Guided pollards in the Basque Country (Spain) during the Early Modern Ages

Abstract

Incompatibility between the rate of forest exploitation and the voracity of production activities and the biological rhythms and growth rate of leafy species was one of the major problems facing humanity in the field of forest husbandry throughout the Modern Ages. The rate at which the demand for raw materials by the handcraft and industrial sectors grew was clearly faster than the growth rate of the various tree species themselves, causing deforestation and scarcity of raw materials to become increasingly serious problems. In the effort to ensure the sustainability of woodlands, forests and their related activities, from the 15th to the 18th century, the inhabitants of Gipuzkoa introduced a number of different forestry techniques in an attempt to achieve the highest possible level of productivity. These techniques gradually evolved over time, in accordance with the needs and priorities of economic activities and the abundance or scarcity of forest materials and resources