Castilla y León

The proposal proposes to methodology for the evaluation of the economic and financial sustainability of the poplar plantations, incorporating to the most usual analysis of profitability, by means of the calculation of the IRR and NPV indicators, the perspective of annual revenue for the forest owners. The methodology seeks to lay down the principles of the economic aspects to bear in mind, overcoming the approach of the calculation based only on the costs and income for hectare and it was not possible to compare with other crops.

In progress

The analysis with this new perspective allows to evaluate the rentability of the activity and to compare it with those of other agrarian crops which can occupy the same surfaces. In addition, they have stable subsidies that increase their competitiveness in the agro-forestry areas. The proposal establishes for the first time the term "forest income" for consideration to the "agrarian income", with which shares many assailable aspects. The comparative one between the calculation of both incomes can be of great usefulness for the invest decisions on the part of the owners, managers and responsible administrations.

Scots pine wood from the Region of Pinares (a region located between the provinces of Soria and Burgos) enjoyed great prestige in the Spanish market, despite the fact that it lacked a common standardised basis among the companies in the sector that would allow  to launch a regulated product on the market that would facilitate its commercialisation.
There was also a mismatch between the quality of the product and the quality of the service offered to the buyer by the industry.
In this context, the first guarantee mark was created in the wood sector, the Guarantee Mark Pino Soria Burgos.

The main lesson learned is that the wood sector requires common marketing standards that make it easier for users to buy their products, eliminating confusion and insecurities that lead to a rejection of the use of wood. They also allow generating a mercantile reference to compete with the rest of products, whether made of wood or other materials such as concrete, steel, pvc…
It also allows for closer ties between the business and technology sectors, which guarantees continuous improvement of the business sector through both training and innovation.

This guarantee mark is based on three basic pillars: Guarantee of origin, sustainability (all forests and their processors are certified under the PEFC system) and quality (common marketing bases are established).
More than 48 municipalities and the Community of the 150 villages of the Land of Soria, and a total of 15 companies of first transformation of the wood, have joined.
On the other hand, we have managed to join a sector that until the creation of the Guarantee Brand was completely dispersed. In addition, its close relationship with Cesefor (forestry and wood technological centre) has enabled it to carry out extensive certification of its products (CE marking, PEFC, carbon footprint), training courses (cost control, structural calculation, wood treatment, etc.), and innovation projects (structural characterisation, development of new building systems, etc.). Currently, the companies of the Guarantee Mark are references in the Spanish wood sector and in the construction sector.

1. Forest modeling and management diagrams 2. Development of tools to improve the quality of wood 2.1. Use of acoustic techniques for the valorization of wood 2.2. Establishment of quality standards 3. Update of volume equations (model trees) by laser 4. Incorporation of aerial laser in the valuation of forest use 5. Improvement and standardization of the techniques of signaling and characterization of the uses In progress (Expected results) The general objectives of this project are: - To analyze the factors that determine the quality of standing timber. -To obtain practical management standards that allow forest managers to manage their forest based on forest quality. - To create standardization tools validated by the industry in terms of performance and final product quality.

Public administrations directly manage a road network on forest land that in many cases is longer than the general road network itself.
Wood transport is a key factor in the value chain of wood mobilization.
There is therefore a need for reliable knowledge of this network, so that resources can be optimised and rationalised in terms of maintenance and improvement, that is to say, the rationalisation of the processes of inventory, planning, programming and control of the work on these tracks must be emphasised.

The lack of digital cartography with sufficient quality in rural areas is a constant in most territories. Together with a certain delay in the application of technologies in the sectors that operate in this area, they make these areas a priority objective on which to concentrate this type of effort.
This cartography allows to plan more effectively the operations related to the harvesting and transport of wood, from the forest to the industry.

Since 2009, Cesefor has directed and developed the project co-financed by the Regional Government of Castilla y León and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Within the framework of this project, more than 50,000 km of rural roads have been inventoried and more than 33,000 equipments have been collected, forming a continuous network connected to the road network with extensive qualitative information on forest areas.
The information has been collected by GPS, attaching the necessary qualitative information in each case.
Specific cartography has been distributed to environmental agents, fire extinguishing media dependent on the Junta de Castilla y León and the digital information is available at the Junta de Castilla y León.
A specific navigator has also been developed for rural roads, since due to the special characteristics of this network it is necessary to know the existing restrictions, either by type of vehicle or state of the tracks.