While a priori is considered a place for Paseo El Bosque has a very important environmental role. In particular, it must adapt to the effects of climate change, mitigate its effects capturing carbon emissions and protecting biodiversity.
All These issues therefore require the implementation of adequate and sustainable forest management. This means protecting trees, replanting them, pruning them, etc. But also adapt the masses forestry to help the forest fight climate change.
Another of the preponderant factors in forest management is fire preventionthat is, carry out several actions aimed at preventing fire or, in the event that they arise, that can be quickly found, controlled and extinguished.
Sustainable forest practices in Euskadi
The Sustainable Forest Management represents a constant challenge for the sector, since it requires guaranteeing ecological balance and biodiversity conservation without compromising the responsible use of natural resources. However, the complexity of ecosystems and the diversity of the factors involved hinders the forecast of the consequences of each action.
To face this challenge and provide the knowledge -based tools sector, the Neiker Technology Center, a dependent entity of the Food, Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries Department of the Basque Government, has launched the Arronategi Martoscope, a space conceived as a forest classroom that allows to simulate different management scenarios in a controlled environment and analyze their impact before moving them to the natural environment.
Located on the Mount of Public Utility 47, assigned by the City of Bermeo, this space consists of a plot in which a very detailed work has been carried out: each tree has been numbered, geolocated and measured to know its height, its diameter, the microhabits that it houses and the quality of its wood.
Through simulation software, users can Evaluate the ecological impact and economic profitability of different management strategies, allowing practical learning and based on direct experimentation.
Specifically, Arronategi’s martoscope is part of the Life Urbaso project, which seeks demonstrate nature -based solutions to guarantee the quantity and quality of water destined for human consumption. To do this, seek to promote management models festal Next to nature with the aim of optimizing interactions between forests and water.
“The Life Urbaso project has published the Pro Silva Silviculture Manual in Basque To put into practice a forest model based on the organization’s recommendations Pro Silva. The Arronategi Martoscope allows us to practice this type of forestry in a controlled environment, ”explains Nahia Gartzia-Bengoetxea, a researcher at Neiker.
Red Integrate+
In addition to representing an advance in research applied to management Forestal, The Arronategi Martoscope acquires a special relevance by becoming the first Euskadi forest space to be part of the Integrate+Network, an initiative of the European Forest Institute (EFI) which promotes the combination between wood production and biodiversity conservation in managed forests.
Thanks to its incorporation into this network, this classroom is consolidated as a reference point in the exchange of knowledge and methodologies. “He Access to Integrate+ allows us to improve the training of those who manage forest ecosystemsproviding them with a space where they can rehearse different strategies before applying them in the real environment, thus reducing the risks and favoring a more informed and sustainable management, ”reports the researcher.
Forest classroom
In addition to its value as Research tool, this forest classroom plays a fundamental role in the formation of new generations of forest managers, providing a space in which they can experience the decision -making process in a practical way.
This educational aspect has been reinforced through collaboration with alumnador of the higher degree in forest management and the natural environment of the Agricultural Schools of Derio and Fraisorowho have participated in the first simulation exercises.
This wayArronategi’s martoscope also aligns with the objectives of Euskobasoa 2050Improvement R&D Plan Festal from Euskadi. Developed by Neiker and supported by the Basque Government, its objective of strengthening the sector festal and of wood, through research and knowledge transfer. Since its implementation in 2019, Euskobasoa 2050 works to improve the future of Basque forests.