sustainable management of existing

woodlands,wemustanswerthefollowingquestions:

1. Whatdoyouhave?What istheconditionoftheexistingecosystemandhowdid itcometo itscurrentstate?

2. What do you want?What outcomes for the ecosystem are both attainable and ecologicallyappropriate?

3. How do you get what you want? What inputs and techniques can be applied to achieverestoration/managementgoals?

4. Areyou

getting

what

you

want?

How

do

we

assess

the

success

of

restoration

/

management

efforts?

NovoberdoLLabjanipilotprojectVillagedescription,socioeconomiccontest

Llabjani, part of Novoberdo etnic mix municipality, is one of Kosovo's 1298 villages with 210

families.Thepopulationofthisareamainlydealswithagriculture,livestockandforestry.Itisestimated


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that thewood is themain sourcematerial for heating, ie the only source of heat and other family

needs.Needsoffamilies living inthesevillagesforthewoodmatter iscalculatedtobeabout1470m

per year.Unemployment is quite large and 24 families were identified that do not have any

employees.Agriculturelandisverylimited.Theforest coveredareais416 with oakandhornbeam, as

wellasothertypesthatoccur ingroupsoras individualas different maple, WildApples,hazelnuts,

hawthornetc.

LLabjaniPublic Forestshasbeing for long timenonmanagedand illegally intensive selective cuts,

followedby grazinglivestock,especiallygoats. Previouslyundercoppicemanagement,thelasttimeof

coppice intervention was 1976. Actually these forests despite the favorable natural conditions, are

completely degraded with very

minimalannual increment .It isworth

mentioningthatalthoughforestageof

nearly 47 years, the diameter and

height of forest trees is below any

minimumtowards

this

age,

and

ecologicalconditions. Managedunder

proper coppice regime the neighbor

private forest has annual increment

1015timeshigher.

The most of village families survive

throughcharcoalproduction,generally from

spontaneous illegal cutting in public forest.

Charcoalisproducedinsimple earthenkilns.

Seasoned pieces of hardwood about 2m

long1mheightand1mwide arepiled in

mounds of as much 2 stacked cubic meter

producing 180200 kg charcoal from each

burn.Wheator rye straw,earthandwaste

from the used kiln is mounded over the

woodtogiveafirmenclosure,butisnottoo

tightly packed to prevent air from leaking

through to the wood. About 48 hours are

needed to coalawoodkilnby thismethod.

Theproblemsfamilyproducersfaceare: the

legal source of firewood; high pollution in

each house yard from burning all the day,

and difficulties on organizing burning,

bagging, marketing /sales distribution. This

means that inpracticeonly thehalfof time


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theirtime isavailableforburning.Actuallytherearenotpollutioncontrols,butinthefirstviewduring

carbonization looks that there are high emissions to atmosphere, nuisance to the family member

childrenandneighbors

What isactually LlabjaniForest? Pastandpresentvegetationand

management

Restoration logically begins with an understanding of the condition of the resource and the

managementhistorythathasbroughtittoitscurrentstate.

1. Whatisthecurrentcompositionofthevegetation?Currentvegetationisthestartingmaterialofa restorationprojectandmay includedesirable species tobe favored aswellasundesirable

speciestobesuppressedoreradicated.

2. How havemanagementpractices and other human activities shaped current site conditions?Although

information

gaps

will

typically

exist,

historical

site

analysis

can

reveal

important

details

aboutthesuccessionofhumanimpactsthathaveshapedthecurrentlandscape.

Dendrometricdata:Sampleplotcalculationresults

D/cm. Nooftrees. Forest species Age Height Canopy density V=/m

S=100m

1 1 0.00028

2 13 Hornbeam 0.01281

3 13 Hornbeam 25 30 5.97.1 0.8 0.03315

4 5 Hornbeam 0.02525

5 12 Hornbeam 0.10344

6 8 Hornbeam 0.10424

2 Hornbeam 0.03744

54 0.3164


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AverageDm.=3.8cm. Volumeforsampleplot=0.3164m

Averageheight.=6.4m. Volumeforhectare =31.640m

Sampleplotno2.Oak

forest,summaryofdata:

Sampleplotarea10m.x10m.=100m

Numberoftreesforsampleplotarea=54,forone

hectare =5400trees

Averageheight =4.20m.

