On Tenerife, forests are being restored after a fire by replacing radiata pine with evergreen trees.

In the areas severely affected by the summer fire of 2023, "green corridors" are being created between the trees. This will help restore the forest.

The first phase of the work will last 27 months and cost 580,000 euros. With this money, they plan to carry out various forestry activities in pine forests, monitor the quality of wood, and restore areas where plants that are not typical for this area are currently growing.

Advisor Blanca Pérez says that much has already been done after the fire: vegetation has been restored, the soil has been protected, and infrastructure has been repaired. But there is still a lot of difficult work ahead, including the care of pine plantations and forest protection, such as road repairs and slope stabilization.

Pérez emphasizes that it will be especially difficult to remove radiata pine in hard-to-reach areas with steep slopes. Therefore, all work needs to be carefully planned.

The advisor explains that they want to replace radiata pine, which is easily ignited, with more fire-resistant evergreen trees. To do this, a complex of forestry works will be carried out to help evergreen forests recover. That is why the work was commissioned to Gesplan.

The main areas of work:

• Management of reforestation works in pine forests, especially where it is difficult to work with radiata pine. Protective measures will also be carried out near the Las Lagunetas reserve and the stands of Canary Island pine will be improved.
• Control of wood obtained during reforestation. This wood will be provided to local residents as assistance or sold at auctions.
• Restoration of evergreen forests in the place where radiata pine is currently growing. There are also plans to help with the construction of a forest plant nursery in the Aguamansa ecological center and to repair hydraulic networks.

Forestry engineers Adela Conde and Ester Pérez say that the work with evergreen forests, which has been carried out for the last 10 years, helped to stop the fire during the fire. This work will continue on an area of about 719 hectares. Conde emphasizes that they are replacing "imported" trees with evergreens, which retain moisture better, are more resistant to fire, improve the soil and prevent erosion. Evergreen forests in Tenerife include laurel, barbusano and holly.

Radiata pine, also known as Monterey pine, can grow up to 25 meters and weigh up to three tons. After fires, such as in 2023, such trees become dangerous because they can fall. They do not withstand fire and weather conditions well, so they grow in dangerous areas.

From 1946 to 1972, Monterey pine was actively planted on the island for timber production. About 2,000 hectares were planted at that time, mostly in areas where evergreen forests used to grow. Over time, these pine forests became weaker, which led to problems during fires due to their density and danger to people. There are currently about 300 hectares of radiata pine in Tenerife. The goal is to change the situation and replace "imported" trees with local evergreens.