Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Biomass and nutrient removals from commercial thinning and whole-tree clearcutting of central hardwoods

  • Research
  • Published:
Environmental Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

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.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature cited

  • Bormann, F. H., and G. E. Likens. 1979. Pattern and process in a forested ecosystem. Springer-Verlag, New York. 253 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brenneman, B. B., D. J. Frederick, W. E. Gardner, L. H. Schoenhofen, and P. L. Marsh. 1978. Biomass of species and stands of West Virginia hardwoods. Pages 159–178in Proceedings of the second central hardwood forest conference, West Lafayette, IN.

  • Covington, W. W. 1981. Changes in forest floor organic matter and nutrient content following clearcutting in northern hardwoods.Ecology 62(1):41–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duvigneaud, P., and S. Denaeyer de Smet. 1970. Biological cycling of minerals in temperate deciduous forests. Pages 199–225in D. E. Reichle (ed.), Analysis of temperate forest ecosystems. Springer-Verlag, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freedman, B., R. Morash, and A. J. Hansen. 1981. Biomass and nutrient removals by conventional and whole-tree clearcutting of a red spruce-balsam fir stand in Nova Scotia.Canadian Journal of Forest Research 11:249–257.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gould, E. M., and C. H. Reidel. 1979. The Yankee forest.Journal of Forestry 77:558–562.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hajek, B. F., F. Adams, and J. T. Cope, Jr. 1972. Rapid determination of exchangeable bases, acidity, and base saturation for soil characterization.Soil Science Society of America Journal 36(3):436–438.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, A. E., M. F. Jurgensen, and M. J. Larsen. 1979. Biological implications of increasing harvest intensity on the maintenance and productivity of forest soils. Pages 211–220in Proceedings of the environmental consequences of timber harvesting in rocky mountain coniferous forests. USDA Forest Service INT-GTR-90.

  • Henderson, G. S., W. T. Swank, J. B. Waide, and C. C. Grier. 1978. Nutrient budgets of Appalachian and Cascade region watersheds: a comparison.Forest Science 24(3):385–397.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hornbeck, J. W., and W. Kropelin. 1982. Nutrient removal and leaching from a whole-tree harvest of northern hardwoods.Journal of Environmental Quality 11(2):309–316.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hornbeck, J. W., C. W. Martin, R. S. Pierce, F. H. Bormann, G. E. Likens, and J. S. Eaton. 1986. Clearcutting northern hardwoods: effects on hydrologic and nutrient ion budgets.Forest Science 32(3):667–686.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hornbeck, J. W., C. W. Martin, L. M. Tritton, R. S. Pierce, and R. B. Smith. 1987. Changes in nutrient outputs in streamflow after harvesting central hardwoods.In Proceedings of the sixth central hardwood forest conference, Knoxville, TN.

  • Hornbeck, J. W., and S. J. Ursic. 1979. Intensive harvest and forest streams: are they compatible? Pages 249–262in Proceedings of the impact of intensive harvesting on forest nutrient cycling. SUNY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutnik, R. J., G. W. Wood, and D. N. Thompson. 1972. Biomass, production, and nutrient contents in a mixed-oak forest. Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station Paper #4236.

  • Johnson, D. W., D. D. Richter, G. M. Lovett, and S. E. Lindberg. 1985. The effects of atmospheric deposition on potassium, calcium, and magnesium cycling in two deciduous forests.Canadian Journal of Forest Research 15:773–782.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D. W., D. C. West, D. E. Todd, and L. K. Mann. 1982. Effects of sawlog vs whole-tree harvesting on the nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and calcium budgets of an upland mixed oak forest.Soil Science Society of America Journal 46:1304–1309.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimmins, J. P. 1977. Evaluation of the consequences for future tree productivity of the loss of nutrients in whole-tree harvesting.Forest Ecology and Management 1:169–183.

