Assessing Alternative Silvicultural Prescriptions for Mid-Rotation, Unthinned, Spruce-Fir Stands in Maine

Hiesl, Patrick; Crandall, Mindy S.; Weiskittel, Aaron R.; Kizha, Anil Raj

doi:10.3390/f8100370

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…), which are established and grow best naturally under partial shade [2]. Thinning operations are also key to manage overstocked stands and to restore ecosystem services [3][4][5]. A major component of these partial timber harvests are the trees left behind.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such harvesting methods are widely believed to ensure slash on the trail (armor for roots and soil), exhibit increased productivity compared to that of conventional CTL, and have less adverse impact on the regeneration. However, the total cost of harvest is generally higher for Hyb CTL compared to a conventional CTL due to the additional equipment (feller-buncher) [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Residual Stand Damage under Different Harvesting Methods and Mitigation Strategies

Kizha

Nahor²,

Coogen³

et al. 2021

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A major component of sustainable forest management are the stands left behind after the logging operation. Large mechanized harvesting equipment involved in current forest management can inflict damage on residual trees; and can pose a risk of mortality from diseases, natural calamities, and/or degrade future economic value. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the residual stand damage under different harvesting methods and silvicultural prescriptions i.e., crop tree release (CTR), diameter limit cut (DLC), and overstory removal (OSR). The second objective was to evaluate the intensity and frequency of damage occurring on the bole, canopy, and root at tree and stand level. The third objective was to document strategies adopted globally to minimize stand damage due to timber harvesting. Five harvest blocks implementing three silvicultural prescriptions, were selected as the treatments across two different industrial timberlands in central and northern Maine (Study Site (SS) I and II, respectively). A hybrid cut-to-length (Hyb CTL) and whole-tree (WT) harvesting method were employed for conducting the harvest in SS I and II, respectively. Systematic transect sampling was employed to collect information on type, frequency, and intensity of damages. The inventory captured 41 and 8 damaged trees per hectare with 62 and 22 damages per hectare from SS I and SS II respectively. Bole damage was the most frequent damage across all treatments. The Hyb CTL had lower damage density (damage per ha) and severity compared to WT. The average number of trees damaged per ha was higher for CTR prescriptions compared to DLC. There were no significant differences in the height of the damages from the ground level between treatments within each study site; however, there was a significant difference between the study sites. Species damaged was directly related to the residual trees left behind and was dominated by American beech, yellow birch, sugar maple, and eastern hemlock. Finally, the study provides strategies that can be adopted at different forest managerial phases to mitigate residual stand damage.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Residual Stand Damage under Different Harvesting Methods and Mitigation Strategies

Kizha

Nahor²,

Coogen³

et al. 2021

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Additionally, if forest residues produced by forest management were not being utilized for energy production, they would be burned on-site for disposal, which is a common practice with significant emissions and fire risk considerations [3]. Various aspects of recovering forest residues consisting of tree-tops, off-shoots, branches, foliage, non-merchantable and small-diameter trees left after timber harvest (referred to as "biomass" in this paper) have been widely researched, including harvesting operations, logistics, biomass recovery, moisture content, and economic and environmental benefits [2,[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. However, the major focus remains on the financial viability of biomass recovery.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing Hot and Cold Loading in an Integrated Biomass Recovery Operation

Kizha

Han

Anderson

et al. 2020

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The balance of production activities at the landing is pivotal to the success of any forest harvesting operation and has a direct impact on the cost and efficiency of the enterprise. The primary objective of this study was to understand the operational characteristics of the loader in a hot operation (handling both sawlog and biomass components concurrently) and cold operation (handling biomass and sawlogs separately) for harvesting sawlogs and biomass. Systematic work sampling techniques were employed to obtain “snapshots” of the loader activities for a cable logging operation, including the interaction of the loader with other operational phases and delay time for both hot and cold configurations. The results show that for hot loading at the landing, the yarder was the most utilized machine (85%), and was the bottleneck of the operation, followed by the loader (70%). In the hot loading configuration, 39% of operational delay during truck loading was caused by the loader and was predominantly due to movement of the loader within or between the landings. This was followed by the yarder (19%, due to rigging activities) and the chaser (15%, to maintain the crews’ safety). In the cold loading configuration, delays due to the unavailability of roll-off bins constituted up to 77% of the operational delay. This suggests that the number of bins and trucks hauling biomass has a crucial role in the overall efficiency of the biomass harvesting system, and should be well balanced with loading capacity. Additionally, the choice of hot or cold biomass loading operations is highly dependent on the site and operating conditions.

show abstract

Long-term influence of commercial thinning on stand structure and yield with/without pre-commercial thinning of spruce-fir in northern Maine, USA

Wagle

Weiskittel

Kizha

et al. 2022

Forest Ecology and Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Assessing Alternative Silvicultural Prescriptions for Mid-Rotation, Unthinned, Spruce-Fir Stands in Maine

Cited by 7 publications

References 29 publications

Residual Stand Damage under Different Harvesting Methods and Mitigation Strategies

Residual Stand Damage under Different Harvesting Methods and Mitigation Strategies

Comparing Hot and Cold Loading in an Integrated Biomass Recovery Operation

Long-term influence of commercial thinning on stand structure and yield with/without pre-commercial thinning of spruce-fir in northern Maine, USA

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About