Short answer. Yes, but only to restore or improve something else in the property under usufruct, and only after first informing the owner of the need for the work. Outside the ordinary cutting a woodland's usual custom or practice allows, this is the one extra situation where felling trees is permitted.
What the law says
With the exception of the provisions of the preceding paragraphs, the usufructuary cannot cut down trees unless it be to restore or improve some of the things in usufruct, and in such case shall first inform the owner of the necessity for the work.
Civil Code, Article 577 — Usufruct of Woodland. Read the full provision →
The ordinary cutting allowance
A usufructuary of woodland may enjoy all the benefits the land produces according to its nature. Where the woodland is a copse or holds timber for building, the usufructuary may do the ordinary cutting or felling that the owner used to do, or, failing that, whatever the custom of the place allows as to manner, amount, and season. Cutting must always be done so as not to prejudice the preservation of the land, and in nurseries the usufructuary may thin out trees so the remaining ones can grow properly. This is the baseline: routine, custom-based harvesting.
Cutting beyond the ordinary allowance
Outside that ordinary allowance, the general rule is that the usufructuary cannot cut down trees. The law carves out one specific exception: cutting is permitted if it is needed to restore or improve some of the things covered by the usufruct — for example, felling a few trees to repair a structure, shore up the land, or improve another part of the property held under the same usufruct. This is not a general license to harvest extra timber; it is tied specifically to restoration or improvement work on the property itself.
The notice requirement is not optional
Even where this exception applies, the usufructuary must first inform the owner of the necessity for the work before cutting. This is a precondition, not a courtesy — the statute ties the right to cut directly to giving that notice. A usufructuary who cuts trees for restoration or improvement purposes without first telling the owner is acting outside what the law allows, even if the work itself would otherwise have qualified for the exception.
What this means in a dispute
If a usufructuary cuts trees beyond the custom-based ordinary allowance, the owner can object unless the usufructuary can show two things: that the cutting was genuinely for restoring or improving something in the usufruct, and that the owner was informed of the necessity beforehand. Cutting trees simply because they are valuable, or to raise cash, or for a purpose unrelated to restoring or improving the property, falls outside both the ordinary allowance and this exception, and is not something the usufruct entitles the usufructuary to do on their own.