SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT
Forestation
El Potrero has an area of 4,954 hectares of forestry land available, which due to the climate and soil conditions provide ideal conditions for the cultivation of species such as Eucalyptus sp. on a larger scale, or Pinus in smaller quantities.
Eucalyptus is the species with the highest consumption to supply the industry in the surrounding area. Thanks to good commercial interactions, El Potrero is able to take advantage of 100% of the tree, placing the thickest and best quality logs in the wood, furniture and related industries of southern Entre Ríos, thus collaborating in the production chain of the area and being a very important player in the supply of forest industries. On the other hand, the fine logs of the tree that, due to their low diameter or irregularity, cannot be consumed by the local industry, are destined for the paper and cardboard industry, which uses them for the production of different fiber products by shredding and shredding.
In this case, it should be noted that El Potrero is a local generator of foreign currency income for our country, since the timber destined for export consolidates commercial and social ties with our neighbors in Uruguay. It also has the possibility of projecting itself into the future with its own local enterprises that allow it to consume and give added value to our raw material.
Good forest practices
Good forestry practices start from tree planting in the nursery to harvesting. Respect for the environment and occupational safety are taken into account throughout the production chain.
Our forestry cycles are 100% from reforestation, and we even recover non-productive areas within the forestations that remain as small biodiversity reserves and shelter for native fauna.
PEFC International Certification
PEFC™ certification works along the entire forest value chain to promote good forest practices and ensure that both timber and non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are produced to the highest ecological, social and ethical standards.
For El Potrero, sustainability is part of our business model.
The PEFC™ Sustainable Forest Management certification of our forests demonstrated to external evaluators our compliance with all applicable forest management legislation, respect for workers’ rights, ongoing training in key aspects of their work, planning the use of natural resources to ensure their perpetuity, not having replaced native forests since 2000 for plantations, and the identification and conservation of priority sites for the preservation of regional biodiversity.
Control of Exotics
Articulated plan with the Reserve
The Forest Area is carrying out a plan to eliminate exotic species that, due to their degree of reproduction, have adapted to the area with superiority to native species, causing a population imbalance and a proportional decrease in native species. For this reason it is important to gradually eliminate invasive exotic species such as the Black Acacia (Gleditsia triacanthos), an arboreal species that was introduced in Argentina at the beginning of the 19th century from the United States and is spreading to the point of displacing the native forest.
Native Nursery
ENVIRONMENTAL REGENERATION NEAR RESERVE AREA
El Potrero has large areas of native forest from which seeds of different tree species of high value for the biodiversity of our forests are harvested. With these seeds we start the production of trees that are destined for reforestation and enrichment of degraded areas of native forests and non-productive areas of the agricultural and forestry sector, as well as the donation to schools and institutions that share with us the objective of planting to improve the quality of life of urban spaces.
