Forestry

By forestry we mean an economic branch that deals with the cultivation, protection and exploitation of forests, where wood mass (metrics and logs) is the main raw material. The wealth of a country directly depends on the size (in Croatia about 50% of the territory) and the size of its forests, which clearly speaks of the need to protect and preserve forest areas. When exploiting forests, ie cutting down trees, in the first place, one should take into account the sustainability, ie rotation, or the time needed for the forest to be regenerated. Renewal time depends on a number of factors, such as tree type, climate and soil quality, so the rotation period can range from 10 years (for some fast-growing coniferous species such as pine) to 100, or even 200 years. oak).

Types of trees

Trees, or forests, are divided into two main groups; deciduous, and coniferous or evergreen. Different properties of wood depend on the different properties of the wood material contained in different types of trees, so some types are more suitable for firewood, some for making furniture, and some for use as a building material, or pulp production.

Wood

We can freely say that we owe the origin of human civilization to wood, which people have used as a renewable energy source for heating and construction since time immemorial. Wood is an unavoidable natural material without which the survival of mankind is practically inconceivable.

Firewood

Firewood also has different properties depending on the type of tree from which it is produced, so some types of wood release more energy when burned, and some less, which

it mainly depends on the density and structure of the wood material that makes up the trees of a particular species. Various types of deciduous trees are most suitable for the use of firewood,

which, due to their combustion density, release more energy than soft and porous coniferous species. The most suitable and most common types of firewood are oak, beech, hornbeam, and agave, because they release the most heat energy during combustion. For the production of firewood, it is of great importance to cut down trees in the dormant phase during the winter, because they then contain the lowest percentage of water.

Wood that contains more than 25% water is not suitable for heating, because its calorific value is then significantly lower than that of dried wood, due to the loss of energy due to evaporation.

Species (with 15% water) / Calorific value (kilowatt hours per cubic meter)

Acacia 2040 kWh / pm

Oak 1890 kWh / pm

Beech 1850 kWh / pm

Birch 1810 kWh / pm

Maple 1675 kWh / pm

In addition to the sale and delivery of firewood, Expo Epet also offers the service of felling trees, arranging parks, and clearing overgrown and neglected plots and backyards, and transporting metrics and logs in the wider area.