Cork Oak Tree - “Quercus Suber”
The cork oak tree, also known as Quercus Suber, is the tree from which cork is extracted from and belongs to the oak family. It is a legally protected tree and cutting down an oak tree is forbidden by law in Portugal. The cork oak has been the National Tree of Portugal since 2011 -- a decision by Assembly of the Republic.
- - One Cork oak lives on average lives about 200 years.
- - The height of a mature cork oak is between 10 and 15 meters in height.
- - Between 40 kg and 60 kg of cork on average is extracted from each tree.
The Cork
Cork The cork is the bark of the cork oak. It is a plant tissue called the "phellem" in botany. It is part of the periderm (skin) system that covers the stem/trunk of the tree. It is a material that is 100% natural, recyclable, reusable and renewable. The extraction of cork which is called harvesting, happens every 9 years. It’s a process realized during the most active phase the growth of cork between May and beginnings of June until the final days of August. The harvesting is done by specialists and who use only hand tools. To do the extraction, no trees are cut down.
It is necessary, on average, 25 years to the cork oak trunk produced to produce cork and be profitable. The harvesting may be around 15 or 17 times over its lifetime which is approximately 200 years. For that, the trunk must to be 70 cm perimeter and 1,3 meters until the floor. From then on, the extraction will last about 150 years.
- 1st harvest - We obtain the “virgin cork”. Irregular and hard cork is used for other applications (not for the corks). For example: pavements, isolations, etc.…
- 2nd harvest - 9 years later the “secondary cork” is obtained. More regular and less hard, but still improper for cork production.
- 3th harvest – Only now can we extract regular cork and with properties suitable for natural cork production. The cork oak will continue providing suitable cork bark every 9 years, yielding approximately 15 harvests during its lifespan.
Annual production exceeds 200 tons. Portugal and Spain are leaders with more than three quarters of world's production combined.
|
COUNTRY |
ANNUAL PRODUCTION (TON) |
% |
|
PORTUGAL |
100 000 |
49.6 |
|
SPAIN |
61 504 |
30.5 |
|
MOROCCO |
11 686 |
5.8 |
|
ALGERIA |
9 915 |
4.9 |
|
TUNISIA |
6 962 |
3.5 |
|
ITALY |
6 161 |
3.1 |
|
FRANCE |
5 200 |
2.6 |
|
TOTAL |
201 128 |
100 |
Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability
The Cork Oak Forest stands out for the brilliant way they preserve the environment. By conserving the soil, regulating the water cycle, decreasing carbon emissions and conserving biodiversity, they have helped make the cork extraction an environmentally sustainable process, as no tree is cut down in the harvesting.
In cork producing countries, more than 100 000 people directly or indirectly depend on this sector. In many cases, it is the main source of income, keeping these areas economically viable and avoiding the desertification of more rural areas.
Estimate that for each ton of cork in the cork oak forest, more than 70 tons of CO2 are absorbed. This is fundamental help for the reduction of greenhouse gases, the main cause of climate change.
By reference, the capacity of the Cork Oak tree in retaining CO2, is 5 times greater after harvesting its bark.
The Cork Oak Forest
The Cork Oak Forest extends across the Mediterranean basin. With 2,2 million hectares in area, it is one of the richest ecosystems of the world. Its importance also extends to the protection of endangered species, such as the Iberian Lynx and in its assistance in combatting desertification.
Portugal has the biggest cork oak forest area of the world with approximately 736 thousand hectares representing 34% world area. In cork producing countries, more than 100.000 people directly or indirectly depend on this sector. In many cases, it is the main source of income, keeping these areas economically viable and avoiding the desertification of more rural areas.
|
Country |
AREA |
% |
|
Portugal |
736 775 |
34 |
|
Spain |
574 248 |
27 |
|
Morocco |
383 120 |
18 |
|
Algeria |
230 000 |
11 |
|
Tunisia |
85 771 |
4 |
|
France |
65 228 |
3 |
|
Italy |
64 800 |
3 |
|
TOTAL |
2 139 942 |
100 |
Focused on the quality of our products and the satisfaction of ours customers via stringent quality control, we can have complete traceability of our products from the cork oak plantation to our customers.
