Novoberdo

pilot project for rehabilitation of degraded coppice forest

HakiKOLA August2012

Introduction
Vegetationtypesdominatedbyoakcoppiceforesttreescoverabout115800hectaresinKosovo,from totally 464800 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, regulating water flow in watersheds, and maintaining waterqualityinstreamsandrivers. Coppiceforest115800haisforestthatduringalongperiodoftimehavebeensubjecttoharvestingof firewoodusingveryshortcuttingcycle,oftenasshortas57years.Thisintensiveharvesting,givinglittle possibilitiesforthestandstorecover,hasresultedinmanydegradedforestswithlowstockingandslow growthrates(average27.2m3/ha,growth1.3m3perhaandyear(FAO2003). Theneedforoakwoodlandrestorationisaconsequenceofpastandcurrentmanagementpracticesthat have degraded or destroyed these ecosystems. Thus, restoration and management of oak woodlands are inseparably linked. For either oak woodland restoration or sustainable management of existing woodlands,wemustanswerthefollowingquestions: 1. Whatdoyouhave?Whatistheconditionoftheexistingecosystemandhowdiditcometoits currentstate? 2. What do you want? What outcomes for the ecosystem are both attainable and ecologically appropriate? 3. How do you get what you want? What inputs and techniques can be applied to achieve restoration/managementgoals? 4. Are you getting what you want? How do we assess the success of restoration / management efforts?

Novoberdo LLabjani pilot project

Villagedescription,socioeconomiccontest Llabjani, part of Novoberdo etnic mix municipality, is one of Kosovo's 1298 villages with 210 families.Thepopulationofthisareamainlydealswithagriculture,livestockandforestry.Itisestimated

that the wood is the main source material for heating, ie the only source of heat and other family needs.Needsoffamilieslivinginthesevillagesforthewoodmatteriscalculatedtobeabout1470m per year.Unemployment is quite large and 24 families were identified that do not have any employees.Agriculturelandisverylimited.Theforestcoveredareais416withoakandhornbeam,as wellasothertypesthatoccuringroupsorasindividualas different maple, WildApples,hazelnuts, hawthornetc. LLabjani Public Forests has being for long time non managed and illegally intensive selective cuts, followedbygrazinglivestock,especiallygoats.Previouslyundercoppicemanagement,thelasttimeof coppice intervention was 1976. Actually these forests despite the favorable natural conditions, are completely degraded with very minimalannualincrement.Itisworth mentioningthatalthoughforestageof nearly 47 years, the diameter and height of forest trees is below any minimum towards this age, and ecologicalconditions.Managedunder proper coppice regime the neighbor private forest has annual increment 1015timeshigher. The most of village families survive through charcoal production, generally from spontaneous illegal cutting in public forest. Charcoalisproducedinsimpleearthenkilns. Seasoned pieces of hardwood about 2m long 1 m height and 1 m wide are piled in mounds of as much 2 stacked cubic meter producing 180200 kg charcoal from each burn. Wheat or rye straw, earth and waste 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 coal a wood kiln by this method. 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 in practice only the half of time

theirtimeisavailableforburning.Actuallytherearenotpollutioncontrols,butinthefirstviewduring carbonization looks that there are high emissions to atmosphere, nuisance to the family member childrenandneighbors

What is actually Llabjani Forest? Past and present vegetation and management
Restoration logically begins with an understanding of the condition of the resource and the managementhistorythathasbroughtittoitscurrentstate. 1. Whatisthecurrentcompositionofthevegetation?Currentvegetationisthestartingmaterialof a restoration project and may include desirable species to be favored as well as undesirable speciestobesuppressedoreradicated. 2. How have management practices and other human activities shaped current site conditions? Althoughinformationgapswilltypicallyexist,historicalsiteanalysiscanrevealimportantdetails aboutthesuccessionofhumanimpactsthathaveshapedthecurrentlandscape. Dendrometricdata:Sampleplotcalculationresults D/cm. Nooftrees. Forest species Age Height Canopy density V=/m S=100m 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 13 13 5 12 8 2 54 Hornbeam Hornbeam Hornbeam Hornbeam Hornbeam Hornbeam 2530 5.97.1 0.8 0.00028 0.01281 0.03315 0.02525 0.10344 0.10424 0.03744 0.3164

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 Volumeforhectare=28.125m

 ForestmanagementinCadastralzonelevel(Llabjani)plangives: SupporttowardsSustainableForests Improvedforestsituations(FSCstandards) Leadtoimprovementofmanagement Givethebasisforworkandactivities Complytorules&regulations,linkwithotherpolicies,strategies,plans Involvementofstakeholdersandincreasedunderstanding

Stakeholders: KosovoForestAgency NovoberdaMunicipality Llabjancommunity AssociationofPrivateforestownersParku LocalActionGroups Thefamiliesagreedtoundertaketheimplementationwork Freelanceforestexperts

Managementplangoals
Thefollowinggoalsareattainable becausetheyacknowledgelimitationsduetothecurrentdegreeof ecologicaldegradationandourlackofknowledgeaboutthepristineecosystem. 1. Reestablish appropriate oak species in areas that did or could have supported oak woodlands previouslyandarenowcapableofsupportingthisvegetationtype. 2. Establish sustainable populations of historically known and likely indigenous plant species and 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,includinginteractingmicrobial,invertebrate, andvertebratecommunities,withinrestoredwoodlands.

