Environmental analyses of Eucalyptus globulus trees in Galicia

The current state of the Eucalyptus globulus (Tasmanian blue gum) tree cultivated in Galicia (region situated in North-West of Spain) points out more then one alarming fact. There is a chain of consequences that begins from the moment the eucalyptus tree is planted; there is no control over its extensive and unplanned spreading throughout the landscape, the forests aremissing proper management, the frequent threat of wildfires and subsequent soil erosion is a consistent problem, and there is ecosystem degradation and a loss of biodiversity. These are just the most important problems linked to the intensively replanted E. globulus tree, because the consequences are affecting the whole environment, as well as the social welfare and economic situation. This enormous topic offers me all of the mentioned facts and a very rich amount of quality references to support them , which are used for the presentation of the actual situation in the methodology chapter. The following chapter of potential solutions indicates that fire prevention is a priority, and then explains how to proceed after the fire occurs depending on the scale of the production site. The next measures are focused on the introduction of native trees and bush species, increasing of biodiversity and general environmental quality at frequently used eucalyptus production sites. Considerable attention is given to land management as a fire prevention tool on a wide scale, therefore outside of the production site, and also how to refresh rural life and its economy, because the rural environment is the key area for eucalyptus cultivation and the related threat of fire ignition. So, the whole concept of this thesis paper is to explore and introduce the problems, characterize the study area and discuss the methods and application of already existing measures and treatments, which should increase environmental conditions, improve social welfare and explore the alternative modern methods of silviculture practices designed for timber and non-timber production.