Effect of Topping Trees on Biomass and Nitrogen Removal in the Thinning of Norway Spruce Stands
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Area
2.2. Stand Characteristics
2.3. Estimation of Logging Residues after Conventional FT-Cable Yarding
2.3.1. Harvesting Operations
2.3.2. Estimation of Logging Residues
2.4. Estimation of Total-Tree and Tree-Top Biomass
2.4.1. Stand Inventory
2.4.2. Felled-Tree Sampling
2.4.3. Tree Biomass Equations
2.4.4. Tree-Top Biomass Equations
2.5. Estimation of Biomass and Nitrogen Removal
- branches and foliage, which break off during felling and extraction (Section 2.3);
- biomass of tree-tops, which remain after topping the trees at a certain diameter (Section 2.4).
3. Results
3.1. Logging Residues after Conventional FT Cable Yarding
3.2. Distribution of Logging Residues after Conventional FT Cable Yarding
3.3. Additional Effect of Topping on the Amount of Logging Residues
3.3.1. Tree Biomass Models
3.3.2. Tree-Top Biomass Models
3.4. Scenario Analyses
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Parameter | Study Sites (Stands) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | ||
Harvesting operation | Second thinning | First thinning | First thinning | |
Previous operation | First thinning | Pre-commercial thinning | - | |
Harvesting area (m2) | 10,200 | 11,700 | 6800 | |
Number of cable lines | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
Yarding distance (m) | 170 | 250 | 125 | |
Extraction direction | uphill | uphill | uphill | |
Stand age (years) | 58 | 38 | 34 | |
Average slope (%) | 53 | 61 | 70 | |
Species composition | 85% spruce | 83% spruce | 80% spruce | |
9% larch | 9% larch | 10% birch | ||
6% others | 8% others | 10% others | ||
Stand density 1 (trees ha−1) | Before harvesting | 728 | 979 | 1667 |
After harvesting | 320 | 454 | 500 | |
Basal area 1 (m² ha−1) | Before harvesting | 52.4 | 26.4 | 34.2 |
After harvesting | 31.9 | 15.7 | 17.1 | |
Stand volume 1 (m³ ha−1) | Before harvesting | 727 | 271 | 204 |
After harvesting | 451 | 163 | 109 |
Attribute | Mean | SD 1 | Min | Max |
---|---|---|---|---|
Stand 1—Second Thinning (n = 8) | ||||
DBH (cm) | 29.9 | 8.7 | 16.0 | 41.9 |
height (m) | 29.1 | 3.8 | 22.1 | 34.1 |
crown length (m) | 13.8 | 1.9 | 10.3 | 16.7 |
crown ratio (%) | 47 | 4 | 39 | 54 |
Stand 2—First Thinning (n = 8) | ||||
DBH (cm) | 17.4 | 4.5 | 10.4 | 23.0 |
height (m) | 18.3 | 3.0 | 12.4 | 20.8 |
crown length (m) | 9.2 | 2.4 | 6.3 | 12.7 |
crown ratio (%) | 50 | 8 | 36 | 61 |
Stand 3—First Thinning (n = 9) | ||||
DBH (cm) | 16.5 | 4.8 | 9.1 | 22.4 |
height (m) | 16.5 | 4.3 | 7.1 | 21.0 |
crown length (m) | 7.8 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 10.3 |
crown ratio (%) | 46 | 8 | 35 | 62 |
Component | n | Parameter Estimates | RMSE | AIC | cf | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
β0 | β1 | β2 | β3 | β4 | |||||
ln(Needles) | 25 | −9.748 c | 2.507 c | - | 1.219 b | - | 0.244 | 22.2 | 1.007 |
ln(Live branches) | 25 | −5.059 c | 2.613 c | - | - | - | 0.308 | 28.5 | 1.026 |
ln(Dead branches) | 25 | 1.645 | 2.539 c | - | −1.961 b | - | 0.386 | 45.2 | 1.059 |
ln(Bark) | 25 | −5.054 c | 1.719 c | 0.795 a | - | - | 0.160 | 1.5 | 1.015 |
ln(Wood) | 25 | −4.131 c | 1.885 c | 1.018 c | - | - | 0.137 | −8.4 | 0.976 |
Component | n | Parameter estimates | RMSE | AIC | cf | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
β0 | β1 | β2 | β3 | β4 | β5 | |||||
ln(Needles) | 125 | −7.324 c | - | 1.553 c | - | - | 1.906 c | 0.402 | 164.4 | 1.037 |
ln(Live branches) | 125 | −6.031 c | 0.942 c | - | - | - | 2.223 c | 0.399 | 152.7 | 1.089 |
ln(Bark) | 125 | −7.565 c | −0.914 c | 0.996 b | - | - | 3.247 c | 0.399 | 126.4 | 0.928 |
ln(Wood) | 125 | −6.427 c | −1.213 c | 1.141 c | - | - | 3.669 c | 0.336 | 92.5 | 0.936 |
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Huber, C.; Kastner, M.; Hochbichler, E.; Stampfer, K. Effect of Topping Trees on Biomass and Nitrogen Removal in the Thinning of Norway Spruce Stands. Sustainability 2017, 9, 1856. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101856
Huber C, Kastner M, Hochbichler E, Stampfer K. Effect of Topping Trees on Biomass and Nitrogen Removal in the Thinning of Norway Spruce Stands. Sustainability. 2017; 9(10):1856. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101856
Chicago/Turabian StyleHuber, Christoph, Maximilian Kastner, Eduard Hochbichler, and Karl Stampfer. 2017. "Effect of Topping Trees on Biomass and Nitrogen Removal in the Thinning of Norway Spruce Stands" Sustainability 9, no. 10: 1856. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101856