Volumeforsampleplot=0.281m

Volumefor

hectare

=28.125

m


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ForestmanagementinCadastralzonelevel(Llabjani)plangives:

SupporttowardsSustainableForests

Improvedforestsituations(FSCstandards)

Leadtoimprovementofmanagement

Givethebasisforworkandactivities

Complytorules&regulations,linkwithotherpolicies,strategies,plans

Involvementofstakeholdersandincreasedunderstanding

Stakeholders:

KosovoForest Agency

NovoberdaMunicipality

Llabjancommunity

AssociationofPrivateforestownersParku

LocalAction

Groups

Thefamiliesagreedtoundertaketheimplementationwork

Freelanceforestexperts

Managementplangoals

The followinggoalsareattainablebecausetheyacknowledge limitationsduetothecurrentdegreeof

ecologicaldegradation

and

our

lack

of

knowledge

about

the

pristine

ecosystem.

1.Reestablishappropriateoak species inareas thatdidor couldhave supportedoakwoodlands

previouslyandarenowcapableofsupportingthisvegetationtype.

2. Establish sustainablepopulationsofhistorically knownand likely indigenousplant speciesand

associationswithinoakwoodlands.

3. Manage remnant oak woodlands and restored stands to permit natural regeneration and

maximize the cover and dominance of indigenous plant species while minimizing the cover of

nonindigenousspecies.

4.Promotereestablishmentofnaturalbioticsystems, including interactingmicrobial, invertebrate,

andvertebratecommunities,withinrestoredwoodlands.


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ProposedinterventionsonDegraded Forest Rehabilitation

(Resurekcionimi)

The new strategy for forestdevelopment is encouragingjoint forestmanagement of forests and

stimulatingpublicparticipation inwoodlandswhichwillprobably leadtothecreationofnewareasof

mixedcoppice thataremanaged for theirwildlife interest,suitability forcommunity involvementand

potentialtoyieldproduceforlocaluse.


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Coppiceisaforeststandcomposedofstoolsthatproducecoppiceshootswhichformthemajor

part of the crop. The standmay be simplecoppice or coppicewithstandards. In the frame of this

rehabilitation is proposed Coppicewithstandards system, inwhich about 100 selected stems are

retainedateachfellingtoformanunevenagedoverstoreofstandardswhichareremovedselectively

onarotationwhichisamultipleofthecoppicecycle.

PotezeandKonopthetraditionalcoppiceforestmanagement

TraditionallyinsomepartsofKosovo,forestownershasusedoneKonopasameasurementunitof

thecoupeswide.Itisaboutninemeterlong,anditiseasyforwoodmentogetit.Itisonestandart

rope, partofthespecialsaddlehorseusedfromwoodman forthefirewoodloadsandtransportfrom

foresttohome.ThepartofwoodlandcoppicedforoneyeariscalledinsomepartofKosovoPoteze

Tocoppice,orcoppicing,describestheprocessoffellingortheproductionofnewshootsby

stools.Thepartofawoodlandcoppicediscalledacoupebutisalsoknownasasale,fell,cant,panelor

burrowdependingonlocalityThequalityofthecutismoreimportantthanthetoolused,cutsshould

becleanwithnoseparationofthebarkfromthewood.Traditionally,smalldiametercoppiceshoots

were cutwithabillhookusinga sideways stroke, finishingwithanupwardpull toavoid splitting the

woodand lettingwater intothestool.Largershootswerecutwithanaxeorsaw.Chainsawshaveno

adverseeffectsoncoppicing.Forunskilledworkersasharpbowsawisprobablythesafestandsimplest

toolto

use


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Employmentforforestrehabilitation

Forestrehabilitationintervention,isanopportunities tocreateemploymentorthepeopleofthis

areaand

the

supply

of

raw

material

for

heating,

production

of

coal

and

other

family

needs

Biodiversityandwildlife oncoppicemanagement

The proposal tocoppice leavingabout100treesper hectareis intended:

Starttheconversionof theseneglect coppice forest tomanaged forestand in longtermaftersome

rotations to high forest the processwhich will nottake placeeasily and in ashort time,

Environmentalaspectsappearance,shelter food for wildlife and for theirproduction on oxygen

production andCO2 sequestration;Coppicinghasbeenshowntobeofgreatvaluetowildlifeandan

important tool inmaintaining thediversity.Coppicingon a rotationprovides amosaicof gradations

between light (immediatelyafter cutting)and shade (after canopy closure,410 years later) thisand

otherenvironmentalvariationsprovidehabitatsforawiderangeofplantandanimalspecies.

