FOREST REGULATION AND YIELD 137 



FOREST REGULATION AND YIELD 



Rotation. ^ The first plan for the Marmano forest (i860) 

 fixed the rotation for Corsican pine at 125 years, but this was 

 established not on the rate of growth, but rather on the regen- 

 eration requirements and was admittedly transitory. In 1890 

 the rotation for the forest of Aitone was still 160 years, and in 

 1855 the working-plans officer^" wrote: 



"The growth of the Corsican pine is vigorous up to 100 

 or 120 years; it will stand quite a long time further before 

 showing marked signs of declining vigor at 160 or 180 years. 

 It is at this age only that the tree commences to have a little 

 sapwood and to be valuable for trade; it should be cut before 

 200 years to have sound material. A hundred and sixty 

 years will be just a normal rotation for the Corsican pine." 



The first rotation established for the Valdoniello forest was 1 20 

 years. The results of these short rotations, 120 to 160 years, 

 have proved unsatisfactory. They have resulted in overcutting; 

 insufficient time has been allowed for the growth of trees to a 

 merchantable size, and trees after 120 years are in most cases 

 occasionally liable to complete destruction by fire. From the 

 year 1907 all the rotations for Corsican pine have been placed 

 at 360 years,^^ the time, it is estimated, a tree reaches 0.00 to 

 I metre (o to 3 feet) in diameter; but counting rotations in 

 force before 1907 they vary from 240 to 360 years. It is 

 claimed that trees of this size must be furnished by federal or 

 communal forests to supply the demand for large timbers. 



On account of the rough and mountainous character of the 

 higher ridges there is usually in each forest a protection block 

 where no definite rotation can be applied. According to the 

 Aitone working plan, dated Nov. 30, 1907, no rotation is given 

 for the Corsican pine because ..." their preservation on 



^ Bavella working plan, Jan. 6, 1855, Part III. 



*' This is probably the longest official rotation for a conifer on record; judging 

 from the few stump analyses made this rotation is at least a century or a century 

 and a half too long; owing to past overcutting the French deemed it a wise 

 policy to increase the growing stock by using long rotations. This decision was 

 backed up by the demand for large-sized trees and because of the greater immu- 

 nity of such trees from fire. 



