On Dec. 2, 2024, a study day was held in Assergi on the results of an innovative wood cutting and transport system, implemented in the fall of 2023, in a mixed deciduous forest located on the Slopes of the Gran Sasso of Italy within a National Park. Given the interest in the initiative, ITABIA participated both by involving some stakeholders from the Marche Hub and to present the RuralBioUp Project to an audience of technicians (students and operators) from the forestry sector in Abruzzo. This event was organized by the Association GESTA – Sustainable Eco Land Management, which aims to promote forms of circular bioeconomy based on the maximum valorization of local resources of biological origin including forest biomass. In the fall of last year, with the support of ITABIA and the team of researchers from CNR IBE (Institute for Bioeconomics), the GESTA Association invented a forest work system where teams of foresters collaborated using draft horses and modern operating machines.
One year later, this study visit aimed to return to the site to check the visual impact as well as the biodiversity of the site. The initiative involved students and teachers, along with the many experts in the field, Doctors of Agronomy and Forestry and Institutions, including Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, Abruzzo Region, Carabinieri Forestry, University of Tuscia, Municipalities and Separate Administrations, and other interested guests. The study tour took place in the morning in the Macchia Grande forest in Assergi to show the innovative model for forestry of the future proposed by GESTA. In the afternoon there was a workshop at the National Park headquarters to illustrate the excellent technical, economic, silvicultural and environmental results of the experience.