ProposedinterventionsonDegradedForestRehabilitation (Resurekcionimi)

The new strategy for forest development is encouraging joint forest management of forests and stimulatingpublicparticipationinwoodlandswhichwillprobablyleadtothecreationofnewareasof mixed coppice that are managed for their wildlife interest, suitability for community involvement and potentialtoyieldproduceforlocaluse.

Coppiceisaforeststandcomposedofstoolsthatproducecoppiceshootswhichformthemajor part of the crop. The stand may be simplecoppice or coppicewithstandards. In the frame of this rehabilitation is proposed Coppicewithstandards system, in which about 100 selected stems are retainedateachfellingtoformanunevenagedoverstoreofstandardswhichareremovedselectively onarotationwhichisamultipleofthecoppicecycle. PotezeandKonopthetraditionalcoppiceforestmanagement TraditionallyinsomepartsofKosovo,forestownershasusedoneKonopasameasurementunitof thecoupeswide.Itisaboutninemeterlong,anditiseasyforwoodmentogetit.Itisonestandart rope,partofthespecialsaddlehorseusedfromwoodmanforthefirewoodloadsandtransportfrom foresttohome.ThepartofwoodlandcoppicedforoneyeariscalledinsomepartofKosovoPoteze Tocoppice,orcoppicing,describestheprocessoffellingortheproductionofnewshootsby stools.Thepartofawoodlandcoppicediscalledacoupebutisalsoknownasasale,fell,cant,panelor burrowdependingonlocalityThequalityofthecutismoreimportantthanthetoolused,cutsshould becleanwithnoseparationofthebarkfromthewood.Traditionally,smalldiametercoppiceshoots were cut with a billhook using a sideways stroke, finishing with an upward pull to avoid splitting the woodandlettingwaterintothestool.Largershootswerecutwithanaxeorsaw.Chainsawshaveno adverseeffectsoncoppicing.Forunskilledworkersasharpbowsawisprobablythesafestandsimplest tooltouse

Employmentforforestrehabilitation
Forestrehabilitationintervention,isanopportunitiestocreateemploymentorthepeopleofthis areaandthesupplyofrawmaterialforheating,productionofcoalandotherfamilyneeds

Biodiversityandwildlifeoncoppicemanagement
The proposal tocoppice leavingabout100treesper hectareis intended: Startthe conversionof these neglect coppice forest to managed forest and in long term after some rotations to high forest the processwhich will nottake placeeasily and in ashort time, Environmentalaspectsappearance,shelter food for wildlife and for theirproduction on oxygen productionandCO2sequestration;Coppicinghasbeenshowntobeofgreatvaluetowildlifeandan important tool in maintaining the diversity. Coppicing on a rotation provides a mosaic of gradations between light (immediately after cutting) and shade (after canopy closure, 410 years later) this and otherenvironmentalvariationsprovidehabitatsforawiderangeofplantandanimalspecies. Forsuccessfulmanagementofcoppicestools: Preventexcessivebrowsingdamage. Cutcoppiceduringwinterdormancy. Cutstoolsclosetothegroundleavingshortstumps. Usesharp,wellmaintainedtools. Limitshadecastbystandards.

Historyofcoppicing
TheearliestevidenceofcoppicingdatesfromtheNeolithic(Rackham,1986).ThefoundationsofBronze AgebuildingsalsoshowevidenceofcoppicinganditcontinuedthroughtheIronAge,andintoRoman Times. According to the Domesday book in 1086, coppicing was the most widespread form of woodland management, producing material that was small and easily handed (important in the days beforemachineryandhardroads)forfirewoodandwattlehurdlesforbuilding,fencingandtrackway construction. In Medieval times, the practice of coppicing with standards began. In the 17th and 18th centuries coppice wood was also in demand to produce charcoal for the burgeoning and glass works, withoakprovidingbarkfortanningindustry.However,bythemidof19thcentury,coppicingstartedto decline as many traditional woodland product were superseded. Railways brought cheap coal to countrysideandafterthefirstworldwarruralelectrificationandothersourcesoffuelsuchoil,largely obviatedtheneedtocoppiceforfirewood.

