Almost two years after the major fires in Gironde, the Alliance Forêt bois cooperative is preparing to launch reforestation operations. On the occasion of the assembly of the Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne section in Préchac on Wednesday June 12, president Édouard Bentéjac and director Stéphane Viéban take stock of the replanting of the massif.
8,000 hectares of forest belonging to Alliance Forêt bois burned in 2022.
Guillaume Bonnaud/South West
How many hectares of pine trees managed by your cooperative burned in the Gironde fires in 2022?
SV Of the 30,000 hectares that burned, 8,000 belong to Alliance members, in South-Gironde and Médoc.
EB This is considerable. But unfortunately we are used to it. For storm Klaus in 2009, 200,000 hectares were destroyed. Alliance has almost reforested half of it. This is one of the strengths and reasons for being of the cooperative: managing daily life and mobilizing during crises.
What is the shortfall for owners?
EB On mature wood, even if it was cut a little earlier than expected, overall, the member owner is fine. The shortfall, however, is greater in young stands. At less than 10 or 12 years old, the wood was not marketable, it was a dead loss on a good third of the burned surface.
SV This wood was crushed and sold to fuel large boilers. This brought nothing to the owners, but it helped finance the removal of these small pieces of wood.
EV We must add the future loss of capital from intermediate wood around twenty years old which has not been brought to maturity and valued as it should have been. We are on a ratio of one to four between the 20 year old pine and the 40 year old pine.
Have you started reforesting?
SV We had to wait because of the risk of the hylobe. It is a pine pest naturally present in the forest. When we cut pine, it remains present in the stumps. And if we plant right after, these little insects come and suck the sap from the new plants and cause them to die in the event of a major attack. You need a crawl space of at least one to two years. The major reforestation campaign will start in the fall of 2024.
What does the work consist of?
EB The first job is to use the Landes roller to finish breaking the branches and stumps. Then we will plow in strips, or around 40% of the plot. Then we will crumble and finally plant by hand 20 cm high plants in a row, spaced 1.80 meters apart.
How many plants does this represent on these 8,000 hectares managed by Alliance?
EB We plant between 1,200 and 1,400 plants per hectare. This will represent almost 10 million trees. The plants are produced in our nurseries and come from our seed orchards with the best possible genetic quality for our members. That is to say VF3. “V” for vigor with growth of 35 to 40 years to reach maturity. “F” for shape: they are more rectilinear. Given the curvature of maritime pine, we saw in 2 or 2.50 m. Our objective is to develop the production of 4 m lumber with straighter trees to attack very valuable international markets. “3” means third generation.
What financial assistance do you receive?
EB As part of the France 2030 recovery plan, the State has decided to provide 80% assistance to affected foresters for reforestation operations.
SV This is the first time that the State has financed a reforestation plan after a fire. This includes soil preparation, cost of plants and plot maintenance. These are very complex files to put together, owner by owner, plot by plot. This represents aid of 10 million euros for Alliance members.
Voices are being raised against pine monoculture. Are you replanting differently?
EB With fires like those we experienced in 2022, everything burns. We plant what grows. But in the Landes, apart from pine, not much grows. On the other hand, we pay attention when replanting to respect environmental elements such as riverine forests. They are preserved if they were not destroyed in the fire. Otherwise, we replant with deciduous trees in the main stream bed.
SV We also recommend deciduous borders at the edge of the plot. Volunteer owners can be supported in this process by the Plantons pour l’avenir endowment fund.
When will we return to the landscapes before the fire?
EB Within twelve or thirteen years. After the first thinning, we will start to have something that resembles a forest landscape.
