Presentation by Didier Pischedda

1. Didier PISCHEDDA
EFFORTE
Final seminar - Helsinki
June 2019

2. Office National des Forêts : Key figures
Public institution found in 1966
with industrial and commercial character.
ONF manage 4.7 millions ha in France
(26 % of national forest surface)
and 8 millions ha in French overseas departments
 State Forests : 1,8 M ha
 Communities Forests (11 500) : 2,9 M ha
In France: 6 Territorial Directions,
50 territorial agencies
and 387 Territorials Units
 9 583 persons among whom 3 144 forest workers
Species in public forests :
2/3 broadleaves (mainly Oak and Beech,… )
1/3 coniferous (10 commercial species)

3. The 3 pillars of sustainable development
 Economic efficiency
• Timber sales : 16,9 Mm3 (8,3 Mm3 from State Forest and 8,6 Mm3 from Communities Forest)
- 60 % sales of standing timber (on roots - blocksales)
- 40 % sales of round timber (on roadside)
Where 3,7 Mm3 are Supplying contrats with forest industri
• Harvesting contracts (manual or mechanized) : mostlig pluriannual
– 1 year contract x 4 or 4 years contract
– 1 500 forest entrepreneurs working of ONF
 Environnemental performance
• Forest managment document – Historical basis of ONF expertise
(since an Ordonnance of 1669 and the French Forestry Code of 1827)
• PEFC certification for states forests (the first one in 2002)
• Definition of an Environmental Policy in 2006 and stated in 5 major thematics :
- Biodiversity Water
- Soil Landscape Eco-responsability
 Responsabilities toward society and Missions of General Interest
• Public welcome with appropriate infrastructures (200 millions visits / year in public forest)
• Protection against natural hazards: avalanches, rock falls, torrential floods, landslides, erosion,
• Prevention against forest fires
• Management of coastal dunes

4. SOILS CONTEXT IN FRANCE
Soils protection awareness started after the great storm
of december 1999
Soils sensitivity for compaction was defined by PROSOL
project (2009) in relation with 2 main factors:
 Soil texture
 Soil water content
Sol sec Sol frais Sol humide
Nappe d'eau
présente
sur 50 cm de
profondeur
à moins de 50 cm
de la surface
Sol très
caillouteux
(Elmts Grossiers
≥ 50 %)
Sol très sableux
(Sable ≥ 70 %)
Argile dominante
Limon dominant
et sable limoneux
Etat d'humidité
Texture

5. SOILS CONTEXT IN FRANCE
French public forests specificities :
Mostlig siltig soils or clay soils
=> very sensitive soils for heavig machines when humid
Dynamic sylviculture with harvesting/tynning each 8 or 10 year
(since the forestgrowth is from 8 to 18m3/ha/year)
=> Forest soil have no time for recovering
Our conlusion is to set up permanent skidtrails nett
(during the whole forest rotation and more)
=> It’s then crucial to maintain machin trafic on skidtrails over the time

6. SOILS CONTEXT IN FRANCE
When soil sensitivity is known and skidtrail installed,
the next question is :
How long skidtrail will resist machin compaction
when it’s rainning ?
We though that the answer has to reflect a common
responsability between foresters and machin entreprenors
2011/12 and 2017/18 were very rainy winters :
 A lot of harvesting stop in forests
 => Problems with timber flow to sawmills
French project PRATIC’SOLS (with entrepreneur union)
=> Skidtrails praticability
and EU project EFFORTE : WP Evolution of watercontent
under skidtrail (R&D) was very complementary

7. SOILS CONTEXT IN FRANCE
EFFORTE results :
WP1: Soils mechanic and trafficability
Results give us better arguments to better organize harvesting site in a
sustaibable way
FCBA measured that machine ground pressur can be different between
front and back axles of machines.
Machine ground pressure is not only : machin weigth /contact surface
=> These results have to be communicated to machin
constructors to work on optimal design
Big data Applications
These application let us see what we can implement in a neaufuture in our
information system
=> ONF is positiv for futher development in french context,
taking account results from WP1

8. Didier PISCHEDDA
EFFORTE
Final seminar – Helsinki
Thank you
June 2019