Quantifying consequences of removing harvesting residues on forest soils and tree growth - A meta-analysis

Increasing attention is being paid to using modern fuelwood as a substitute for fossil energies to reduce CO2 emissions. In this context, forest biomass, particularly harvesting residues (branches), and stumps and associated coarse roots, can be used to supply fuelwood chains. However, collecting harvesting residues can affect soil properties and trees, and these effects are still not fully understood. The main objective of the present study was to compile published data worldwide and to quantify the overall effects of removing harvesting residues on nutrient outputs, chemical and biological soil fertility and tree growth, through a meta-analysis. Our study showed that, compared with conventional stem-only harvest, removing the stem plus the harvesting residues generally increases nutrient outputs thereby leading to reduced amounts of total and available nutrients in soils and soil acidification, particularly when foliage is harvested along with the branches. Losses of available nutrients in soils could also be explained by reduced microbial activity and mineralization fluxes, which in turn, may be affected by changes in organic matter quality and environmental conditions (soil compaction, temperature and moisture). Soil fertility losses were shown to have consequences for the subsequent forest ecosystem: tree growth was reduced by 3-7% in the short or medium term (up to 33 years after harvest) in the most intensive harvests (e.g. when branches are exported with foliage). Combining all the results showed that, overall, whole-tree harvesting has negative impacts on soil properties and trees that may have an impact on the functioning of forest ecosystems. Practical measures that could be taken to mitigate the environmental consequences of removing harvesting residues are discussed. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.