Stump harvesting

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In plantation forests in parts of Europe, the tree stumps left after felling are now sometimes pulled out of the ground to supply wood fuel for biomass power stations. The stump is the base of the trunk and the attached woody roots. Tree stumps and roots are extracted using a hydraulic head on a tracked excavator or with a mechanical head equipped by a special tool for tractors. Stump harvesting is expected to provide an increasing component of the woody material required by the woody biomass power sector in Europe.

Contents

During the 20th century in the United States longleaf pine stumps were harvested for extraction of naval stores from the resinous wood.

A vertical stump grinder in use. Rotor stump grinder at work.jpg
A vertical stump grinder in use.

Sustainability

Stump harvesting is unsuitable on many soils where the removal leads to long term reduction in nutrition or an unacceptable loss of soil carbon. [1] Also, it is necessary that care is taken to avoid areas with archaeology, ecologically sensitive areas, steep slopes, and areas close to streams and rivers. In many situations removal of stumps leads to a further loss of wood with a resulting loss of the potential biodiversity that depends on wood. [2]

History

Uprooted tree stumps Baumstumpf ausgegraben.JPG
Uprooted tree stumps

Stump harvesting is not a new process. Records of tree stumps being dug out of the ground for wood fuel go back hundreds of years in Europe. It was practiced in the 1970s in Swedish forests before declining in popularity, but is being considered again there now that there is a greater need for fuel wood. In Britain, stumps are removed in some forests for disease control, especially in south-east England. Additionally, they are extracted where restoring plantation forest areas to peat bog for conservation reasons. Recently small scale commercial stump harvesting has started in parts of Scotland to provide fuel for biomass power stations. In Finland, stumps were at one time used to produce tar and charcoal. In the 1970s, a number of trials were set up in Finland to examine the viability of stump harvesting for woody biomass, but it is only in recent years[ when? ] that it has developed into a large scale commercial operation.

Stump harvesting was an important part of the naval stores industry in the 20th century in the United States. The primary source of naval stores in the United States in the 20th century was the longleaf pine of the Eastern woodlands of the United States. While turpentine and other products were traditionally obtained by collecting resin from living trees, lumber from the trees was also in demand, and many longleaf pine forests were clear cut, leaving only stumps. After efficient machinery was developed for chipping wood, it became profitable to dig old up pine stumps and extract turpentine and other products from the resinous wood. Other industrial processes for producing naval stores have much reduced the use of pine wood for naval stores. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turpentine</span> Liquid distilled from pine resin

Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Principally used as a specialized solvent, it is also a source of material for organic syntheses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosin</span> Solid form of resin

Rosin, also called colophony or Greek pitch, is a solid form of resin obtained from pines and some other plants, mostly conifers, produced by heating fresh liquid resin to vaporize the volatile liquid terpene components. It is semi-transparent and varies in color from yellow to black. At room temperature rosin is brittle, but it melts at stove-top temperature. It chiefly consists of various resin acids, especially abietic acid. The term colophony comes from colophonia resina, Latin for "resin from Colophon", an ancient Ionic city. It is an FDA approved food additive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longleaf pine</span> Species of plant (tree)

The longleaf pine is a pine species native to the Southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from East Texas to southern Virginia, extending into northern and central Florida. In this area it is also known as "yellow pine" or "long leaf yellow pine", although it is properly just one out of a number of species termed yellow pine. It reaches a height of 30–35 m (98–115 ft) and a diameter of 0.7 m (28 in). In the past, before extensive logging, they reportedly grew to 47 m (154 ft) with a diameter of 1.2 m (47 in). The tree is a cultural symbol of the Southern United States, being the official state tree of Alabama. This particular species is one of the eight pine tree species that falls under the "Pine" designation as the state tree of North Carolina.

<i>Pinus elliottii</i> Species of conifer tree

Pinus elliottii, commonly known as slash pine, is a conifer tree native to the Southeastern United States. Slash pine is named after the "slashes" – swampy ground overgrown with trees and bushes – that constitute its habitat. Other common names include swamp pine, yellow slash pine, and southern Florida pine. Slash pine has two different varieties: P. e. var. elliottii and P. e. var. densa. Historically, slash pine has been an important economic timber for naval stores, turpentine, and resin. The wood of slash pine is known for its unusually high strength, especially for a pine. It exceeds many hardwoods and is even comparable to very dense woods such as black ironwood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve</span>

Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve is a North Carolina state park in Moore County, North Carolina in the United States. Located near Southern Pines, North Carolina, it covers 915 acres (3.70 km2) in the Sandhills region of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clearcutting</span> Forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down

Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters to create certain types of forest ecosystems and to promote select species that require an abundance of sunlight or grow in large, even-age stands. Logging companies and forest-worker unions in some countries support the practice for scientific, safety and economic reasons, while detractors consider it a form of deforestation that destroys natural habitats and contributes to climate change. Environmentalists, traditional owners, local residents and others have regularly campaigned against clearcutting, including through the use of blockades and nonviolent direct action.

