Forest Operations Sustainability: an overview on traditional coppices.

Nowadays the concept of Sustainability has become fundamental according to the modern needs of Society. Despite the easy meaning of the general definition, a sustainable approach implies a multitude of complex interactions between economic, environmental and social interests. Research activities must take into account these different interests, and modern studies aim to give answers regarding the achievement of all the functions of forests. Wood production must be guaranteed together with ecosystems functionality and workers’ health and safety. In this context, it is important to evaluate how the traditional Italian management of coppice forests answers to these requirements. The aim of this contribution was to illustrate some results on different aspects of Forest Operations Sustainability of coppice with standards, and to show possible relations. Different topics were analysed in coppice stands: i) analysis of the environmental impacts related with common forest operations for firewood production through Life Cycle Assessment; ii) physical impacts on soil due to forest operations, considering the effects of both the silvicultural treatment on the entire surface and the effects of trafficking on compacted tracks; iii) forest workers exposure to wood dust and exhaust fumes in motor-manual felling and processing by chainsaw; iv) cost analysis of forest operations in Tuscany. This work, thanks to each contribution on different aspects of Forest Operations Sustainability, will give an overall view on the performance of traditional coppice under different perspectives, highlighting how this historical method of forest management is still valid in Europe.