Abstract
In the northeastern United States, whole-tree harvesting is widely used to supply fuel to biomass energy facilities, but questions remain regarding its long-term sustainability. We have previously reported findings indicating no short-term decrease in forest productivity in whole-tree harvested sites when compared with similar conventionally (stem-only) harvested sites. Here we present additional results of the same study, but focus on the effect harvest treatment has on the species composition of the regenerating forest. Within northern hardwood forests in central New Hampshire and western Maine, regeneration surveys were conducted on four (4) small clearcuts in 2010 and twenty-nine (29) small clearcuts in 2011. The species and diameter of trees > 2 m in height were recorded within 1 m or 2 m-radius plots and used to calculate the biomass fraction of each species. The 2010 study additionally measured the density of trees 2 m in height and the diversity of understory non-tree species. Non-metric multidimensional scaling and multi-response permutation procedures were used to determine the effect of harvest treatment had on community-wide tree species composition. Potential differences were also examined on a species-by-species basis. Both analytic methods indicated no significant differences in species composition of tree species or understory communities. Within the limits of our data, we conclude that no significant effects of residue removal on species composition are observed within our sample of northern hardwood sites at this early stage of stand development.
Highlights
The burning of woody biomass to generate electricity has the potential to supply locally produced renewable energy to the northeastern United States
In a study of natural stands of northern hardwoods, we found no indication of short-term decrease in forest productivity on whole-tree harvesting (WTH) sites when compared with similar conventional harvesting (CH) sites (Roxby & Howard, 2013)
Our data do not indicate that residue removal following whole-tree harvesting has a significant effect on the species composition or understory richness of regenerating northern hardwood forests
Summary
The burning of woody biomass to generate electricity has the potential to supply locally produced renewable energy to the northeastern United States. With its well established forest products sector, ample forest resources and high percentage of land in private ownership to quickly meet market demands, New England represents an ideal location for a wood-based biomass industry (Benjamin et al, 2009). In forested regions such as the northeastern US, whole-tree harvesting (WTH) is commonly used to supply biomass energy plants with feedstock. The effect of residue removal during whole-tree harvesting on the future species composition and productivity of our forests is not well known
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