Temperate silviculture module

By Thibault Gosset, Guillaume Hugues, Zoé Pensis and Salvatore Pirronitto

In the final year of the master's degree in "Forest and natural space management", a study tour is organised as part of the silvicultural itinerary course within the temperate silviculture module. This year, a trip through the Vosges, Alsace and finally to the Rhineland-Palatinate cantonment (Germany) was on the agenda.

Through the public and private forests, from the mountains of the Vosges Mountains to the plains of Colmar, to brave bad weather or enjoy the sun, our brigade was composed of four students, the forestry professor, Mr. Hugues Claessens, and his assistant, Mr. Gauthier Ligot. For a week, various actors from the world of forestry welcomed us with open arms to help us discover their pride and particularities of the region. 

After observing recruit management after the Christmas storms of 1999, participating in a hammering operation to irregularize the forest, meeting the private owners of the IDF (Institute for Forest Development) forest group in their passion for walnut, we discovered the majestic Wagenbourg pines and Douglas fir forestry. 

The week ended with a meeting with Mr Georg Wilhelm, author of the book on the forestry method "qualification - dimensioning". This method can have great potential in dealing with climate change by being as close as possible to natural cycles. 

This week was therefore an opportunity to see atypical forests in comparison with Belgium and to discover management methods that can be used in the rest of our career. 

Despite some obstacles, this road trip was an opportunity for discussions, debates in an extracurricular setting and the creation of links around the discovery of landscapes and local and artisanal gastronomy. After the effort of the birch days, sprinkled with mushroom picking, the comfort took the form of a good glass of pinot noir, ending on the weekend with a visit to a wine cellar.

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