Forsuccessfulmanagementofcoppicestools:

Preventexcessivebrowsingdamage.

Cutcoppiceduringwinterdormancy.

Cutstoolsclosetothegroundleavingshortstumps.

Usesharp,wellmaintainedtools.

Limitshadecastbystandards.

Historyofcoppicing

TheearliestevidenceofcoppicingdatesfromtheNeolithic(Rackham,1986).ThefoundationsofBronze

Agebuildingsalsoshowevidenceofcoppicingand itcontinuedthroughthe IronAge,and intoRoman

Times. According to the Domesday book in 1086, coppicing was the most widespread form of

woodlandmanagement,

producing

material

that

was

small

and

easily

handed

(important

in

the

days

beforemachineryandhardroads)forfirewoodandwattlehurdlesforbuilding,fencingandtrackway

construction. InMedieval times, thepracticeof coppicingwith standardsbegan. In the17thand18th

centuriescoppicewoodwasalso indemand toproducecharcoal for theburgeoningandglassworks,

withoakprovidingbarkfortanning industry.However,bythemidof19thcentury,coppicingstartedto

decline as many traditional woodland product were superseded. Railways brought cheap coal to

countrysideandafterthefirstworldwarruralelectrificationandothersourcesoffuelsuchoil, largely

obviatedtheneedtocoppiceforfirewood.


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Thevalueofcoppicewoodland

Therearemanydifferentvalueswhichcanbeplacedoncoppicewoodlands.Thesemaybeeconomic,

social,cultural

and

environmental

terms

and

can

be

listed

as

follows:

Arenewablesourceofwood

Asourceofemployment

Amenityandrecreationaluse

Wildlifeandconservationvalues

Landscapevalue

Coverforgamebirds

Heritagevalueand

Anexampleof sustainablelanduse

FirstyearinterventionFirstyearinterventionisdefined inasmallplotof18hectares

Preparatorysteps

First

step:

Municipality:

Proposedto SNVSida

project support for

the pilot project

implementation.

Second step: SNV

prepared a concept

project and shared it

with main

stakeholders.

Third

step:

Gjilani

region KFA sent a

request to the KFA

chief to approve the

project.(One of the

project activities

looks in conflict with

the forest law,


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forbiddingtheclearcuttinginforest)

FourthstepTheforestownersassociationidentifytheinterestedfamiliestoparticipateintheproject

ThelistofinterestedfamilieswassharedwithdirectorateofagricultureinMunicipality.TheMajorwas

informedaboutproject

Fifth step: A draft agreement between families and municipality for project implementation was

preparedSixstep:finalimplementationpreparation:UsingGPS,theforestrystaffofcommunewithanfreelance

foresterandSNVstaffhassignedinthefieldthe10mewidestrips.Coordinatesoftheforestplotswere

recordedwithGPS

Foreachcoupe inthiscaseastrip10mwide,oneuserhasanagreementto implementthecoppicing

andprotectthenewsproutsfromgrazing

Thepreliminarycalculationonworksneededareprepared

Costprofit

analysis

is

calculated

Financialsupport isneededtocoverthecostofcuttingandcleaningdegradedshrubsandsmalltress

Feedstockforcharcoalproductionorgridfor woodchips,briquettes

orpelletsproduction

Actually smalldimensionwood isused for

charcoalproduction

in

very

primitive

way.

