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studies (Martin, 1988) concluded “the percentage of disturbance per area has increased over time with changes in equipment (tracked to wheeled machines, chain saws to harvesters) and harvest methods (partial cuts to clearcuts to whole-tree clearcuts).” However, the research also suggests that biomass harvesting will not contribute to or create additional physical impacts on the soil productivity as compared to conventional harvesting as long as BMPs are followed (Shepard 2006) The supply scenarios developed in the Chapter 3 Forest Biomass Supply analysis indicate that “if biomass demand increases due to the expansion of electric power plants, it will almost certainly be accompanied by increases in whole-tree harvesting due to the limited supply of other forest biomass and the cost advantages of whole-tree methods.” The concerns for physical soil structure and erosion revolve around the equipment that will likely be intro- duced on harvesting operations. Whole-tree harvesting systems come in a variety of designs that rely on different pieces of equip- ment. In Massachusetts, the most common whole-tree logging systems employ a feller/buncher, one or more grapple skidders, and some kind of loader at the landing. This equipment can be larger and heavier than traditional harvesting equipment and has the potential to magnify adverse effects on soil. Also, many biomass harvests use a two-pass system in which one piece of equipment cuts trees and stacks them and another piece eventually picks them up for transportation to the landing. Repeated equipment passes can cause greater degrees of soil compaction, resulting in increased soil strength, which can (1) slow root penetration and reduce the regeneration and tree growth (Greacen and Sands, 1980; Miller et al., 1996); and (2) reduce soil infiltration rates, thereby increasing the potential for erosion through changes in landscape hydrology (Harr et al.1979). The extent of impacts on soil properties and site productivity will depend on the degree current best management practices (BMPs) and new guidelines are followed. Current BMPs include fundamental approaches that apply to biomass harvests as well as traditional harvests. They include anticipating site conditions, controlling water flow and minimizing and stabilizing exposed mineral soil. These guidelines should be re-emphasized and implemented in biomass harvests. Additional guidelines related to the retention and use of woody biomass will be helpful espe- cially on skid trails and stream approaches. For example, research shows that spreading tops and limbs along skid trails and other operating areas and driving the equipment on this buffer can reduce soil impacts. In order to have this material available for these purposes it must be retained in place or brought back to the operating area. There are competing values of biomass that pit the desire to remove the material as a renewable fuel and to mitigate the global effects of climate change on forest ecology versus its onsite ecological benefits. 4.2.3 IMPACTSONHABITATANDBIODIVERSITY Increasing harvests to include greater biomass removal will have two primary effects on habitat and biodiversity. First, a greater volume of wood will be removed from many harvest operations to meet the biomass demand. This will initially result in a more open residual stand than would have occurred otherwise and can range from stands with slightly lower residual stocking all the way to clearcuts. Habitat will change on individual parcels providing opportunities for new species and eliminating them for others. The other potential impact is on dead wood. Both standing snags and fallen logs (DWM) are important habitat features for many forest species. Dead wood is a part of a healthy forest. Forests that are intensively managed for forest products may eliminate important dead and dying structural components which could result in a lack of habitat and species on those managed landscapes. To ensure forest health for biodiversity, safeguards will be needed to ensure that dead wood remains a component of the forest ecosystem. 4.2.3.1 DWM: Wildlife and Biodiversity Dead wood is a central element of wildlife habitat in forests (Freedman et al. 1996). Many forest floor vertebrates have benefited or depended on DWM (Butts and McComb 2000). In New England, De Graaf and colleagues (1992) catalogued at least 40 species that rely on DWM. Some examples from the Northeast of relationships between animals and DWM include a study showing that low densities of highly decayed logs (less than one highly decayed log/ha ) had a negative impact on red-back voles (Clethrionomys gapperi) in a northern hardwoods forest in New Brunswick, Canada (Bowman et al. 2000). DWM retention increased spotted sala- mander (Ambystoma maculatum) populations in a Maine study (Patrick et al. 2006). In aquatic environments, DWM provides a crucial refuge from predation (Angermeier and Karr 1984, Everett and Ruiz 1993). Logs that fall in the water formed a critical component of aquatic habitat by ponding water, aerating streams, and storing sediments (Gurnell et al. 1995, Sass 2009). In fact, removal of large woody material from streams and rivers had an overwhelming and detrimental effect on salmonids (Mellina and Hinch 2009). DWM is a key element in maintaining habitat for saproxylic (live and feed on dead wood) insects (Grove 2002). For example, some specialist litter-dwelling fauna that depend on DWM appear to have been extirpated from some managed forests (Kappes et al. 2009). Extensive removal of DWM could reduce species richness of ground-active beetles at a local scale (Gunnarsson et al. 2004). More generally, a minimum of 286 ft3/ac (20 m3/ha) of DWM has been suggested to protect litter-dwelling fauna in Europe (Kappes et al. 2009). Dead logs serve as a seedbed for tree and plant species (McGee 2001, Weaver et al. 2009). Slash could be beneficial to seedling regeneration after harvest (Grisez, McInnis and Roberts 1994). Fungi, mosses, and liverworts depend on dead wood for nutrients and moisture, and in turn, many trees are reliant on mutualistic relationships with ectomycorrhizal fungi (Hagan and Grove 1999, Åström et al. 2005). In general, small trees and branches BIOMASS SUSTAINABILITY AND CARBON POLICY STUDY MANOMET CENTER FOR CONSERVATION SCIENCES 67 NATURAL CAPITAL INITIATIVEPDF Image | NATURAL CAPITAL INITIATIVE AT MANOMET
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