Green Horizons

Have you ever thought of harvesting wood from your woodlot? With increased interest in renewable energy production, significant interest has been given to producing energy from wood. A group of partners received a grant to write Best Management Practices (BMPs) for woody biomass harvesting in Missouri. The primary purpose of these BMPs are to provide guidance to natural resource managers, loggers, equipment operators, contractors and landowners to assist them in making informed and appropriate decisions regarding biomass harvesting on forested sites. For BMP purposes, recommendations have been drafted based on harvest effects on forestland sites and communities, using the best available scientific information. Although leaving a site alone is always an option, these BMPs are primarily intended for cases where active forest management (in this case biomass harvesting) will take place or is being seriously considered.

What is woody biomass harvesting? For the purposes of these guidelines, woody biomass harvesting includes the process of collecting and removing woody biomass from forested sites. In addition to the utilization of tops and limbs from trees harvested in a roundwood operation, woody biomass harvest might include the utilization of small diameter trees, or stems which have historically been “nonmerchantable,” dead trees, down and dead woody material, and brush. Woody biomass harvest removes more woody material from a site than would be removed under typical roundwood harvest. Often woody biomass harvesting is conducted in addition to roundwood harvesting on the same site, either in conjunction with the roundwood harvest or soon after. However, woody biomass harvesting can be conducted on sites where a roundwood harvesting is not occurring.

What did we do? A 16-member interdisciplinary technical committee developed the BMPs for Woody Biomass Harvesting document based on the best scientific information available. The committee also received valuable guidance based on issues generated from a diverse group of stakeholders. The Technical Committee was made up of individuals from the following range of expertise: soil science, wildlife biology, hydrology, forest management, forest ecology, forest industry, and silviculture. To see the final draft BMPs, visit the following Web site http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/applications/MDCLibrary/MDCLibrary2.aspx?NodeID=2055