Differentspeciesoftreeyieldcharcoalwith

different characteristics. The same for

bioenergy. Oak is more preferred

compared with hornbeam. For the

producers the reason is the physical

strengthor the friabilityof theoak is the

main reason. Ithas lead in the changeon

the forest cover from the oak to

hornbeam. (Hornbeam has not ability to

resistdisintegrationduringproductionand

transport).The feedstock isusedgenerally freshlycut

(up to100%moisture content,dryweight

bases, spending more time in conversion

andproducing lower charcoalwith higher

energy spent to drive off the moisture

contained in wood. As for charcoal or

griddingthefeedstockshouldgenerallybewellseasoned(overthanthreemonthsisrecommended)


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Theproposedprojectwill replace the illegal spontaneous selective cutting in forest with systematic

plannedcoppicingbasedonagreementswiththeruralfamiliesonthecoupearea,timeandqualityof

coppicing,consideringandtheamountofsmalldimensionstreestobeusedforcharcoalproductionor

gridded assourceforbioenergy

Thisinterdependenceofcomponentsisespeciallyimportantwhenapplyingbioenergysystemsinarural

community setting. For example, the connections between employment, environmental impacts of

biomassproductionandbeneficiariesoftheenergyproducedcanbemadecleartoeveryoneastheyall

take place on a strictly confined local level. Therefore, an integrated participatory approach and

effectivecollaborationwithstakeholdersandgovernancestructureona local,regionalandpotentially

nationallevelisofimmenseimportance

Productionandorganizationalstructure

The annual potential rates of production for small round woods for LLabjani village is about 1200

m3/year.(40ha*30m3/ha).

Small independent household based charcoal burners have difficulty in carrying out all the steps

required to getmarkets, or producing the firewood, producing the charcoal, baggingmarketing and

distributing the charcoal. The surviving charcoal burners are those who are skillful woodsman and

charcoalproducers,burnersaswell salesman.Theycannot increase their revenuesbecause it isnot

easytobeinthesametimewoodmanburnersandwithsellingskills

A

charcoal

cooperative

For the future the options of charcoal or gridded wood cooperative would be considered. The

cooperativecouldbeeitherbeformedbyproducerswithacollectivelyownedcharcoalproductionplant

(or gridded machine) or by supplying on a quota basis a cooperative which organizes sales (and if

necessaryprocessing)

In the actual case of existing small producers a cooperative would have several benefits . The

cooperative couldestablishamoreeffectivebaggingplant fromwhere thebaggedcharcoalcouldbe

distributed.

Educationand

Raising

Awareness

We live inamarketeconomyandconsumerchoiceneed tobebalancedby informationenabling the

consumertomakeaninformedchoice.Therearetwowaysthiscanbeachievedinthecaseofcharcoal

orgriddingmaterials

1. Education and raising of awareness among producers and consumers thrugh environmental

NGOandmedia

2. Throughcertificationproducts


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Educationcanbetargetedinthreeways

Generaleducationontraditionalcoppicewoodlands theirwildlifeandheritagevalues

Theimpactofrehabilitation ofdegradedcoppiceforestavoidingspontaneousillegalcutting

Thebenefitsoflocalproductionforlocalneedsasa greenideal

Certification

Independentcertificationofwoodproducts is likelytobecomemore important.Notonlydoes

this ensure the consumer and buyer that the product comes from woods managed in

sustainablemannerbutitalsomaintainstheproductquality.

Thepilotprojectasdemonstrationsite:

Theseaim todraw togetheranddemonstrate themost importantaspectsof theprojectand

comprisetherestorationofthefirst18 hectaresofhighly degradedcoppices.Theworkerswill

be identified by the Municipality and association of forest owners. The agreements will be

signedwiththe interestedfamilies.Thewoodwillbecoppicedandthewoodproducedwillbe

useforcharcoalorgriddedmaterial

Theecological effectsofthisrevivalofcoppicemanagementwillbemonitoredbyappropriate

consultants and also used to develop themost appropriate rehabilitationmethodologies for

morethan100thousanddegradedforest inKosovo.Theannualgrowthwillbemeasuredyear

byyearandcomparedwiththeincrementonactualnonmanaged coppiceregime. Inallcases

accesswillbecreatedorenhancedforthepublicwhowillbeinformedviaNationalAssociation

offorestownersnewspaper,webpage.

These siteswill be given high profile encouraging visits by schools, donors and communitygroupstoraisetheawarenessofthevalueofforestrehabilitation

novoberdo pilot project for rehabilitation of degraded coppice forest

Documents