Diapositiva 1

1
CHARCOAL PRODUCTION IN SUNART (Scotland) AND
VALVESTINO (Italy) The legacy of traditional
crafts and silvicultural systems
In the context of the European Leader
Initiative, SKILLS IN THE COMMUNITYUtilizing
Woodlands is a transnational cooperation project
between LAG Whelk Leader and GAL Garda Valsabbia
being delivered by the Sunart Oakwoods Initiative
and Consorzio Forestale della Valvestino
During recent decades, the Lombardy Region has
promoted and supported the creation of forestry
consortiums based upon partnership between public
and private woodland owners. These forestry
consortiums are legally recognised bodies and
they play an active role in the management of
publicly-owned woodlands.
The Sunart Oakwoods Initiative (SOI) covers the
peninsulas of Morvern and Ardnamurchan in a
relatively remote area of the west coast of
Scotland.
It began to take shape in 1996 and is an active
partnership between local communities and local
agencies (namely Forestry Commission Scotland,
Scottish Natural Heritage, Highland Council, and
Lochaber Enterprise). From the beginnings of the
project, a key aim has been to maximise the
contribution that sustainable management of
woodlands can make to the local economy, by
helping to provide jobs directly through forestry
and environmental management, and via enhanced
tourism facilities.
In this context, in December 2000, the Consorzio
Forestale della Valvestino (CFV) was set up as an
association between private woodland owners,
local agencies (including Alto Garda Natural
Park, Comunità Montana Valle Sabbia, 5
Municipalities) and woodland sector
entrepreneurs, in order to develop solutions to
local rural land management needs in one of the
most socio-economically challenged areas of the
region.
Both areas have their own distinctive local
cultures and display a long history of
silvicultural management and use of local timber,
which is still kept alive (to varying degrees) by
a handful of small farmers, craftspeople and
woodworkers.
The production of charcoal by rotational coppice
of broadleaved woodland is a tradition shared by
the study areas in Valvestino (N. Italy) and
Sunart (W. Scotland).
WHY WAS CHARCOAL MANUFACTURED IN THE PAST?
Charcoal-making involved the whole family,
requiring them to inhabit temporary woodland
sites for the length of the charcoal-making
period.
The charcoal-making process made it possible to
reduce the weight and the volume of raw material,
thereby facilitating its transport.
Towards the end of the 18th century, the
industrial demand for charcoal as a fuel starts
increasing, particularly for use in iron
smelting, in brick furnaces, and in lime kilns.
Availability of low-cost manual labour
Reduced cost of transport
AVERAGE CALORIFIC VALUE OF CHARCOAL
High market demand
The most suitable tree species are those that
grow from lower altitudes right up to the montane
zone Quercus, Ostrya, Fraxinus, Robinia, Fagus.
Increased calorific value compared with fuelwood
Access to suitable woodlands for management
The most appropriate woodlands are those with
trees of average diametre lt10 cm. This small raw
material is typical of short-rotation coppice.
CHARCOAL
GREEN WOOD (40 MOISTURE)
DRY WOOD (12 MOISTURE)
FUEL TYPE
In Scotland the major charcoal species was Oak
(Quercus petraea) and the main market was for use
in iron smelting during the late eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. During this period Oak
woodlands throughout the west coast of Scotland
were intensively managed for charcoal and tanbark
production, and many of the remaining woodlands
in the Sunart area date from this period of
'industrial' charcoal production.
SCOTTISH EXPERIENCE
ITALIAN EXPERIENCE
Today, throughout the Leader area, the cultural
heritage surrounding charcoal production only
survives through two old people. Research was
undertaken to assess the economic viability of
charcoal production through the traditional
Poiat technique using present-day conversion
ratios and prices from local markets. The
analysis of retail prices demonstrates that the
value added to the raw material clearly makes the
coaling process advantageous.
The woods of the Sunart area (Morvern
Ardnamurchan) are now some of the most important
woods in the UK from a biodiversity perspective,
and are of European significance as recognised by
the Natura 2000 network. The traditional methods
of charcoal production and associated woodland
management techniques are no longer practised in
Scotland, but are of great interest to
researchers and forest managers from the Sunart
Oakwoods Initiative who are working to restore
and expand these important habitats.
An in-depth study of the historical usage and
management of the Sunart woodlands, using only
archival and archeaological evidence, has
revealed how widespread and important charcoal
production has been in shaping these woodlands.
However, calculating the conversion costs of the
coaling process shows that, in a modern context,
its small scale of operation (Consorzio
Forestale) for a local market is anachronistic
and uneconomic. The whole operation results in a
net return, expressed in terms of manual labour
rates, of 5.56/hour.
Over recent years members of Morvern Community
Woodlands have been developing a modern
small-scale charcoal production technique using a
'retort kiln'. This insulated metal structure is
designed to produce charcoal more quickly and
effectively under the cool wet conditions of the
west coast of Scotland. Wood (currently Fraxinus,
Acer, Rhododendron) is sealed into the body of
the kiln and a fire is lit underneath. When a
critical temperature is reached within the kiln,
the exhaust gases are expelled through a pipe on
the underside of the kiln.
These flammable gases are directed into the fire
below the kiln helping to further accelerate the
fire and completing the carbonisation of the wood
inside. The whole process of 'firing' can take
place over a period of 3-4 hours, rather than the
period of around 24 hours for a more traditional
burn. It is hoped that this technique can be
further developed to add value to small roundwood
and thinnings from silvicultural operations
within native woodlands. With each burn producing
over 50 kg of charcoal, Morvern Community
Woodlands expects to find a niche market for
their product among both local people and
tourists visiting the increasingly well-known
Sunart Oakwoods.
CONCLUSIONS
With the assistance of EU Leader both areas are
working in collaboration to share their skills
and knowledge, and to begin to develop possible
future markets and modern techniques for coppice
fuelwood and charcoal, in the hope of maintaining
and reviving a tradition of active sustainable
management of broadleaved woodland, to the
benefit of both rural communities and European
biodiversity.
Gary Servant, Ken Henesy, Jake Willis - Sunart
Oakwoods Initiative Sgilean na Coille Project,
Arainn Shuaineirt Strontian PH36 4JA (Scotland)
www.sunartoakwoods.org.uk www.sgileannacoille.org
.uk Michele Capretti, Nicola Gallinaro, Elisa
Carturan GAL Garda Valsabbia - Consorzio
Forestale della Valvestino Loc. Cluse Turano di
Valvestino (BS) www.galgardavalsabbi
a.it www.consorzioforestalevalvestino.com