The Spessart Oak Story
Old-Growth German Oak, Quercus petraea
The great American ecologist and writer Aldo Leopold wrote in the 1920s that, “the Spessart bears the most magnificent oaks in the world. American cabinet makers, when they want the last word in quality use Spessart oak.”
Logs from the Spessart and Pfalz forests are certified as a sustainable and renewable resource. This means that the forest owner or state has an obligation-agreement to execute forest culture in accordance with the FSC and PEFC (Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes) standards.
A log auction in the Pfaltz forrest
The Spessart oak story is an amazing one in a world with so many failed environmental programs and abuses of the world’s natural resources.
Modern forestry began in Germany in the early 1800s. But even earlier, the Germans realized 1,000 years ago that this area had conditions favoring the growth of magnificent white oak trees. Back then, the Bishops of three surrounding villages protected and reserved the land for hunting because the acorns were so abundant and supported the red deer and wild pigs they hunted. They also knew that these trees produced very high quality lumber for many of their daily needs, from home construction to wine barrels and firewood. Because the soil was not good for agriculture there was little pressure to cultivate this land. They decided the best use for it was to protect it for its high-quality oaks. After the First World War, the French cut most of the huge oak trees for compensation and war reparations. Those trees were magnificent specimens four to six feet in diameter. Today, only one of those ancient trees still stands. It will take another three hundred years or more to produce trees of that size again, since the most mature trees there now around three hundred years old or more.
One hundred fifty years ago, German foresters created what is known today as the science of forestry. Knowing that white oak seedlings need abundant light to grow, they started by clearing one hectare of land at a time and then planting acorns there from a specimen tree to make sure they always had this resource for future generations.
The foresters thinned out those seedlings a few at a time until only the best trees were left standing in each hectare. After one hundred years, there were about one hundred fifty trees left on the hectare after thinning the low-grade oak out a little at a time and leaving only the most promising trees. They then planted beech trees under the young oaks. Beech grow best in the shade of the oak, which shades the oak trunks and inhibits the growth of branches that would degrade those logs. The foresters were careful not to remove a tree and so cause direct sunlight to enter this protected space. Three generations of these beech trees would be harvested before the oak would be mature enough for harvest. It takes a Spessart oak a minimum of three hundred to four hundred years or more to mature before it is ready to cut. After the last oak from a planting is removed, they then clear-cut the hectare, plant acorns, and start the cycle again. It probably takes at least ten generations of foresters to oversee and manage the oak trees in each of these hectares until the last oak is harvested. Just imagine that.
Forester cutting a tree in the Pfaltz forest
THE REASON FOR THE QUALITY
Spessart and Pfalz oaks are known for their very fine tight-grained texture or structure, with a perfect shiny straw to light tan color with no mineral streaks. The average growth of these trees is twenty to thirty growth rings per inch and can often be as tight as sixty to seventy rings per inch.
The soil in Spessart is predominantly red sandstone with no minerals that stain the wood or promote a too-fast growth. This area has very good drainage and receives only 450 to 500 millimeters of rain per 1 scaremeter of soil. The trees have a very slow and steady growth rate throughout their lives.
To help manage the forest, every ten years foresters evaluate each hectare and take an inventory. Since all the trees within a planting are the same age and size, information can be obtained to help manage the forest. From this information the foresters learned that each hectare produces about three cubic meters of wood a year, so the forest department can harvest three cubic meters a year from each hectare without degrading the resource.
Foresters cutting logs in the Pfaltz forest
There are only a few log sales per year in the Spessart and Pfalz forests. The logs are cut, trimmed, identified by number, and set up on bunks off the ground along the road that goes through the forest. If it snows, the forest service cleans them so buyers can inspect them easily. Buyers have about two weeks to inspect the logs and put a bid in on each log that meets their grade requirement. When the sale is closed, the highest bidder gets the log. You may bid on twenty logs and get only six. Hopefully you get enough for your inventory needs. This is a very limited resource and buyers from all over the world are bidding on these very special logs. They include veneer buyers, barrel makers, and yours truly. I use them to produce very high quality rift and quarter-sawn lumber for all my clients who need it for restoration projects and to match solid lumber to fine old-growth veneer from these logs.
Oak logs ready for the log sale
I have witnessed the decimation of the white oak stands in this country over the last thirty years and have often wondered what I would do if and when I could not get the quality old-growth white oak logs I needed for my clients. The last few years I have seen it collapse. Thank goodness for the Spessart and Pfalz oak forest management that I can continue to be able to produce just enough fine oak lumber to supply many special projects that need and deserve what I produce. Now that high-quality white oak logs are no longer available from America, the future for my business is in Spessart and Pfalz. It is my hope that someday we will learn from our misuse of our hardwood forests and take the long-term view as the Germans have done to restore our hardwood forests for future generations.
Sam Talarico,
Owner, Talarico Hardwoods
Sam and a few German oak logs bought at auction in his log yard