Restoration of selective beech coppices: A case study in the Apennines (Italy)

The coppice selection system is a special type of management of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) coppice practiced in mountain regions of Italy until the first half of the 20th century. The improvement of social and economic conditions within mountain communities and the progressive shift from an intensive use of the forests towards a protective policy led to the conversion of many beech coppices into high stands. Among abandoned coppices we can still find some that exhibit the typical features of the coppice selection system. Where the locally predominant forest type is beech coppice in transition to high forest, a widespread and fairly homogeneous ecosystem in the Apennines between Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, the restoration of the coppice selection system can have a role in maintaining and improving both landscape and ecological diversity. This work evaluates the possibility of restoring this silvicultural system on selective beech coppices that are in a state of prolonged silvicultural abandonment. The first cutting treatment of the restoration procedure has been tested in permanent sample plots. Dendrometric characteristics of the stands are analysed and results on the silvicultural and production aspects of this first cutting treatment are presented. Due to the increase of standing volume during the period of silvicultural abandonment, firewood production resulting from this first cut is generally high.