Amount of nutrients extracted and left behind at a clear-felled area using the fresh-stacked and dried-stacked methods of logging residue extraction

Nutrient removal has been one of the key issues since the harvesting of logging residues started in Sweden. This study examined the actual removal of nutrients by measuring the amounts of biomass removed (from a forest products perspective) combined with their respective nutrient concentrations (N, P, Ca, K and Mg), from a clear-felled area when using the dried-stacked and fresh-stacked methods. The most important finding is that the two methods were very similar regarding nutrients remaining at the clear-felled area. Of the nutrients remaining there, most were found to be well distributed between the harvester heaps. Both methods fulfilled the requirements of the Swedish Forest Agency. A sensitivity analysis showed that even if the dried-stacked method left more needles, or the fresh-stacked method extracted more logging residues, there would only be a small impact on the levels of nutrients removed. The sensitivity analysis also showed that the amount of logging residues remaining between the harvester heaps seems to be much more important for nutrients left behind, regardless of extraction method. With this in mind, it is highly probable that improvements to the extraction of logging residues, without increasing nutrient removal, can be made.