The forest

Under the influence of the 45th parallel

The Romanian Forest

Romania is a land of forests, the only country in Europe where there are still primary forests (400,000 ha), forests that have never known human intervention. Today, around 51% of the country’s forests are public, managed by the national agency Romsilva, which reports to the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Forests.

Private forests account for 34% of forest area, belonging to more than 830,000 owners. These private forests are often fragmented and small in size, but are increasingly managed according to sustainable principles.

Close to the oaks

Thanks to its geographical location and forestry experience, Transilvania Bois is able to control its raw material supplies by selecting the finest oaks from Romania’s three historic forest regions : Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia.

Tansilvania Bois carries out its own forestry operations to ensure the best possible selection of oak trees. It has a real knowledge of the forest and standing timber. Logging is mainly carried out in the Transylvanian mountains of the Western Carpathians, on the Zarand and Bihor mountains.

Romanian Moldavia supplies the Quercus Robur or pedunculate oak. Romanian Moldavia supplies the Quercus Robur or pedunculate oak. In Moldavia, harvesting takes place mainly in the eastern Carpathians.

Wallachia ‘s geographical situation favors the presence of sessile and pedunculate oaks. The oaks come mainly from the southern Carpathians, where we find the Fagaras and Muntenia mountains.

Beech, spruce and oak: Romania's forest triad

The Romanian forest is spread over three main areas: Moldavia, Transylvania and Wallachia, covering some 6.5 million hectares and occupying almost 30% of the country’s surface area. The Romanian forest landscape is made up of numerous species, led by beech (31%), followed by spruce (23%) and oak (sessile and pedunculate) (18%). Forests under the influence of the 45th parallel north, a latitude halfway between the North Pole and the Equator, an area ideal for agriculture and forestry and reputed to be home to some of the world’s finest wines.

European influence on Romanian forests since the 19th century

Romanian silviculture is the result of combined influences from France and Germany.
As early as the mid-19th century, French influence became evident, particularly through the training of Romania’s first forestry engineers and active involvement in organising the country’s forest services.
Natural regeneration forestry was gradually adopted, and the Romanian oaks used today in stave production are a direct legacy of this approach.

Romanian Oaks: Treasures of the Carpathians and Pillars of the Industry

Transylvania is particularly renowned for its sessile oak, known for its exceptionally fine grain.
Moldavia, on the other hand, provides more pedunculate oaks, with a medium grain that is especially appreciated for the production of large-capacity barrels.
As for the Wallachian forest region, due to its geographical position between Transylvania and Moldavia, it offers both sessile and pedunculate oaks with fine to medium grain.

Romanian oaks possess all the qualities required to produce extremely high-quality wood products, particularly in the cooperage industry.

The finest specimens are used to produce stave wood for barrel-making, while the other parts of the oak tree are optimised for use as sawn timber, construction-grade wood, or premium-quality solid flooring.