188 FORESTRY IN THE LANDES 



On the Lacanau (Gironde) State Forest the dune protection strip, 

 according to the current working plan, is 2,625 feet wide where only 

 the dead and dying trees are cut. In the State Forest of Carcans 

 (Gironde) the protective zone is classified into three distinct parts and 

 the growth of the dune forests as you approach the ocean (east to west) 

 is similar to the decrease in growth as you near the limit of tree growth 

 in the mountains: (1) The littoral zone of mere shrubs which is 535 to 

 1,322 feet wide. (2) A zone of badly formed trees of no commercial 

 value, of slow growth and open formation. (3) A third zone where the 

 stand is sufficiently dense to be tapped but which is maintained without 

 tapping as a protective barrier. It is very significant that these trees 

 which are exposed in part to the rigors of the ocean winds are not tapped 

 at all but are maintained exclusively as a protective zone. 



Silvicultural Systems. Next to the protection working group (which 

 is in the shape of a long strip five-eighths of a mile parallel to the ocean) 

 additional working groups (in strips) are laid out from west to east. 

 These are treated as high forests by the shelterwood compartment 

 system with the usual seed fellings and secondary fellings omitted, since 

 regeneration is easy by clear cutting without the necessity of seed trees 

 or the shelter of a portion of the mature stand. The seed is furnished by 

 the tops of the felled trees. The normal compartment is 247 acres 

 which may be leased for tapping or sold for cutting as a unit or in as 

 many as four sub-units, especially if because of dunes or previous fires 

 the character of the timber differs. Final cutting is clear for the unit. 

 All tops are lopped out and left or scattered to lie flat on the ground to 

 assist reseeding. Before felling all underbrush and seedlings are felled 

 flat for the same purpose. The cover of moss, needles, limbs, and 

 brush prevents any movement of the sand before the pine seed has a 

 chance to sprout. Under this procedure natural reseeding nearly always 

 occurs. On areas in which it fails sowing is done. Because of sod, high- 

 water table, etc., natural seeding is frequently not so successful in the 

 private forests. Sowing there may be broadcast or in plowed strips. 

 Planting is also done extensively, largely with seedlings collected from 

 nearby stands. Grazing is not permitted for about four years after 

 sowing or planting on private areas. Immediately around Arcachon 

 the maritime pine is under the selection system and is kept entirely cleared 

 of undergrowth, since it is maintained as a sort of pleasure park for 

 tourists. In the nearby forest of La Teste some clear cutting was 

 practiced entirely too near the sea and after two years the regeneration 

 had only partially succeeded. It would have been much better to have 

 left a protective zone of virgin timber for seed, since clear cutting 

 close to the sea is always dangerous, especially with the current fire 

 danger. 



