Beginner seeking advice for stewardship of mediterranean forest with stand of pinus pinaster

Hello!

This is my first post on permies, after having read all the threads I could find already touching on this subject:

My partner and I have just begun living on a very hilly (and partially terraced) 5 Ha plot in northeastern Spain (Catalunya). About 80% of it is forested, including a stand of Pinus pinaster along the uppermost crest of a ridge. Presumably these pines were planted as a monoculture for lumber, though they have been somewhat abandoned and now a good deal of undergrowth (strawberry tree and ericaceae) has developed too. The rest of the forest is predominantly holm oak with some mix of cork and occasional pine, too.

We have been advised by locals to cut down and sell the lumber from the stand of pines straight away, as there has been significant die-off of pines here recently, apparently due to the recent spread of a pest/blight of some kind (I believe processionary caterpillar?) combined with the stress of ever drier, hotter conditions. To be sure, these locals are advising us from a monetary point of view, as we'd be able to sell off the wood now and presumably not in the future. Our general goals are slightly different and more varied, of course - though we are still newbies to permaculture and holistic approaches to forestry, our main aim in holding the land is to minimally interfere in the forested parts of the land, only perhaps as may be appropriate to encourage biodiversity or perhaps 'undo' any ills of past monoculture plantings.

So, we're wondering if there is a good argument for cutting down some or all of this stand of pine trees, to open up a portion of the land that could be planted with a more diverse food forest, or generally promoting native species and creating more biodiversity. As we are new to it all, we don't want to be overly bold in cutting anything down unless we're confident it can be for the overall good. (And the thought of needlessly cutting down tree growth... well, it kind of makes us queasy!) Alternatively, would it be more appropriate to thin or simply leave the pines and plant other species in between, using the pines as protection for younger plants? Our general impression - again, beginner understandings - is that pines can be unwelcoming to many other species.

As the area is on an upper ridge, and a little distance from our well, it's questionable how practical any form of irrigation would be for that area, so that's a limiting factor, too. May be possible, but may be more efficient to devote those resources to other zones.

Also, as a secondary motivation, we're certainly very conscious of wildfire risks in our area, and it's our - admittedly beginner - understanding that so many drying pines could pose much more risk for spreading fire than the other forested areas around us, which are predominantly more oak and cork, for example.

I hope I expressed things clearly enough, and would be very happy to provide any further details! Thanks for reading this far, and thank you in advance for advice of any sort! What an excellent resource these forums have been already! (:

Dani, welcome to the forum.

I can't offer any advice regarding cutting trees other than what you have included in your post.

Losing those trees due to "die-off of pines here recently, apparently due to the recent spread of a pest/blight of some kind" would be a sad loss.

This "cutting down some or all of this stand of pine trees, to open up a portion of the land that could be planted with a more diverse food forest, or generally promoting native species and creating more biodiversity." sounds like a good thing.

I like the idea of making a food forest with native species.

I hope others will chime in with their suggestions.

Hi Anne,

Thanks so much for your reply!

We haven't taken any action yet, wanting to be as cautious and as well-informed as possible before cutting anything of course. In the meantime, these forums have been of invaluable help on so many relevant subjects! (: Keeping our feelers out for the best course re: the pines....

D

I just wanted to offer an update in case anyone finds this post and is wondering about how things turned out, as reference for their own projects. Ultimately, the key was to connect with local like-minded folks experienced and quite expert in local species and local forests. We learned that, yes, the high incidence of insect attack on pines makes it likely that the pine stands will be largely reduced or wiped out. However, since our objectives aren't so narrowly profit-focused as some of our neighbors, we can best to serve the needs of the ecosystem, alongside our own, by doing a little selective felling and otherwise letting the forest continue. So, as to our own needs: As we're fixing up an old house which needs many roof-beams replaced, we can source some of those from the limited number of pine (Pinus pinaster) that we cut. (We'll engage the services of a great ecologically-minded carpenter who can bring his saws for on-site milling and let it dry on the property.)
As for the future of this part of the forest, we'll let the pines have their chance - in fact it seems some local spider species are starting to pop up as potential predators of the newly-arrived insects responsible for all the recent pine die-off. Maybe they will catch up. Or otherwise, we'll harvest gradually for firewood, which is the intended heat source for the house.
And if there's some form of food forest potential, we'll gradually educate ourselves on the best species, should the selective felling open up new areas of interest where planting is the best course. Otherwise, we're happy to let the thinning of the pine simply let the forest balance swing back towards the mix of oak, cork oak, madrono and more, which is after all what would have been growing here before someone less than a generation back decided to monoculture the big stands of pine. Much better to reduce forest fire spread!
Of course.. if anyone out there has read this far and has any thoughts or advice, we're all ears! So grateful for this community!