scholarly journals Opinions of Forest Managers, Loggers, and Forest Landowners in North Carolina regarding Biomass Harvesting Guidelines

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Fielding ◽  
Frederick Cubbage ◽  
M. Nils Peterson ◽  
Dennis Hazel ◽  
Brunell Gugelmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Forest Health ◽  
Woody Biomass ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Forest Landowners ◽  
Biomass Harvesting ◽  
Forest Managers

Woody biomass has been identified as an important renewable energy source capable of offsetting fossil fuel use. The potential environmental impacts associated with using woody biomass for energy have spurred development of biomass harvesting guidelines (BHGs) in some states and proposals for BHGs in others. We examined stakeholder opinions about BHGs through 60 semistructured interviews with key participants in the North Carolina, USA, forest business sector—forest managers, loggers, and forest landowners. Respondents generally opposed requirements for new BHGs because guidelines added to best management practices (BMPs). Most respondents believed North Carolina’s current BMPs have been successful and sufficient in protecting forest health; biomass harvesting is only an additional component to harvesting with little or no modification to conventional harvesting operations; and scientific research does not support claims that biomass harvesting negatively impacts soil, water quality, timber productivity, or wildlife habitat. Some respondents recognized possible benefits from the implementation of BHGs, which included reduced site preparation costs and increases in proactive forest management, soil quality, and wildlife habitat. Some scientific literature suggests that biomass harvests may have adverse site impacts that require amelioration. The results suggest BHGs will need to be better justified for practitioners based on the scientific literature or linked to demand from new profitable uses or subsidies to offset stakeholder perceptions that they create unnecessary costs.

scholarly journals Logging Business Practices and Perspectives on Harvesting Forest Residues for Energy: A Minnesota Case Study

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna L. Dirkswager ◽  
Michael A. Kilgore ◽  
Dennis R. Becker ◽  
Charlie Blinn ◽  
Alan Ek
Keyword(s):  
Forest Health ◽  
Woody Biomass ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Utilization Efficiency ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Forest Residues ◽  
Biomass Harvesting ◽  
Resource Uncertainty

Abstract Timber harvesting residues, specifically the nonmerchantable tree tops and limbs associated with a commercial roundwood harvest, have the capacity to supply substantial feedstock for energy production. Phone interviews of Minnesota's logging business owners who process residual woody biomass for energy using chippers and grinders were conducted in summer 2008 to characterize their practices on harvesting and processing these residues and to collect qualitative data describing biomass harvesting opportunities and constraints. Minnesota's logging businesses are highly variable with respect to many aspects of woody biomass harvesting, such as preferred tree species, equipment configurations, strategies for collecting and processing residual biomass, and utilization efficiency. Factors cited as having a substantial influence on future biomass harvesting opportunities included the environmental benefits of burning woody biomass over traditional nonrenewable fuels and the potential for biomass harvesting to positively affect wildlife habitat and forest health. Low prices received for delivered wood chips and grindings, high fixed and variable operating costs, and resource uncertainty about future harvesting restrictions due to environmental concerns were cited as important issues that could limit growth in the state's woody biomass harvesting sector.

What are the Environmental Consequences of Using Silviculturally Effective Forest Vegetation Management Treatments?

2011 ◽  
Vol 87 (02) ◽  
pp. 201-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathie Swift ◽  
F. Wayne Bell
Keyword(s):  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Vegetation Management ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Forest Vegetation ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
Harvesting Systems ◽  
Forest Vegetation Management

In this paper, we present examples of stand-level consequences of using forest vegetation management treatments in boreal and temperate forest ecosystems in Canada. Specifically, we address several selected indicators: air and water quality, soils and nutrients, plant diversity, and wildlife habitat. For each of these, we discuss direct and indirect effects of five broad categories of treatments: (1) silviculture and harvesting systems and (2) physical, (3) thermal, (4) cultural, and (5) chemical/biological treatments. Our emphasis is on forest vegetation management treatments that are currently used in Canada to manage conifers. By applying regulations and best management practices, conducting landscape-level analyses and developing longer-term monitoring programs resource managers can minimize the effects of FVM treatments on the environmental indicators presented in this paper.

