StarTree study cork oak and cork

The StarTree project wants to bring the scientific community, forest owners, companies and business partners closer together in order to put non-timber forest products (NTFP) in the focus of products and markets to be developed. The cork oak and cork are, therefore, a case study of this project that intends to acquire knowledge to optimise the management of tree multi-functionality and develop an innovative approach to improve the market and profitability of the NTFP chain, contributing to a more competitive rural economy.

The NTFP and the multi-functional trees such as cork oak take on significant importance in many regions of Europe in terms of maintaining income, traditions and traditional knowledge and rural economies. There are still no data, however. StarTree may fill in this gap. There are 14 case studies across Europe coordinated by an umbrella body – the European Forest Institute, in Finland One of them is in Portugal and its partner is Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), a Portuguese School of Agronomy. The European Commission funds StarTree, which kicked off in 2012 and has a duration of four years. It is estimated to cost around 7.5 million euros.