Cold hardy Eucalyptus forestry in Galicia (IV): the snowy country...

Eucalyptus and Snow: More winter views of eucalypt timber plantations in Northwestern Spain

Gustavo Iglesias Trabado Contact GIT Forestry Consulting SL / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado, Roberto Carballeira Tenreiro and Javier Folgueira Lozano / GIT Forestry Consulting SL, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Lugo, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo
GIT Forestry Consulting SL - Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal - www.git-forestry.com - EUCALYPTOLOGICS


The intricate and varied topography of Galicia in Northwestern Spain means a full range of altitudinal and aspect driven climates can appear in a relatively limited geographic area. From sea level to the 1,987 metres of Pico Cuíña or the 2,127 metres of Peña Trevinca achievable in gradients of less than 150 kilometres, many tree things are possible.

We have previously seen the Coastal Rainforests of "Nova Australia", and examples of tree performance in the Tablelands of Central Galicia. But today EUCALYPTOLOGICS takes you to some of the Snowy Highlands: the Oregon Country of Northwestern Spain!



 Douglas Fir and Scots Pine Timber Crops in the Ancares Courel Nature Reserve, Highlands of Galicia / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado & Roberto Carballeira Tenreiro & Javier Folgueira Lozano / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo

Fig. 1: White landscape of the Galician Highlands, a harsh tree growing area in NW Spain. (Get your giant sized version of this for print!)


Here, between 800 and 1200 meters elevation, where winters are harsh and population has decreased significantly in the last decades, a predominant subsistance oriented agricultural system with sparse tree cover has been gradually replaced for half a century by a combination of extensive cattle grazing and timber production.

Among the first widely cultivated timber crop species in the area, an alternative to Maritime Pine (Pinus pinaster) and Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata) able to tolerate the constraining climate, is the staple timber of today: the Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris).



 Douglas Fir and Scots Pine Timber Crops in the Ancares Courel Nature Reserve, Highlands of Galicia / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado & Roberto Carballeira Tenreiro & Javier Folgueira Lozano / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo

Fig. 2: Pinus sylvestris (Scots Pine), the most common and classic tree crop in the Galician Highlands. (Click image to enlarge)

A slow growing species compared to other commonly cultivated pines in Galicia, Pinus sylvestris reaches productivities in the range of 8 to 15 m3 per hectare and year and it is managed in long rotations, with harvest cycles each 50 to 70 years depending on site quality and target timber product.

Thanks to the keen help of IUFRO and the Pacific Southwest Research Station (USFS / USDA), a promising tree species got a domestication impulse from the 1980's ahead (see Gabriel Toval et al, 1993). Since then, it has become a popular alternative to the Scots Pine for timber production in the Highlands of Galicia.



 Douglas Fir and Scots Pine Timber Crops in the Ancares Courel Nature Reserve, Highlands of Galicia / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado & Roberto Carballeira Tenreiro & Javier Folgueira Lozano / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo

Fig. 3: Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas Fir), a more recently popular faster growing tree species for timber production in the Highlands of Galicia, NW Spain.(Click the image to enlarge)

A faster growing species than Pinus sylvestris, a less demanding species than any of the locally common hardwoods for much of the ranker soils of the Highlands, and a timber species with very good potential for solid softwood products have made of the Douglas Fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii, one of the most planted species for the Galician Highlands during the last twenty years. And as such, it is known locally as "Pino de Oregón", making the wintery views of some areas in Northwestern Spain quite similar looking to those of the true Oregon Country.

But, what does all this wonderful conifer related chit chat have to do with Eucalyptus? Everybody knows eucalypts cannot grow "in Oregon"? ... Bullshit!


 Eucalyptus nitens, Douglas Fir and Scots Pine Timber Crops in the Ancares Courel Nature Reserve, Highlands of Galicia / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado & Roberto Carballeira Tenreiro & Javier Folgueira Lozano / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo

Fig. 4: Fast growing cold hardy Eucalyptus nitens (Shining Gum) outgrowing Douglas Fir at age 7. (Click the image to enlarge)

That is the main reason we are showing you today the non Eucalyptus not growing under the non snow in the Highlands of Galicia. Of course, they do not grow fast enough here to be considered a reasonable alternative for forestry production. They only outgrow every other commercial tree species cultivated in the area, hardwood or softwood.

