Forest Ownership Centre conducts training for forest rangers on carbon capture, wildfire prevention in Catalonia; first session held in El Montmell with 26 rangers focuses on Aleppo pine forest management

By Teresa Baiges Zapater and Rina Tsubaki.

Change doesn’t happen overnight. To facilitate the shift toward healthier forests that store more carbon and restore biodiversity, it is vital to work closely with the people who manage, use and work with forests.

To share scientific insights and knowledge with those who have the power to influence forest management in the field, a set of training sessions have been designed by the Forest Ownership Centre (CPF), a forest administration in Catalonia, to address “multipliers” such as forest professionals and other public forest workers who work hand in hand with small private forest owners in the region. The first session took place in El Montmell, a village in the Tarragona province, for a group of 26 forest rangers. The training took place in an Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) forest to show how sustainable forest management can help capture more carbon and reduce CO₂ emissions while preventing wildfires. The site is an area partly affected by a wildfire in 1976 that has since grown back naturally and now consists of a dense cover of Aleppo pine regeneration. These young forests are especially at risk of burning again, and repeated fires can cause permanent tree and soil loss. Forest management can lower this risk by reducing excess biomass and helping stronger trees grow faster and produce seeds in a shorter cycle. This approach prevents fires, enhances the chances of tree recovery in case of a new fire and helps capture more carbon from the atmosphere.

The training started with the scientific insights on the discussion, “Why should we manage forests?” in the context of adult pine stands and young post-fire tree regenerated stands. The group then explored the Materoloscope tool to assess biomass and carbon sequestration as well as the estimation of avoided CO2 emissions due to lowering fire risk. The participants also learned about carbon voluntary markets as a new value chain for small private forest owners, with the new Climate Credit System as a specific example in Catalonia.

Teresa Baiges Zapater from CFP views these activities as a crucial element for the successful implementation of sustainable forest management practices on the ground. “In the INFORMA project, we have learnt that if science is to be more impactful, we should be better at identifying and engaging powerful stakeholders that can break barriers and change mindsets. That is why we believe that the ‘INFORMA train the trainers’ activities foreseen in the project are a key milestone to provide real on-the-ground change”, says a forest and agriculture engineer with 25 years of research and field experience.

This training followed earlier field work in January 2025, where INFORMA project partners visited the Marteloscope site of Quercus pubescens in the Girona province with colleagues from a Horizon2020-funded FORADVISE project that is creating a new European network of forest extension organisations.

Despite the rain, INFORMA partners demonstrated how the Marteloscope is used in the project to shift away from the current forest management focus on firewood production. In particular, oak trees in the fertile valley areas of Catalonia have much greater potential, as they can be turned into longer-life products that store carbon for many years, ranging from wine barrels to building beams.

Looking ahead to October, another joint training within the ‘INFORMA train the trainers’ series is planned with another EU-funded HOLISOILS project in the Pinus nigra Marteloscope site in la Ribera Salada in the Lleida province, an area managed by CPF. There, public and private forest professionals will learn more about the impact of forest management on soil carbon, and the work carried out by the INFORMA partner, KU Leuven, will be portrayed.