The use of cork oak in the ecological and landscape restoration of the Latium Hills

The cork oak (Quercus suber L.) is a western Mediterranean speciesfrequently found in Italy along the Tyrrhenian coast and on the islands.
Its economic importance is well known, but the species is also
ecologically precious. Notably, in fact, it is extremely resistant to
forest fires.
Because of its properties a project is on its way to restore the
marginal lands of northern Latium through the reforestation with
selected specimens of cork oak. The main aims of the project are:
the genetic comparison between cork oak of different Italian provenances
the establishment of an experimental arboretum which will collect cork
oak deriving from the 34 main European areas
the running of experimental trials on innovative reforestation
techniques, such as the Miyawaki method.
The methodology and initial results of the project are reported.