Atios Community Forest: Walking Towards the Diversification of the Forest
The Community of Common Ownership Mountain Commons of Atios, located in the parish of the same name in the municipality of Porriño (Pontevedra), has an area of 333.14 hectares, of which 12 per cent (22.64 hectares) are covered by native broadleaves. This community woodland attests to its sustainable forest management through FSC and PEFC certification within the Selga group.
Within the objectives of social use and environmental improvement of the woodland, and making use of the resources provided by the cultivated eucalyptus and pine stands, the Atios Community is committed to expanding the area dedicated to native broadleaves by planting chestnut and oak trees. The aim of these plantings is not to change the type of forest production, but rather to promote diversity within the community woodland, obtain an additional resource with chestnut production, create fuel breaks to make the spread of fires more difficult, as well as enrich the landscape.
Once the final clearances scheduled in the special plan of the planning instrument have been carried out, several areas will be selected where the natural regeneration of broadleaves will be promoted, assisted by replanting where deemed necessary. Some of the plants used in the plantings will come from a small nursery owned by the Community.
These actions continue the lines of work agreed by the community members, in which environmental conservation is very much present, demonstrating the growing environmental awareness among the parishioners. As an example, consider the work commissioned by this Community for the phytosanitary treatment of the “Freixo de Alvarín”, an 85-year-old specimen included in the “Catálogo de árbores senlleiras” that was showing signs of decline. Faced with the bureaucratic hurdles in getting the local authority to take charge of the tree's treatment, the community members took the initiative and hired an expert to ensure this ash tree received the necessary care.
