The plantation
Managing the forest is nothing less than preserving the coark-oak and holm oak plantations and ensuring its renewal. There are three advantages in maintaining this activity: revenues from the cork provided by the plantation of coark-oaks (about 200 ha), an extensive food supply for the cattle (from late Autumn to mid-January) and wood for the winter, coming from the pruning system and the cleaning of branches.
The maintenance is made with the help of the cattle, that feeds in the nearby pastures and eats the tree fruits (coark-oak fruits and holm acorns), clearing up the land and allowing the trees to grow. On the other hand, there is a natural fertilisation of the trees provided by the organic manure of these animals.
The maintenance of the highest branches is made with the help of external subcontractors.
Every nine years, the cork harvesting is done, which has an exponential value for our exploitation. Nonetheless, in 2054 we will have the first harvesting of a coark-oak forest with approximately 200 ha that was planted in 1994.