On 19.10.2022. a team of Hrvatske Šume visited the Croatian island provided for restoration within the LIFE WILDisland project in order to map the areas planned for reconstruction. Some on-site checks and measurements were carried out on some of the areas planned for renovation.
The goal is to turn 37,01 ha of the foreign, vitally weakened Euro-American poplar monoculture into a mixed forest of native species (poplar and willow). Converting the existing poplar plantation into stable mixed forests of autochthone species will increase the resilience of the forest ecosystem to biotic and abiotic factors, increase ecological value and general beneficial forest functions and increase biodiversity.
According to environmental assumptions, invasive species will be removed mechanically (manually and by machine) as long as seedlings grow strong enough to overcome invasive species (which is, depending on site conditions, approximately 3 - 5 years).
Representatives of the Hidrogradnja company joint the visit, in order to determine the optimal place for the future loading the extracted timber onto the barge for removing it from the area.
The study visits and planning have started since April and will continue until December 2022.
For more information:
Zdenko Turniški - Hrvatske Šume: Zdenko.Turniski@hrsume.hr