Thevalueofcoppicewoodland
Therearemanydifferentvalueswhichcanbeplacedoncoppicewoodlands.Thesemaybeeconomic, social,culturalandenvironmentaltermsandcanbelistedasfollows: Arenewablesourceofwood Asourceofemployment Amenityandrecreationaluse Wildlifeandconservationvalues Landscapevalue Coverforgamebirds Heritagevalueand Anexampleofsustainablelanduse

First year intervention

Firstyearinterventionisdefinedinasmallplotof18hectares

Preparatory steps
step: Municipality: ProposedtoSNVSida 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, First

forbiddingtheclearcuttinginforest) FourthstepTheforestownersassociationidentifytheinterestedfamiliestoparticipateintheproject ThelistofinterestedfamilieswassharedwithdirectorateofagricultureinMunicipality.TheMajorwas informedaboutproject Fifth step: A draft agreement between families and municipality for project implementation was prepared Sixstep:finalimplementationpreparation:UsingGPS,theforestrystaffofcommunewithanfreelance foresterandSNVstaffhassignedinthefieldthe10mewidestrips.Coordinatesoftheforestplotswere recordedwithGPS Foreachcoupeinthiscaseastrip10mwide,oneuserhasanagreementtoimplementthecoppicing andprotectthenewsproutsfromgrazing Thepreliminarycalculationonworksneededareprepared Costprofitanalysisiscalculated Financialsupportisneededtocoverthecostofcuttingandcleaningdegradedshrubsandsmalltress

Feedstockforcharcoalproductionorgridforwoodchips,briquettes orpelletsproduction

Actually small dimension wood is used for charcoal production 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 strength or the friability of the oak is the main reason. It has lead in the change on the forest cover from the oak to hornbeam. (Hornbeam has not ability to resistdisintegrationduringproductionand transport). Thefeedstockisusedgenerallyfreshlycut (up to 100% moisture content, dry weight bases, spending more time in conversion and producing lower charcoal with higher energy spent to drive off the moisture contained in wood. As for charcoal or griddingthefeedstockshouldgenerallybewellseasoned(overthanthreemonthsisrecommended)

 The proposed project will replace the illegal spontaneous selective cutting in forest with systematic plannedcoppicingbasedonagreementswiththeruralfamiliesonthecoupearea,timeandqualityof coppicing,consideringandtheamountofsmalldimensionstreestobeusedforcharcoalproductionor griddedassourceforbioenergy 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 effectivecollaborationwithstakeholdersandgovernancestructureonalocal,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 get markets, or producing the firewood, producing the charcoal, bagging marketing and distributing the charcoal. The surviving charcoal burners are those who are skillful woodsman and charcoal producers, burners as well salesman. They can not increase their revenues because it is not easytobeinthesametimewoodmanburnersandwithsellingskills

Acharcoalcooperative

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 could establish a more effective bagging plant from where the bagged charcoal could be distributed.

EducationandRaisingAwareness
We live in a market economy and consumer choice need to be balanced by information enabling the consumertomakeaninformedchoice.Therearetwowaysthiscanbeachievedinthecaseofcharcoal orgriddingmaterials 1. Education and raising of awareness among producers and consumers thrugh environmental NGOandmedia 2. Throughcertificationproducts

Educationcanbetargetedinthreeways Generaleducationontraditionalcoppicewoodlandstheirwildlifeandheritagevalues Theimpactofrehabilitationofdegradedcoppiceforestavoidingspontaneousillegalcutting Thebenefitsoflocalproductionforlocalneedsasagreenideal

Certification
Independentcertificationofwoodproductsislikelytobecomemoreimportant.Notonlydoes this ensure the consumer and buyer that the product comes from woods managed in sustainablemannerbutitalsomaintainstheproductquality.

Thepilotprojectasdemonstrationsite:
These aim to draw together and demonstrate the most important aspects of the project and comprisetherestorationofthefirst18hectaresofhighlydegradedcoppices.Theworkerswill be identified by the Municipality and association of forest owners. The agreements will be signedwiththeinterestedfamilies.Thewoodwillbecoppicedandthewoodproducedwillbe useforcharcoalorgriddedmaterial Theecologicaleffectsofthisrevivalofcoppicemanagementwillbemonitoredbyappropriate consultants and also used to develop the most appropriate rehabilitation methodologies for morethan100thousanddegradedforestinKosovo.Theannualgrowthwillbemeasuredyear byyearandcomparedwiththeincrementonactualnonmanagedcoppiceregime.Inallcases accesswillbecreatedorenhancedforthepublicwhowillbeinformedviaNationalAssociation offorestownersnewspaper,webpage. These sites will be given high profile encouraging visits by schools, donors and community groupstoraisetheawarenessofthevalueofforestrehabilitation