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Ecology of Dead Wood in the Northeast was prepared to provide background information for this study as well as to policymakers and foresters involved in biomass harvest issues elsewhere. The paper reviews the scientific literature to provide information about the amount of dead wood retention necessary for forest health in the forest types of the northeastern U.S. Establishing the ecological requirements for dead wood and other previously low-value material is important because expanded biomass markets may cause more of this material to be removed, potentially reducing the forest’s ability to support wildlife, provide clean water, and regenerate a diverse suite of vegetation. The paper covers the topics of dead wood, soil compaction, nutrient conservation, and wildlife habitat in temperate forests generally as well as in specific forest types of the Northeast. The sections that follow include excerpts from the report that cover the relevant major research findings and then summarize the implications for policies in Massachusetts. 4.2.2. IMPACTS ON SOILS AND PRODUCTIVITY Biomass harvesting can affect chemical, physical, and biological attributes of soils. The silvicultural choices of what to harvest, the amount of material harvested, and the way the material is harvested are all factors that need to be considered, and sometimes mitigated, to protect soils. This section covers issues related to soil nutrients and productivity. 4.2.2.1 DefinitionofDownedWoodyMaterial Woody material is sometimes divided into coarse woody material (CWM), fine woody material (FWM), and large woody material. The U.S. Forest Service defines CWM as down dead wood with a small-end diameter of at least 3 inches and a length of at least 3 feet and FWM as having a diameter of less than 3 inches (Woodall and Monleon 2008). FWM tends to have a higher concentration of nutrients than CWM. Large downed woody material, such as logs greater than 12 inches in diameter, are particularly important for wildlife. Fine woody material is critical to nutrient cycles. In this report, we use the term downed woody material (DWM) to encompass all three of these size classes, but in some circum- stances we discuss a specific size of material where the piece size is particularly important. Implications for Massachusetts Policies: In order to avoid confusion, it will be important for Massachusetts to settle on definitions and terminology that are most helpful to discussions of native forest types and associated concerns. 4.2.2.2 DWM:StandDevelopmentand Harvesting The process of dead wood accumulation in a forest stand consists of the shift from live tree to snag to DWM, unless a disturbance has felled live trees, shifting them directly to DWM. During stand development following a clear cut, there is a large amount of DWM. The DWM remaining from the initial harvest decom- poses rapidly in the first 25 years and continues to decline to age 40. The young stand produces large numbers of trees, and the intense competition produces an increasing number of snags. As the trees grow larger, more snags of larger sizes begin to appear. From age 40 to 100 years, DWM increases as small snags fall. Then larger snags begin to contribute to DWM. Very few large pieces of DWM are produced. Large DWM often results from wind or other disturbances that topple large trees in the old-growth stage. Thus, large dead wood tends to accumulate periodically from these disturbance pulses, whereas small pieces of DWM accumulate in a more predictable pattern throughout all stages of stand development. Implications for Massachusetts Policies: The patterns of DWM development indicate the importance of retaining large live trees and large snags at the time of harvest. As the stand moves through the younger stages of development, it creates minor amounts of DWM of larger sizes. Retaining larger-diameter trees in all stages can provide larger size classes of DWM. The concern at the stand level is that increased biomass harvests in Massachusetts might alter natural patterns of DWM accumula- tion and cause ecological damage. This can occur in stands that have not previously been harvested or by adding the additional removal of biomass to any kind of previous harvest. With new biomass markets becoming available, all sizes of woody material might be removed. Harvests that include taking material for biomass energy could lead to the removal of most or all of the dead or dying standing material, as well as low-quality trees that would eventually enter this class. Regeneration harvests, cuttings that are intended to establish new seedlings, might be helped by the ability to remove cull material that hinders new regeneration, but if the biomass removals are too heavy and too consistent, the amount of DWM could be reduced to insufficient levels. In some cases, increased prices for biomass, coupled with under-utilized equipment and logging contractors looking for work, might persuade a landowner to do a more intensive harvest than under a pre-biomass market scenario. Without guidelines for DWM retention, these heavier harvests might, in some cases, pose a greater risk for soils by depleting the structures—FWM, and to a lesser extent CWM and large woody material—that store and release nutrients back into the mineral soil. 4.2.2.3 DWM: Soil Productivity DWM plays an important physical role in forests and riparian systems. DWM adds to erosion protection by reducing overland flow (McIver and Starr 2001, Jia-bing et al. 2005). DWM also has substantial water-holding capacity (Fraver et al. 2002). In many ecosystems, DWM decomposes much more slowly than foliage and fine twigs, making it a long-term source of nutrients (Harmon et al. 1986, Greenberg 2002) (Johnson and Curtis 2001, Mahendrappa et al. 2006). While there is great variation across ecosystems and individual pieces of DWM, log fragmentation generally appears to occur over 25 to 85 years in the U.S. (Harmon et al. 1986, Ganjegunte et al. 2004, Campbell and Laroque 2007). In some ecosystems, CWM represents a large pool of nutrients and is an important contributor to soil organic material (Graham and Cromack Jr. 1982, Harvey et al. 1987). However, a review BIOMASS SUSTAINABILITY AND CARBON POLICY STUDY MANOMET CENTER FOR CONSERVATION SCIENCES 64 NATURAL CAPITAL INITIATIVEPDF Image | NATURAL CAPITAL INITIATIVE AT MANOMET
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