 Eucalyptus nitens, Douglas Fir and Scots Pine Timber Crops in the Ancares Courel Nature Reserve, Highlands of Galicia / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado & Roberto Carballeira Tenreiro & Javier Folgueira Lozano / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo

Fig. 5: Example of cold hardy Eucalyptus nitens growing at over 900 metres elevation in the Highlands of Galicia (NW Spain), enduring frosts and snow every winter. (Click the image to enlarge)

The pictured examples are similar to others of cold hardy Eucalyptus growing in the snow in Northern Spain. Localy known as "Eucalipto de las heladas" (the eucalypt of the frosts), Eucalyptus nitens, the Shining Gum, is able to reach average productivities of 30 m3 per hectare per year even in such conditions, withstanding frost risk periods of up to 150 days per year, regular snowfalls and absolute minimum temperatures in the range of -10ºC.

 Eucalyptus nitens outgrowing Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas Fir) and Pinus sylvestris (Scots Pine) Timber Crops in the Ancares Courel Nature Reserve, Highlands of Galicia / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado & Roberto Carballeira Tenreiro & Javier Folgueira Lozano / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo

Fig. 6: Seven year old windbreak at +900 metres elevation in the Highlands of Galicia. Foreground, Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), 3 metres high. Background, Shining Gum (Eucalyptus nitens), up to 12 metres high. (Click the image to enlarge)

Not really that surprising, considering there are examples of a not too different mountain habitat in the harsher extremes of its native forests back in Australia, be it approaching the 1,300 metre elevation in Victoria, or be it within the 1,600 metre elevation range it reaches in the Barrington Tops of New South Wales.

 Eucalyptus nitens outgrowing Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas Fir) and Pinus sylvestris (Scots Pine) Timber Crops in the Ancares Courel Nature Reserve, Highlands of Galicia / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado & Roberto Carballeira Tenreiro & Javier Folgueira Lozano / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo

Fig. 7: Thawing snow on the foliage of frost tolerant fast growing Eucalyptus nitens. (Click image to enlarge)

Yet another example of the versatility of the very diverse genus Eucalyptus, able to become the source of plants of economic importance adaptable to almost any climate and soil on the planet. Countless examples are scattered around the world, from the sandy arid climates to the lush subtropical and tropical ones, from sea level to the treeline, from the permanent warmth of the equator, to the snowy mountains of the world.

Also in Eucalyptologics...

Cold hardy Eucalyptus nitens plantation as source of information on silviculture, wood properties, tree genetics and stand dynamics / Plantacion de eucalipto nitens resistente a la helada como fuente de informacion sobre silvicultura, propiedades de la madera, genetica forestal y modelos de crecimiento / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado & Roberto Carballeira Tenreiro & Javier Folgueira Lozano / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo


Cold hardy Eucalyptus nitens & Eucalyptus globulus frost damage assessment methodology by GIT / Método GIT para evaluacion de daños por helada a Eucalyptus nitens, Eucalyptus globulus y otras especies de eucalipto resistentes al frio / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado & Roberto Carballeira Tenreiro & Javier Folgueira Lozano / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo


Snow in a 10 year old cold hardy Eucalyptus nitens cultivated forest at 800 m above sea level in Galicia (Northwestern Spain)/ Nieve en bosque cultivado de Eucalipto nitens (Eucalipto de las heladas, Eucalipto brillante) a 800 metros de altitud en Galicia (Noroeste de España) / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado & Roberto Carballeira Tenreiro & Javier Folgueira Lozano / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo


Eucalyptus nitens coppice in Galicia, Spain / Rebrote de cepa en eucalipto nitens en Galicia, España / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado & Roberto Carballeira Tenreiro & Javier Folgueira Lozano / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo


Eucalyptus nitens flower buds blooming in Galicia, Spain / Shining Gum / Flores de Eucalipto nitens en Galicia, España / Eucalipto brillante / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado & Roberto Carballeira Tenreiro & Javier Folgueira Lozano / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo


Eucalyptus nitens timber crops in Lugo, Galicia, Spain / Cultivos de eucalipto nitens en Lugo, Galicia, España / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado & Roberto Carballeira Tenreiro & Javier Folgueira Lozano / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo


High Value Eucalyptus nitens Model Forest for veneer and sawnwood in agroforestry regime / Bosque Modelo de Eucalyptus nitens para chapa y aserrio en regimen de silvopastoreo / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado, Roberto Carballeira Tenreiro and Javier Folgueira Lozano / GIT Forestry Consulting SL, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Lugo, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo


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© 2007-2010 Gustavo Iglesias Trabado. Please contact us if you want to use all or part of this text and photography elsewhere. We like to share, but we do not like rudeness.

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