Management models evaluation of a castanea sativa coppice in the northeast of Portugal

The coppice is a very flexible system, producing wood with small, medium or large dimensions. At the present, logs with small dimension don’t have the recent past demand. Thus, it’s necessary to improve the management of the existent coppice stands through the application of appropriate silvicultural models. In this trial we adapted the models proposed by Bourgeois (1992). With the application of these models we intended to produce wood material of the three referred dimensions and to quantify the growth, trying to demonstrate the economical advantage of the larger dimensions model. In spite of that, the choice of the production objective must result from a compromise between the suitable technical (attaining site conditions) and the best economical options.