HARVESTED LOG DAMAGE AND VALUE LOSS ASSOCIATED WITH TWO GROUND-BASED HAR VESTING SYSTEMS IN CENTRAL APPALACHIA by Michael R. Vanderberg Damage is often seen as an important consideration when conducting partial harvests in hardwood stands, as excessive damage to residual trees will significantly reduce the potential value of the residual stand. Damage to harvested logs, especially hardwood saw and veneer logs can be an even more important concern relative to value loss associated with log degrade. The log damage and value loss were examined by harvesting system, felling function, species, and damage type in central Appalachia. Observations were made of all grade logs during the felling, skidding, decking/sorting, and loading functions of the harvesting operations. Saw logs or veneer logs sustaining damage to the bark or cambium were recorded with additional information obtained for damage location, damage volume, damage type, and possible cause of the damage. Data were analyzed statistically to determine and rank the phases of the harvesting process relative to potential damage and value loss to hardwood logs. Results indicated that, overall, manual harvesting systems cause more damage to harvested logs than mechanized harvesting systems, mostly due to the manual felling function. iii DEDICATION The author wishes to dedicate this project to his long lost dog, Foster. He thanks him for his patience and his unconditional love, which was probably due to the food the author gave him, during this time of trial and tribulation. May he have many more days in the sun.

Forests are important economic and ecological resources for both the Appalachian hardwood forest region and the country. Increased demand for woody biomass can be met, at least in part, by improved utilization of these resources. However, concerns exist about the impacts of increased intensity of woody biomass removal on the sustainability of forest ecosystems. Relatively little research has evaluated the impacts of forest biomass harvesting on site productivity, biodiversity, water quality, or other measures of ecosystem productivity, and new information about these and other related topics is not readily available. This report discusses the implications for the sustainability of Appalachian hardwood forests if additional woody biomass is removed for the production of woody biomass-related energy. It includes a summary and synthesis of published literature and ongoing studies to evaluate the possible effects of increased biomass removal on several primary aspects of forest sustainability (i.e., site productivity, water quality, wildlife and biodiversity, wood supply). general management guidelines are proposed that can minimize the impacts of woody biomass utilization on the sustainability of Appalachian hardwood forests. Accompanying the report is an online bibliography, containing references for scientific literature related to woody biomass harvesting and utilization beyond the scope of the Appalachian forest region. The forests of the Appalachian region, from northern Georgia through southern New York, are already important economic and ecological resources for the region and the nation. Federal emission standards have necessitated the use of biomass for cogeneration with fossil fuel sources such as coal, and biomass will continue to be part of the Appalachian region energy portfolio (ARC 2006). Several bioenergy production facilities in the region already exist and the development of biofuels is a focus of many