Résumé
Since the 4th IUFRO WP 5.01.04 Workshop held in Canada in 2002, our research team, the LERFoB, in cooperation with two other French organizations, CTBA and ONF, has made a new advance on a long-term project aiming to optimize the chain from the plant to the plank in sessile oak ( Quercus petraea) taking into account considerations related to sustainable management. The method used in this project is typical of the method in use at the LERFoB - that is, a method based on joint modelling of growth and wood quality as well as simulation software. There are nine elements in our chain of models and software: (1) the growth and yield simulator Fagacees; (2) a wood density model; (3) a model for decomposition time of dead trees; (4) data on C, N, P, K, Ca and Mg content in wood and bark; (5) cross-cutting and log allocation decision model; (6) price model for logs; (7) log processing models; (8) data from the silvicultural part of the forest-wood chain; and (9) data from the industrial part of the forest-wood chain. These are now available to perform detailed simulations of the effect of contrasted silvicultural schedules - in a context of pure and even-aged stands naturally or artificially regenerated - on products delivered, environmental considerations, economical considerations, and employment.