Technical properties of beech wood from aged coppices in central Italy

Abstract

© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionCoppice management has been deeply affected by economic and social changes in Europe since the 1950s. During the last century, the replacement of firewood with fossil fuels and the massive migration of people from mountain villages to towns has led to a change from traditional management of coppice to irregular coppicing or abandonment of management. Coppices have been progressively neglected in Italy (Ciancio et al. 2002, Picchio et al. 2009), and the suspension of their exploitation has produced "aged coppices", leading to alternative forms of traditional coppice management, such as the conversion to high forest systems (Amorini et al. 1996). Conversion consists of thinning out the shoots from the aged coppices to produce a transitory high forest stand.In the last 50 years, different approaches to coppice conversion have produced variable results in Europe, depending also on the stand conditions (Vogt et al. 2006, Van Calster et al. 2007, La Marca et al. 2009, Núñez et al. 2012, Suchomel et al. 2012, Altman et al. 2013, Pyttel et al. 2013. The transition towards a less intensive use of forests, which was considered more productive and more ecologically functional (Bagnaresi & Giannini 1999), was also due to the introduction of policies aimed at a territorial protection (Ask & Carlsson 2000, Coppini & Hermanin 2007, Hersperger & Bürgi 2010. As a consequence, such forests were actively or passively converted into high forest stands, as their management switched to other goals, like timber production, biodiversity conservation, etc. Thus the transition to less intensive managing regimes with different environmental features is important, particularly for mountainous areas of the Mediterranean countries (Cañellas et al. 2004, Zagas et al. 2004, Decocq et al. 2005, Ciancio et al. 2006, La Marca et al. 2008, Lafortezza et al. 2013.Coppices under natural evolution show a great structural variability, though a trend to conform to the typical structures of high forests is fairly clear. High forests have a prominent role in safeguarding biodiversity and promoting the non-productive functions of forests (Picchio et al. 2009, Ciancio & Nocentini 2011. New silvicultural approaches are being applied to aged coppices with the aim of favoring their natural development, improving their stability and functionality, and enhancing their natural regeneration by seeds. As a result, coppice conversion is expected to increase further (Ciancio et al. 2002).In Italy, coppices that are no longer exploited in the traditional way cover a large area. At present, aged coppices represent 89% of the whole Italian coppice surface area, and transitory high forests occupy about 150 000 ha (IFNC 2007). On the Apennines (central Italy) beech usually grows at altitudes above 900-1000 m, though relict sites are located at lower altitudes, providing evidence for a larger diffusion in the past (Montelucci 1956, Anzalone 1961, 1980, Hofmann 1991. According to the Italian National Forest Inventory (IFNC...

Modeling color and chemical changes on normal and red heart beech wood by reflectance spectrophotometry, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy and hyperspectral imaging

“…Information on the site and sample preparation was detailed in a previous paper [3]. All samples were artificially aged in a Model 1500E Solar Box (Erichsen Instruments).…”

“…The extent of beech forests in Europe is estimated at about 12 million hectares of which more than 550,000 in Italy [2]. In particular, beech wood from coppices in transition shows interesting qualitative characteristics, suggesting a more profitable use than firewood [3]. Coppices in transition originated from the conversion of large areas from coppice to high forest as a consequence of the progressive abandonment of rural and mountain zones and policies of ecological protection of the territory in the last century, leading forest managers to a less intensive use of forests [4], creating different situations in Europe [5e7].…”

A new approach for the modelling of chestnut wood photo-degradation monitored by different spectroscopic techniques

“…Specifically, light degrades the wood surfaces both in outdoor and indoor conditions and causes visible colour changes (Andrady et al 2015;Tolvaj et al 2014a, b;Tolvaj and Faix 1995;Pandey 2005;Genco et al 2011;Lo Monaco et al 2011;Lo Monaco et al 2015;Pelosi et al 2013;Hon and Shiraishi 2001). The colour changes are the visible expression of the chemical degradation of the wood components (Teacă et al 2013;Bonifazi et al 2015).…”

Beech sawn timber for structural use: A case study for mechanical characterization and optimization of the Italian visual strength grading rule

“…The beech (Fagus sylvatica Linnaeus) wood has not yet been used for structural purposes in Italy, even though it is widespread in Italy and in Europe, and offers outstanding technological properties (Lo Monaco et al 2014) and many non-structural applications. On the contrary, this hardwood provokes a strong interest in Europe where it is already utilized for load-bearing structures (Aicher et al 2013).…”