Resin is a natural product that has multiple applications and is highly demanded in the chemical industry. As a non-timber forest product, exploitation of the abundant pine resin in Tunisian forests (50% of the forest area) can contribute to a bioeconomy and can generate additional income for forest populations.
Within the framework of the European project SustForest Plus for the revival of gemmaging in Europe, the Centre Régional de la Propriété Forestière de Nouvelle-Aquitaine has commissioned the technological institute Forest Cellulose Wood and Furniture to analyse the impact of resin extraction on the technological characteristics of pine wood (mechanical properties, drying, aesthetics, etc).
In 2008, we installed 14 mushroom inventory plots of 100 m2 size in Pinus pinaster forests. The plots were selected to include a range of geographical features (altitude, slope, aspect) as well as variation in tree density and basal area in the conservation area of Poblet. A second set of plots were installed in 2009 paired to the first set of plots. The second set of plots was thinned removing 26 to 77% of the basal area. Mushroom yields were monitored on a weekly basis in the Autumn Season of the years 2008 to 2010 to analyze the effects of forest thinning on the yields of ...