Mike Curran

Criteria and guidance considerations for sustainable tree stump harvesting in British Columbia.

Abstract Stump extraction for forest health has been carried out operationally in British Columbia (BC) for many years. Emerging bioenergy opportunities plus the anticipated need for more fibre because of reductions in timber supply may increase interest in stump harvesting, but there are numerous environmental, economic and policy barriers that must be overcome first before industrial-scale stump harvesting can be seriously considered in BC. The potential for a future change in practice provides an opportunity to learn from the existing literature and identify knowledge gaps. In this article we review the available literature on stump harvesting from the European Union within the context of BCs forests, economy, biodiversity, environment and policies. We provide recommendations on how the government of BC could move forward if they decide to enable stump harvesting for fibre and bioenergy, including assessment of net economic and carbon benefits and environmental effects, improvements in inventory and the scientific knowledge base needed to support policy and guidance, and investigation of operational enhancements.

Provincial Government Standards, Criteria, and Indicators for Sustainable Harvest of Forest Biomass in British Columbia: Soil and Biodiversity

Abstract Sustainable forest management (SFM) is a cornerstone of forest management, whether the resulting forest products are destined for the manufacturing sector or for the emerging bioenergy feedstock market. In British Columbia, research on the environmental effects of forest management has generated scientific knowledge that has informed two linked areas of government responsibility: a comprehensive set of science-based regulations and policies to ensure soil and water conservation, and a monitoring program to ensure the effectiveness of these regulations and policies. An increasing amount of biomass is being harvested from British Columbia’s forests as a feedstock for bioenergy, and these removals have the potential to incrementally increase machine traffic and organic matter removals from forest sites, compared to harvesting operations focused solely on roundwood for timber or pulp. To the extent that existing standards support SFM, they may be sufficient for ensuring that biomass harvesting is also sustainable. Regardless of the new challenges created by intensive harvesting practices, the principles of soil and biodiversity conservation remain the same. The current framework for BC’s SFM policy is reviewed to examine whether it addresses the major sustainability issues that are likely to arise in the province if intensive biomass harvesting becomes more prevalent. We conclude that intensification of biomass removals will require us to keep focused on stand and landscape sensitivity to coarse woody debris removals and biodiversity requirements, nutrient removals, and cumulative soil disturbance.

Forestry as an end use for reclaimed mines : some considerations

Sometimes forestry is identified as an end use during mine reclamation planning. This is desirable and is feasible under some conditions. This paper provides some information from our perspective as soil scientists working on forest soil rehabilitation. Resource values such as wildlife and biodiversity figure prominently in forest planning, as does the desire to mimic natural disturbance processes to create a range of natural habitat conditions. Good stewardship of the soil resource is required to create and sustain all of these conditions. Because the undisturbed forest land base is under heavy pressure to provide a balance of resource values, one option is to create or maintain some of the non-timber habitat types during mine reclamation. Such an approach might free up more of the naturally productive, undisturbed sites for timber production while maintaining an appropriate balance of habitat types in a given area. However, timber production is still a highly desirable end use for mine areas and consideration should be given to topsoil handling, natural disturbance regimes and current harvest scheduling. Rehabilitated areas should be reforested using the same seed and stock standards as for forestry, with local native species and in landscape patterns similar to the undisturbed areas. Depending on the state of harvesting in the surrounding area, production from the mined areas should be fit into the overall harvesting schedule in the local area, to help maintain a balance of serai (age) stages. In summary, commercial trees are likely to grow on many sites, provided some form of topsoil is provided. 1 Paper presented at BC Land Reclamation Conference, September 1999, Kamloops. 2 Research Soil Scientist and Acting Forest Sciences Manager, BC Ministry of Forests, Nelson Forest Region, Nelson, BC, (250) 354-6274, http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/nelson/research/homepage.htm. 3 Soil Restoration Ecologist, BC Ministry of Forests, Research Branch, Kalamalka Research Station, Vernon, BC, (250) 260-4765.