Medusahead Ecology and Management: California Annual Grasslands to the Intermountain West

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleta M. Nafus ◽  
Kirk W. Davies
Keyword(s):  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Intermountain West ◽  
Forage Production ◽  
Management Objectives ◽  
Annual Grasslands ◽  
New Information ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractThe spread of medusahead across the western United States has severe implications for a wide range of ecosystem services. Medusahead invasion reduces biodiversity, wildlife habitat and forage production, and often leads to increased fire frequency and restoration costs. Medusahead is problematic in the Intermountain West and California Annual Grasslands. The last review of medusahead ecology and management was completed 20 years ago. Since the last review, there have been scientific advances in medusahead management suggesting a significant need to develop an up-to-date synthesis. Medusahead continues to pose a serious threat to rangeland ecosystems. In this synthesis, we present new information regarding the ecology of medusahead, suggest a framework for managing medusahead based on invasion level, and identify research needs to further improve management of this invasive annual grass. Success of different management practices varies between the Intermountain West and California Annual Grasslands, signifying that the best management practices are those specifically tailored with consideration of climate, soil, plant community characteristics, and management objectives. Prevention and control treatments that are useful in the Intermountain West may not be practical or effective in the California Annual Grasslands and vice-versa.

scholarly journals The Decline of the Clearcut: 26 Years of Change in Silvicultural Practices and Implications in Minnesota

2020 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 244-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
M A Windmuller-Campione ◽  
M B Russell ◽  
E Sagor ◽  
A W D’Amato ◽  
A R Ek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Ownership Structure ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Forest Health ◽  
Forest Industry ◽  
Organizational Policy ◽  
Forest Management Practices ◽  
And Shifts ◽  
Forest Lands ◽  
Forest Managers

Abstract Silvicultural decisions and forest-management practices in Minnesota represent the collaboration and partnership between forest managers from multiple organizations and forest researchers. To better understand current practices, trends, needs, and opportunities, Minnesota has invested in the collection of quantitative data on the application of silvicultural systems and forest-management activities in 1991, 1996, 2008, and 2017. Drawing on those data, the goal of our study is to summarize 26 years of data to characterize and quantify trends in forest-management practices. During this period of time, timberland ownership (acres) has increased, whereas harvested volume has decreased (cords). Across state, federal, county, forest industry, and tribal forest lands, which collectively represent the majority of timberlands in Minnesota, the clearcut system decreased from 91% of the harvested area in 1991 to 72 percent in 2017. In contrast, the proportion of total harvested area as part of shelterwood, seed tree, selection, and thinning treatments all more than doubled from 1991 to 2017. Factors influencing the changes relate to forest health and diseases, shifts in ownership structure, and shifts in organizational policy and/or goals. The factors identified mirror many of the trends forest managers are experiencing in other regions, nationally and internationally.

scholarly journals Potential Unintended Consequences Associated with Urban Fertilizer Bans in Florida—A Scientific Review

2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 600-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Hochmuth ◽  
Terril Nell ◽  
J. Bryan Unruh ◽  
Laurie Trenholm ◽  
Jerry Sartain
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Nutrient Losses ◽  
Local Ordinance

