Abstract
Use of whole tree biomass becomes increasingly more important due to rising demand for renewable energy and materials to replace fossil resources. Therefore, assessment of influence of this approach on hemiboreal forest ecosystem is essential. The aim of our study was to assess the long-term influence of full biomass removal (FBR) on the ground vegetation and soil chemical composition in Scots pine stands. Study sites were located in Vacciniosa, Myrtillosa, and Myrtillosa mel. forest types. Almost half a century from the FBR, it had no notable or significant influence on number of ground vegetation species. Significant differences in overall vegetation composition between stands established after FBR and conventional harvesting (stem-wood removal) were not found by the detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and analysis of similarities (ANOSIM). In addition, values of Ellenberg and Düll indicators were similar and, in most cases (determined by forest type and parameter), had no significant differences between FBR and the same age control stands. Similarly, no significant differences were found between these stands in soil carbon and nitrogen pools. Thus, there had not been a negative long-term effect of FBR on the hemiboreal Scots pine ecosystem as indicated by ground vegetation and soil.
Highlights
The aim of stump harvesting has been, and still is, to ensure additional wood resources.Historically, stumps have been a resource for tar [1,2] or chemical processing [3]; currently, they are viewed as a source for bioenergy
Undergrowth species were less common in all forest types, where such undergrowth species as Betula pendula, Frangula alnus, Picea abies, and Pinus sylvestris were in all stands
Forest type was with invasive species Prunus domestica, which is gone wild from nearest gardens (Table 2; Table S1)
Summary
The aim of stump harvesting has been, and still is, to ensure additional wood resources.Historically, stumps have been a resource for tar [1,2] or chemical processing [3]; currently, they are viewed as a source for bioenergy. The aim of stump harvesting has been, and still is, to ensure additional wood resources. L.), harvestable amount of stumps and coarse roots is about 11% to 18%, and biomass from stem and branches is about from 78% to 83%, and the fine roots and needles are approximately 6% [4,6,7,8]. For Norway spruce (Picea abies), the amount of harvestable stem and branch biomass is from 60% to 72%, the stump and coarse roots are from 18% to. 21% of all tree biomass, and needles, cones, and small and fine roots are approximately. In Northern Europe, stump harvesting is primarily practiced in Norway spruce forests of Finland. The amount that Finland harvests from stumps and roots is on average
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