    Google Scholar 

  • Likens, G. E., F. H. Bormann, R. S. Pierce, J. S. Eaton, and N. M. Johnson. 1977. Biogeochemistry of a forested ecosystem. Springer-Verlag, New York. 146 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Likens, G. E., E. H. Bormann, R. S. Pierce, and W. A. Reiners. 1978. Recovery of a deforested ecosystem.Science 199:492–496.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindberg, S. E., G. M. Lovett, D. D. Richter, and D. W. Johnson. 1986. Atmospheric deposition and canopy interactions of major ions in a forest.Science 231:141–145.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marion, G. M. 1979. Biomass and nutrient removal in longrotation stands. Pages 98–110in Proceedings of the impact of intensive harvesting on forest nutrient cycling. SUNY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, C. W. 1986. Biomass harvesting, soil disturbance, and regeneration. Pages 39–42in C. T. Smith, C. W. Martin, and L. M. Tritton (eds.), Proceedings of the 1986 symposium on the productivity of northern forests following biomass harvesting. USDA Forest Service, NE-GTR-115. 104 pp.

  • Martin, C. W., D. S. Noel, and C. A. Federer. 1981. The effect of forest clearcutting in New England on stream-water chemistry and biology. Water Resources Research Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, Research Report 34. 76 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, C. W., and R. S. Pierce. 1980. Clearcutting patterns affect nitrate and calcium in streams of New Hampshire.Journal of Forestry 78(5):268–272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Santantonio, D., R. K. Hermann, and W. S. Overton. 1977. Root biomass studies in forest ecosystems.Pedobiologia 17:1–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stephens, G. R., and P. E. Waggoner. 1980. A half century of natural transitions in mixed hardwood forests. Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin #783, New Haven, Connecticut, 43 pp.

  • Swank, W. T. 1984. Atmospheric contributions to forest nutrient cycling.Water Resources Bulletin 20(3):313–321.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swank, W. T., and J. E. Douglass. 1977. Nutrient budgets for undisturbed and manipulated hardwood forest ecosystems in the mountains of North Carolina.In D. A. Correll (ed.), Watershed research in eastern North America. A workshop to compare results. Vol. 1. Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies. Smithsonian Institute, Edgewater, MD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tritton, L. M. 1980. Dead wood in the northern hardwood forest ecosystem. Ph.D. thesis, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells, C. G., and J. R. Jorgensen. 1979. Effects of intensive harvesting on nutrient supply and sustained productivity. Pages 212–230in Proceedings of the impact of intensive harvesting on forest nutrient cycling. SUNY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • West, D. C., and L. K. Mann. 1983. Whole-tree harvesting: fourth year progress report for 1982—nutrient depletion estimates, postharvest impacts on nutrient dynamics, and regeneration. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN. ORNL/TM-8805. 101 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wharton, E. H. 1984. Changing attitudes about tree merchantability in the Northeast.Northern Logger and Timber Processor, Jan 1984, pp. 16–17.

  • White, E. H. 1974. Whole-tree harvesting depletes soil nutrients.Canadian Journal of Forest Research 4:530–535.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, E. H., and A. E. Harvey. 1979. Modification of intensive management practices to protect forest nutrient cycles. Pages 264–278in Proceedings of impact of intensive harvesting on forest nutrient cycling. SUNY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, P.O. Box 968, 05402, Burlington, Vermont, USA

    Louise M. Tritton, C. Wayne Martin & James W. Hornbeck

  2. Research Foresters USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, 03824, Durham, New Hampshire, USA

    Robert S. Pierce

Authors
  1. Louise M. Tritton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. C. Wayne Martin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. James W. Hornbeck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Robert S. Pierce
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tritton, L.M., Martin, C.W., Hornbeck, J.W. et al. Biomass and nutrient removals from commercial thinning and whole-tree clearcutting of central hardwoods. Environmental Management 11, 659–666 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01880165

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01880165

Key words

Search

Navigation