Scientific name (Botanical ) : Quercus suber L
Collective name: The montado – cork oak forests
The montado are a very specific, delicately-balanced ecosystem and persist only in the Mediterranean basin (Algeria and Morocco) and particularly in the southern regions of the Iberian Peninsula influenced by the Atlantic such as Portugal.
The cork oak tree forests play an important role in soil conservation, the regularization of the hydrological cycle and water quality, in the production of oxygen and consequent removal of carbon from the atmosphere, also appearing as natural Mediterranean forest ecosystems, extremely rich in terms of biodiversity, being identified among the most important for nature conservation at national and European level.
In the case of Portugal, the country where there are more than 720 thousand hectares of oak trees (33 % of the world total), the cork is legally protected, its cut down is forbidden and incentives are available for the planting and management of cork oak forests. This initiative, pioneered by Portugal, was clearly a good decision, since the harvesting of cork to manufacture cork stoppers has become an industry of great economic importance and Portugal has become the main international cork exporter.
The region of Coruche in Ribatejo has the highest area of cork oak forests which acquired the status of National Tree of Portugal in 2012. Approximately 69 % of the county is occupied by cork oak trees.
The cork oak is a tree that takes 25 years to get ready for the first cork harvesting or stripping. The virgin cork is of a very irregular structure which is too hard to be easily handled. Thus it will be used for applications other than cork stoppers (flooring, insulation,etc) . Nine years later, the second harvest produces material with a regular structure, less hard, but still not suitable for cork stoppers - this is known as secondary cork.
It is from the third and subsequent harvests that the cork with the best properties is obtained, suitable for the production of quality corks, since its structure is regular with a smooth outside and inside. This is the so-called "amadia" or reproduction cork. From then on, the cork oak will supply good quality cork every nine years for around a century and a half, producing, on average, 15 to 16 bark strippings throughout its life.
The stripping of the cork oak, which is carried out during the most active stage in the annual growth of the cork, from mid-May or early June to the end of August, is an ancient process that can only (and should only) be done by specialists, the debarkers, since much manual skill and experience is required in order not to harm the tree.
The purpose of the cork is the manufacture of thermal insulation, cork fabric, sound insulation materials for varied application, and in aerospace, automobile and even aerospace industry, but is above all used in the production of cork stoppers for bottling wines and other liquids, producing 5 millions of cork stoppers daily.
Cork stoppers are excellent seals in the glass containers. This closure, if prolonged in time, promotes wine maturation, and allows the noble ageing to take place through the innumerable chemical and physical processes that occur between its components and between these and the substances that make up the internal bottle environment.
In these cork oak forests of rare beauty, people and animals live together peacefully, as they have ever since people first realised how much the cork oak had to offer them besides cork. People still hunt in the forest, and collect honey from its hives, the mushrooms that grow abundantly at the foot of the oak trees, firewood to burn and its fruit, acorns, to feed their animals. It is also the increase in the planting of cork oaks that has prevented desertification in southern Portugal, a dry, arid region with sandy soils, since it reduces soil erosion and provides a livelihood for local populations.
“Plant a cork oak for your grandchildren”. An old but wise popular saying that parents still pass down to their children. The country people know that their future and the future of their descendants are dependent not only on the harvesting of cork, but also on maintaining the amazingly rich environmental biodiversity of the cork forests and even the balance of the climate itself.
In Coruche the FICOR is a fair that takes place in May, every year.
In 2014 the fair FICOR will take place from the 29th of May to 1st June (National Day of Cork Oak tree). The event has gained importance, due to its interprofessional nature, bringing together the major players in the sector, from the forestry industry, including research.
A major theme of this issue is the sustainability of the cork tree forests, considering they have an unquestionable importance in rural development as a multi-purpose system, which need to strengthen its resilience as the guarantor of their economic viability, allowing environmental and social rights gains to the territory.
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