State of the art of the hardwood production in Europe and Spain and the challenges for a hardwoods-based sector in Galicia

In the current market, the majority of wood products are derived from softwoods. However, the growing stock of hardwood trees and the increasing impact of climate change on forest adaptation represent a need to focus on hardwoods in view of long-term demand of main markets. This paper addresses key questions regarding the current state of European hardwood production and their main markets, the role of hardwoods in the construction sector, and the challenges that Galician hardwood forests are facing. The first section provides a quantitative overview of hardwood removals and the principal markets in Europe, Spain and Galicia. The second part of the study identifies the hardwood construction products currently manufactured in Spain. Finally, insights from a co-creation workshop revealed how regional stakeholders in forest management and different wood industries perceive and address the challenges of a hardwood-based forest sector in Galicia. The results indicate that the final use of hardwood removals for wood energy in Spain (16%) is below the EU-27 average (57%). It should be noted, however, that hardwood species account for only 20% of the total industrial roundwood. In Spain, the primary use for hardwood (mainly Eucalyptus spp. from Galicia) is the pulp and paper industry. Native broadleaved species account for just 1.3% of the Spanish hardwood harvesting volume. Nevertheless, we observe an emerging market for structural products in construction. Sweet chestnut, eucalyptus and beech have been structurally graded and are now included in the European standards, and a market for glulam beams from chestnut and oak is emerging. Among the main resilience challenges identified are fragmented forest properties and administrative barriers on hardwoods harvesting. The most promising solution for the region is seen in fostering more public-private cooperation between different actors along the whole value chain, to jointly develop feasible, adapted solutions and industrial investments in hardwoods processing and valorisation. Standardisation and co-design approaches can give promising impulses to boost hardwoods in the Galician green public procurement.