Near the well-known Aguada de Vázquez, in the northern municipality of Puerto Padre, is the Camilo Torres nursery. Those who work there, do not rest for these days, they know that their efforts, become trees of tomorrow, and it will make it possible to increase the volumes of wood and the forest index, with a strong impact on the environment of the eastern province of Las Tunas.
Puerto Padre, Las Tunas.- Since its implementation, with a capacity for more than 720,000 planting stocks, foresters are putting into practice the cultural care of crops in order to achieve sustainability of ecosystems and environmental protection, a priority for forest workers.
There are 37 people working at "Camilo Torres", 10 of whom are women, mainly dedicated to the production of the planting stocks. According to Mercedes Sorí Cruz, head of the nursery, the actions carried out here allow them to double the plantations and ensure the adequate survival of the planted trees, although they also carry out the maintenance of the forest roads, promote green belts in deforested areas and carry out the replacement of specimens.
In this sense, Sorí Cruz says that despite the fact that the months of splendor in these plantations are March and April, the campaigns of some of these species sometimes cover up to six months, "like the more than 700 thousand planting stocks that are already ready to be planted in different municipalities and in the patrimony of the Puerto Padre Base Business Unit.
The nursery stands out for the correct execution of the Forestry Program, aimed at the conservation of natural forests and the promotion of endemic or threatened species, both fruit and timber trees; among which, this year, are the casuarina, acacia, cedar, oak, Indian carob tree, majagua and yarúa, among others of importance for being made of precious woods.
The installation is totally technical and has the particularity of using plastic tubes, which, placed in a system of trays, are filled with a mixture of organic material, which accelerates the development of the planting stocks, benefits their rooting and guarantees greater survival once planted.
The high technology also allows for the humanization of the work and its conditions make it possible "for the activity carried out, mostly by women, to be done indoors, without having to bend over all the time, or sit on the ground to fill bags, because now the organic material is deposited on the plastic trays and the spaces are filled," Sorí reiterated.
There are many advantages to these advanced techniques. "We can plant more seedlings with higher quality, polyethylene bags are replaced and there is a technical advantage in the formation of the seedling's root system, which ensures survival and total achievement in the plantation. It has, without a doubt, a higher yield to plant and brings it to the nursery", added the head.
ECOVALOR GOES TO THE NURSERY
The Ecovalor project, which promotes the generation of multiple environmental benefits based on the economic valuation of ecosystem goods and services, reaches this nursery. Sponsored by this support and with the aim of reducing the state of forest degradation in the province, the Agroforestry Company (EAF) develops forestry management actions.
In the technical nursery, the assurance of the production of committed planting stocks for the project is evident. It is expected that in the three polygons of 500 hectares each, located in the town of Charco Largo, municipality of Puerto Padre, forest plantations and natural and artificial forest management areas will be reached. There, work will be done to check the response of the massifs with respect to measuring the volume of carbon removal, which will take place over five years, explained Jorge Luis Padilla Carralero, director of Development and Business at EAF.
Already more than 120 thousand planting stocks are assured in the "Camilo Torres" for the Villa Azul, while about 280 are ready for Manati and "Jesus Menendez".
"All of this response to the intention of valuing the environmental goods and services produced in the forests when it is correct silvicultural management, to obtain an integrated economic valuation and to minimize impacts caused by environmental damages and inadequate human behavior," explained Padilla, who is also the representative of the Forestry Department in Ecovalor.
Now, as part of the implementation of the Life Task, not only the objectives fall on the assurance of the Agroforestry Program, but also on the enlistment of thousands of hectares dedicated to the promotion of integral forest farms, which contribute to reduce soil erosion, conserve biodiversity and preserve the forest heritage in the plains of Las Tunas, to achieve efficient agro-ecosystems.
