Learn more about our forests and sustainable forestry manifesto

How does EcoTree plant, maintain and cut trees?

Step 1

A sustainable forest management plan is drawn up by our foresters with the help of an expert and submitted to the CRPF (Centre régional de la Propriété forestière) for validation.

Step 2

The selected tree species are either planted in case of artificial regeneration or favoured and managed in case of natural regeneration.

Step 3

Maintenance work is carried out annually around the saplings to prevent competing vegetation from overwhelming them. Partitioning cuts are carried out in the case of a more mature forest.

Step 4

Thinnings are carried out in accordance with the specifications of the sustainable management plan, to encourage the growth of future stems.

Step 5

Mature trees are harvested and sold as timber. Their owners receive the profit. A new cycle starts again, but in the case of an irregular high-forest, the soil is never left bare.

Discover our forests

Let's avoid clear-cutting!

Clear cuts have three major consequences.

Soil erosion

Soil contained and enriched by deep roots is suddenly exposed. Without protective litter and a supply of nutrients, it loses strength. Water starts to run off the soil, which is no longer aerated by roots and microorganisms. The erosion caused makes any form of natural regeneration or planting very difficult. Pioneer tree species may be possible, but they are the least interesting for biodiversity and producing wood. It takes a long time to recover a rich ecosystem after clearcutting.

A change in climate

Soil is one of the planet's main carbon reservoirs, along with oceans and forests. When soil is exposed by clearcutting, carbon previously stored in organic form is released into the atmosphere as CO2. That’s just one reason the process is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

Weakened biodiversity

Clearcutting is a brutal and devastating disruption of a forest’s ecosystem. For its birds, insects, mammals, fungi and plants, living without shelter and food quickly becomes impossible. They all need a stable environment to thrive and maintain that strong biodiversity our planet desperately needs.

We encourage irregular high-forests and the mixing of species

If we can find examples of monospecific natural forests (the beech forest, for example), these are particular ecosystems that sustainable forestry avoids reproducing. Faced with climatic challenges, it is better to encourage a diversity of species that allow a better resilience of forest ecosystems.
Thus, in the event of an attack of pathogens, they are less harmful if they are faced with diverse species. This also promotes a wider economic potential for forestry operators and a rich biodiversity. As for irregularisation, it is a silvicultural method that consists of encouraging the growth of trees of different ages, in order to have several levels and age classes in the forest, which is good for its biodiversity and resilience. It also means avoiding clear-cutting at the end of the cycle. In some cases, however, the best solution may be to manage forests as regular high-forests. This is indeed the case, for example, of poor soils adapted for maritime pines. This species is very difficult to grow in irregular stands. In any case, our forest managers adapt to the work of nature and follow its teaching rather than trying to impose theoretical silvicultural choices on it. The forester only ever accompanies the work of nature.

No to pesticides and chemicals!

We avoid the use of any pesticide or chemical product. Our saplings are protected:

We build fences that are not intended to remain longer than the few years necessary for the trees to be strong enough to resist wild game attacks. These fences surround the entire plantation, but they can also be individual protections, installed around each shrub.

We develop dead or dry hedges – dead roots and branches that are long and thick enough to create an effective shelter or barrier. They often come from thinning or branches that fall by natural pruning.

We use trico, a natural emulsified solution of sheep's fat that we put on the trees. The grease repels deer that would happily graze on our young plants.

We do not use chemicals, which means some saplings may die within a year of being planted. That's why we always schedule one or two replanting phases to replace those saplings that do not survive.

As reservoirs of biodiversity, the health of forests concerns us all

Let's work together to help forests adapt to climate change by making them more resilient and protecting biodiversity. Let's act through sustainable forest management!

How much CO2 does the forest absorb?

On a global scale, forests store about 8 billion tons of CO2 annually. However, our global emissions were about 40.6 billion tons of CO2 in 2022, an increase of one percent compared to 2021. While forests act as carbon sinks, this alone cannot stop global warming. We must therefore combine sustainable forest management with a drastic reduction in our emissions.

What is forest biodiversity?

80% of terrestrial biodiversity is housed in forests. Yet, according to the French Biodiversity Office, only 18% of forest ecosystems were well preserved between 2013 and 2018. Even if the number of tree species is increasing, there are still black spots in France: more than half of forest plants, 17% of forest birds and 7% of forest mammals are threatened. In addition, some forest habitats (alluvial forests, peat bogs, etc.) are in a poor state of preservation. The sustainable management of forests, with the aim of preserving biodiversity, is therefore a global and national issue.

What is the commercial value of French forests?

The commercial value of the total wood harvest of the French forests is estimated at nearly 3 billion euros. The forest also produces a multitude of other goods that represent several million euros of annual sales: mushrooms, chestnuts, honey, aromatic plants, fodder, cork... The production of timber, industrial wood and energy wood is essential to the ecological transition. Our sustainable forest management is part of this dynamic that reconciles economy and ecology.

What is the surface area of French forests?

The French forest covers about one third of the French territory (17 million hectares). It is a reservoir of diverse species but also a place of reception of the public. Forests are part of our living heritage. They shape our landscapes and our history. Populations world-wide have a very strong link with their forests. Forests are also a place to raise awareness of the current climate change. This is why we are setting up educational trails in some of our forests.

Sustainable forestry is everyone's business

Learn about our sustainable, PRO SILVA approach to managing forests and our forestry commitments.