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Moisture Content in Forest Residues: an Insight on Sampling Methods and Procedures

  • Wood Structure and Function (S Hiziroglu, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Taking moisture content samples from forest residue stack piles has been a challenge due to numerous factors such as varying shapes of piles, difference in material types, and financial constraint of the research. Additionally, there has been no standard sampling procedure set for the task encompassing the various constraints, especially in-wood conditions. For these reasons, samples taken from forest residue piles may not accurately represent the average moisture content of the population. This study attempts to classify the sampling methods commonly used for measuring moisture contents of forest residue piles for scientific research.

Recent Finding

We reviewed over 28 studies focusing on moisture content in forest residues to develop four general sampling methods, namely weighing stack piles, weight from scale ticket, fixed location sampling, and transect sampling. Advantages and limitations for each sampling method along with the type of data generated from each were described in detail. For example, weighing stack piles provided the most accurate form of continuous data, but could not be used for in-wood conditions and was usually limited to small pile structures. On the other hand, fixed location sampling and transect sampling would be preferred in field experiments and could detect moisture content variation within layers of the pile. Attempts were also made to determine the situations in which each of these sampling methods could be adopted.

Summary

This study could assist researchers set up their experimental designs and provide insight for handling potential challenges during data collection.

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Acknowledgements

This project was supported by a grant funded by the US Department of Energy under the Biomass Research and Development Initiative program: Award Number DE-EE0006297.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Forest Resources, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, 04469, USA

    Anil Raj Kizha

  2. Department of Forestry and Wildland Resources, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California, 95521, USA

    Han-Sup Han

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  1. Anil Raj Kizha
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Correspondence to Anil Raj Kizha.

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Drs Kizha and Han declares no conflicts of interests.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Wood Structure and Function

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Kizha, A.R., Han, HS. Moisture Content in Forest Residues: an Insight on Sampling Methods and Procedures. Curr Forestry Rep 3, 202–212 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40725-017-0060-5

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