Regional Directorate for Forest Resources promotes internal training within the scope of the LIFE IP CLIMAZ project

Sept. 7, 2023

Last May, the Regional Directorate for Forest Resources, within the scope of the LIFE IP CLIMAZ project, organised a demonstration action of one of the two pieces of thermal weeding equipment acquired at the end of 2022 under the LIFE IP CLIMAZ project (LIFE19 IPC/PT/000004), coordinated by the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change.

The demonstration, which took place at the Viveiro do Nordeste Recreational Forest Reserve, was aimed at several DRRF personnel and supported by both São Miguel operational services and a member of the company that supplied the machines.

Under the Regional Programme for Climate Change (PRAC), one of the main targets for the forestry sector is the control of invasive alien species. It is a very challenging objective because these species are found not only in forests but also in gardens and roadsides. Roadside invasives are a major source of dispersal, both through living beings and through the wheels of vehicles travelling along the roads all over the island.

Some of the invasive species in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, in addition to their degree of dispersal, have highly aggressive forms of dispersal, which is why their control has only been effective using more violent methods, namely chemical methods to control and eradication.

Bearing in mind the urgent need to reduce the dispersal of these species and to find new, more ecological and efficient methods of control, sub-action C8.4 "Pilot/demonstration project for the use of thermal weeding to control invasive species" was drawn up under LIFE IP CLIMAZ.

This action is a complement to sub-actions 8.2 "Conversion of common lands pasture areas into natural forest areas" and 8.3 "Conversion of invaded barren forest into native forest". It aims to select the most suitable methods for controlling invasive species along rural and forest paths under the administration of the Regional Directorate for Forest Resources, namely using thermal weeding equipment.

Find more about this project at www.lifeipclimaz.eu.