Degraded inland and coastal water quality is a critical statewide concern in Florida and other states. Nutrients released from land-based human activities are present in water bodies resulting in algal blooms and increased eutrophication that impairs water bodies for their intended uses. There are differing approaches to addressing eutrophication, including voluntary adoption of current best management practices (BMPs) for nutrients, state regulation, or local county or municipal ordinances. The local ordinance, some including a summer (or so-called “wet season”) fertilizer ban or “blackout,” has been the chosen approach in some Florida counties and municipalities to address local water quality issues. Many components of these ordinances follow published BMPs, and there is agreement in the literature on the effectiveness of these practices for preventing nutrient losses from the landscape. However, there has been disagreement among stakeholders regarding the inclusion of a total fertilizer ban in a local ordinance. Regulators are asking about the best approach to controlling urban pollution and if banning fertilizer in the growing season would achieve the desired environmental protection and whether there are any potential unintended consequences associated with removing fertilizer from turfgrass growing in the summer months. The scientific literature documents the nature and scope of the water pollution problem, and numerous research reports have addressed fertilizer BMPs to prevent nutrient losses from the landscape. This article discusses the increased rate of eutrophication and reviews the pertinent national literature regarding managing urban landscape fertilization to protect water quality. Particular attention is given to fertilization practices during the active landscape plant (especially turfgrass) growth period that corresponds to the summer fertilizer bans in some Florida local ordinances. Therefore, special attention is paid to the question of what information is in the scientific literature and whether a fertilizer ban is the best way of achieving the goal of improving urban water quality. Research summarized in this review points to potential unintended consequences of increased nutrient losses from urban landscapes, particularly turfgrass, when proper, recommended fertilization and irrigation practices are not followed.

scholarly journals Six State Survey of Container Nursery Nitrate Nitrogen Runoff

1993 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 206-208
Author(s):  
T. Yeager ◽  
R. Wright ◽  
D. Fare ◽  
C. Gilliam ◽  
J. Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Controlled Release ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Best Management ◽  
Drinking Water Standard ◽  
Nitrogen Runoff ◽  
Controlled Release Fertilizers ◽  
Container Nursery

Abstract Container nursery bed runoff, reservoirs or ponds that contained runoff, wells, and surface water discharged from the property or at the property border were sampled at approximately 6-week intervals during April–October 1990 in Alabama, Florida, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia. Runoff from container beds averaged 8 and 20 ppm NO3-N, respectively, for nurseries using controlled-release fertilizers (CRF) and controlled-release fertilizers supplemented with solution fertilizers (CRFSS). Average NO3-N levels for runoff collection ponds, property borders, and wells were each less than 10 ppm, the drinking water limit, regardless of fertilizers used. However, ppm NO3-N for some samples exceeded the drinking water standard. In general, these data indicate reason for concern and nursery operators need to implement best management practices.

Implementation of Forestry Best Management Practices and Sediment Delivery in Three Regions of North Carolina and Virginia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent S Hawks ◽  
M Chad Bolding ◽  
W Michael Aust ◽  
Scott M Barrett ◽  
Erik Schilling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Forest Operations ◽  
Sediment Delivery ◽  
Management Zones ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Best Management ◽  
Streamside Management Zones ◽  
Sediment Mass

Abstract Forestry best management practices (BMPs) were created in response to the Clean Water Act of 1972 to protect water quality from nonpoint source pollutants such as sediment. The objectives of this study were to quantify the relationship between BMP implementation and sediment delivery on 58 recently harvested sites across three physiographic regions and five forest operational features. BMP implementation rates, erosion rates, sediment delivery ratios, and sediment masses were calculated at 183 silt fences functioning as sediment traps adjacent to streams in Virginia and North Carolina. Major access system features, including stream crossings, skid trails, and haul roads, typically delivered the greatest sediment mass to streams and had the highest sediment delivery ratios on a per feature basis. When accounting for sediment mass delivered and area in each feature, harvest area accounted for approximately 70% of sediment delivered to streams for all regions. Most features had proportionally higher erosion rates than sediment masses collected at silt fences, indicating that most erosion generated by forest operations is being trapped by either harvest areas or streamside management zones. For most features and regions, as BMP implementation increased, erosion rates and the sediment masses delivered to streams decreased. Study Implications Forestry best management practices (BMPs) are designed to mitigate the amount of sediment entering streams and affecting other aquatic features as a result of forest operations. In this study, a significant inverse relationship between BMP implementation and the amount of sediment delivered to streams was found, indicating that increasing levels of BMP implementation reduces sediment delivery. Most of the erosion caused by forest operations is being trapped before it is delivered to streams. This research highlights the importance of leaving streamside management zones along streams and minimizing the extent of bare soil and area in temporary and permanent roads.

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