SIMWOOD - Castile and León, Spain

Castile and León, Spain

SIMWOOD activities

Regional contacts

Universidad de Valladolid
Felipe Bravo ()

Focus on Castile and León

Read the feature in SIMWOOD's July 2015 newsletter

Find out about:

SIMWOOD's work in the region
the Regional Learning Labs in Urbion Model Forest and Páramos y Valles
the Castile and León pilot projects
the Forestry Sector Mobilisation Programme of Castilla y León, 2014-2022

Regional news

02.05.2017	Clarear montes alimenta a los níscalos [Thinning increases the production of milkcaps (Lactarius deliciosus) in northern Spain], Diario da Valladolid
24.04.2016	El I+D+i que preserva los bosques, Diario Palentino.es
05.2014	La Universidad de Valladolid investiga soluciones para el aprovechamiento sostenible de la madera, Boletín Desarrollo Sostenible en Castilla y León, Número 7
16.01.2014	El aprovechamiento sostenible de la madera mediante el proyecto SIMWOOD
2013	SIMWOOD: soluciones para el aprovechamiento de madera de manera sostenible

About Castile and León

Area: 94,200 km2
Population: 2.5 million
Forest area: 4.8 million ha
Private forests: 2.9 million ha (60% of total)
Private forest owners: 400,000 - 500,000
Forest type: Pyrenean oak forest; Mediterranean evergreen oak forest; Mediterranean pine forest; Mediterranean and Anatolian Black pine forest; Mediterranean and Anatolian Scots pine forest; plantations of site and non-site native species

Specific situation

Timber and firewood production is 10 million m3.
Important wood-based industrial sector, especially primary manufacturing (awmills, logging plywood, pulp, biomass) with high share of by-products.
Three species account for 85% of felling: Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and poplar (Populus sp.).
Main forest functions are forest production (wood and non-wood forest products), carbon sequestration, conservation (biodiversity, geomonuments), tourism and protection (water, soil).

Main challenges

Small size ownership
Increasingly weak forestry sector: consulting, forest workers, wood industry
Lack of investment in management plans due to low wood productivity, dependency of regional government

Regional initiatives

Regional forest resources mobilisation programme
Regional Bioenergy programme
Private Forest Owners Federation of Forestry Associations (FAFCYLE)
Professional forestry association in Castile and Leon (PROFOR)
Regional Forest Plan

Find us from

EU flag
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 613762.