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Hi Matty, Thanks. This seems to be the consensus. I've had some great advice on getting a plan together. I won't be touching anything until I do that. I'm not sure what I want so I'll spend some time thinking about that. I'm going to go around, mark some noteworthy trees and get a survey done so I know what's what! thanks

Good to know. The pellets are convenient when away. We've got a wine vat that I can potentially convert into pellet storage next to the boiler but we'll see how it goes. There is no way I can persuade my wife to let a hunt happen on our a property, total no go. She loves the Roe too much.

We do have hunters around here. We've withdrawn permission and we're classified as a refuge with LPO. Obviously got the signs up too... The hunter who runs the local organisation is sensible and was very understanding when he dropped by for a chat. I'll check out CNPF, that sounds perfect. Thanks a lot!! I don't want to rush anything. The only thing I'm doing at the moment is removing an old log store which is far too small and falling down. Ahh boiler talk! We've gone for a Froling S4 turbo (yet to be fitted), a 3000L water store and solar panels (water) on a barn roof. I can't quite remember the size, I think it was 28kw? It's approx 550-600sqm, 250-300 sqm underfloor heating and maybe 10 rads. It can do pellets but I'm sticking to firewood at the moment. Dried oak (delivered) is 85 eur per stere here which doesn't seem too bad, I've got 10 stere coming on monday.

Hi Mick, Unfortunately not. We do have a spring/well/basin in another field but in the forest there is none. I'm slightly hesitant to create a pond because of mosquitoes. It is a bit of an issue around here. We've added some plants to our other ponds and now have frogs/dragonflies which will hopefully help next year. thanks

Thanks for the reply. Tomorrow I will walk around and pick out some definite keepers. Regarding space around the tree, are we talking say 3m around it? I am looking for the recommended books... I do have some larger trunks in another field which could be moved and spared the wood burner. I'm leaning on the side of keeping it more for nature than myself. As much as I'd like to take 100% from the forest I wouldn't want to run it down. When I know my actual heating requirements post renovation I can at least make an informed decision. We're more like 600m2 but after renovation we will be heavily insulated!

Thanks Roys, that was incredibly useful. Nothing about felling trees very close to one another or the split trunks? Just let them do their thing?

Thanks for the reply. I'm in the market for a tractor, I'd actually be keen to hear some advice on that too (perhaps does a different post), but I'm leaning towards some kubota B or Iseki tractor, 19-23cv. We have space but we're planting orchards (approx 200 trees - I think) for my wife's business. Perhaps we could dedicate some of that for firewood but I wouldn't want to reduce the potential yields too much. I agree nature would prefer it untouched, but also it's pretty messy. My plan is to encourage growth, create some paths and hopefully benefit from some firewood. I'll browse posts for any books mentioned. Thanks again.

Hi All, I own a property in France with a 2 to 3 acre forest. I am no arborist so please forgive any obvious mistakes. I'd like to utilise the forest for primarily nature (as we have plenty of deer, boars, birds, etc) and firewood. At the moment I don't have a real estimate on our consumption as we're undergoing a large renovation but even if I could supplement it somewhat I'd be happy. The property covers 3+ hectares with plenty of trees, many in a similar state as shown in the attached photos. I think the previous owners let things grow and didn't do anything for ~20 years. Any tips dealing with the forest? We have cold winters and hot summers (in the south of France). They all seem tall and skinny and many seem to have co-dominant trunks. Thanks for reading. I really appreciate any feedback.