<i>Pinus roxburghii</i> Species of conifer

Pinus roxburghii, commonly known as chir pine or longleaf Indian pine, is a species of pine tree native to the Himalayas. It was named after William Roxburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval stores</span> Term for resins used in shipbuilding

Naval stores are all liquid products derived from conifers. These materials include rosin, tall oil, pine oil, and terpentine. Crude gum or oleoresin can be collected from the wounds of living pine trees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval stores industry</span>

The naval stores industry produces and markets products derived from the oleoresin of pine trees, including rosin, tall oil, pine oil, and turpentine. It does this by collecting and processing organic forest products refined from slash pine and longleaf pine trees. The naval stores industry was associated with the maintenance of the wooden ships and sailing tackle of pre-20th century navies, which were caulked and waterproofed using the pitch of the pine tree.

Energy forestry is a form of forestry in which a fast-growing species of tree or woody shrub is grown specifically to provide biomass or biofuel for heating or power generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tree stump</span> Remains of a tree trunk

After a tree has been cut and has fallen, the stump or tree stump is usually a small remaining portion of the trunk with the roots still in the ground. Stumps may show the age-defining rings of a tree. The study of these rings is known as dendrochronology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biomass (energy)</span> Biological material used as a renewable energy source

In the context of energy production, biomass is matter from recently living organisms which is used for bioenergy production. Examples include wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues including straw, and organic waste from industry and households. Wood and wood residues is the largest biomass energy source today. Wood can be used as a fuel directly or processed into pellet fuel or other forms of fuels. Other plants can also be used as fuel, for instance maize, switchgrass, miscanthus and bamboo. The main waste feedstocks are wood waste, agricultural waste, municipal solid waste, and manufacturing waste. Upgrading raw biomass to higher grade fuels can be achieved by different methods, broadly classified as thermal, chemical, or biochemical.

Short rotation forestry (SRF) is grown as an energy crop for use in power stations, alone or in combination with other fuels such as coal. It is similar to historic fuelwood coppice systems.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and guide to forestry:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fatwood</span> Material derived from pine trees

Fatwood, also known as "fat lighter", "lighter wood", "rich lighter", "pine knot", "lighter knot", "heart pine", "fat stick" or "lighter'd" [sic], is derived from the heartwood of pine trees. The stump that is left in the ground after a tree has fallen or has been cut is the primary source of fatwood, as the resin-impregnated heartwood becomes hard and rot-resistant after the tree has died. Wood from other locations can also be used, such as the joints where limbs intersect the trunk. Although most resinous pines can produce fatwood, in the southeastern United States the wood is commonly associated with longleaf pine, which historically was highly valued for its high pitch production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biomass heating system</span>

Biomass heating systems generate heat from biomass. The systems may use direct combustion, gasification, combined heat and power (CHP), anaerobic digestion or aerobic digestion to produce heat. Biomass heating may be fully automated or semi-automated they may be pellet-fired, or they may be combined heat and power systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodchips</span> Small pieces of wood made when shredding larger pieces of wood

Woodchips are small- to medium-sized pieces of wood formed by cutting or chipping larger pieces of wood such as trees, branches, logging residues, stumps, roots, and wood waste.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Resin extraction</span> Process of collecting sap or resin from pine trees

Resin extraction consists of incising the outer layers of a pine tree in order to collect the sap or resin.

Geneva State Forest is an Alabama state forest in Geneva County, Alabama in the United States. The forest is 7,120 acres (2,880 ha) and sits at an elevation of 210 feet (64 m). It is Alabama's largest state forest. According to the Alabama Forestry Commission the primary objective of the state forest is to provide timber for the lumber industry and the secondary objectives are to provide habitats for wildlife and recreational opportunities for people. The forest is open for year-round recreation including hunting, fishing, hiking and camping.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heart pine</span>

Heart pine refers to the heartwood of the pine tree, which is the non-living center of the tree trunk, while the sapwood is the outer living layer which transports nutrients.

References

  1. Staaf, H. and Olsson, B.A.: Effects of slash removal and stump harvesting on soil water chemistry in a clearcutting in SW Sweden., 336 pages. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 9(4):305-310 2004.
  2. "Forest: Deadwood — European Environment Agency".
  3. Barnett, James P. (June 2019). Naval Stores: A History of an Early Industry Created From the South's Forests (PDF) (Report). Asheville, North Carolina: United States Department of Agriculture, Southern Research Station. pp. 9–11, 17–22. Retrieved August 9, 2024.

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