Biomass and nutrient removals from commercial thinning and whole-tree clearcutting of central hardwoods |
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Authors: | Louise M Tritton C Wayne Martin James W Hornbeck Robert S Pierce |
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Institution: | (1) USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, P.O. Box 968, 05402 Burlington, Vermont, USA;(2) Research Foresters USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, 03824 Durham, New Hampshire, USA |
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Abstract: | The objective of this research was to evaluate the impacts of increasing product removal on biomass and nutrient content of a central hardwood forest ecosystem. Commercial thinning, currently the most common harvesting practice in southern New England, was compared with whole-tree clearcutting or maximum aboveground utilization. Using a paired-watershed approach, we studied three adjacent, first-order streams in Connecticut. During the winter of 1981–82, one was whole-tree clearcut, one was commercially thinned, and one was designated as the untreated reference. Before treatment, living and dead biomass and soil on the whole-tree clearcut site contained 578 Mg ha–1 organic matter, 5 Mg ha–1 nitrogen, 1 Mg ha–1 phosphorus, 5 Mg ha–1 potassium, 4 Mg ha–1 calcium, and 13 Mg ha–1 magnesium. An estimated 158 Mg ha–1 (27% of total organic matter) were removed during the whole-tree harvest. Calcium appeared to be the nutrient most susceptible to depletion with 13% of total site Ca removed in whole-tree clearcut products. In contrast, only 4% (16 Mg ha–1) of the total organic matter and 2% of the total nutrients were removed from the thinned site. Partial cuts appear to be a reliable management option, in general, for minimizing nutrient depletion and maximizing long-term productivity of central hardwood sites. Additional data are needed to evaluate the long-term impacts of more intensive harvests. |
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Keywords: | Organic matter Watershed management Connecticut Forest utilization |
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