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What do you do with the branches?

Started by Satamax, September 19, 2017, 01:54:12 AM

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Satamax

Hi everybody.

I've felled three sawmill larches Saturday.

There's a few big branches, 4 or 5 inches at the base.

What should i do with those?

Cut for firewood, the top of the tree will become firewood anyway.

Bit of a branchy mess hey?

French CD4 sawmill. Latil TL 73. Self moving hydraulic crane. Iveco daily 4x4 lwb dead as of 06/2020. Replaced by a Brimont TL80 CSA.

Blue Noser

What should be done with the branches depends on what your objectives are and what is acceptable to you. Two options that quickly come to mind are 1) Salvage what you can for firewood and leave the remainder where it lays; 2) Leave the branches where they lay and allow Mother Nature to do her thing and return the nutrients to the soil.

thecfarm

Limbs and firewood take time. But it does clean up the woods. I also run the chainsaw up and down the limbs,when the limbs are still on the tree. This also takes time. I try not to have anything over 2 feet long left in the woods. This also takes time. My land is hard to get around on. With rocks,knolls,and trees I want to leave,it can be hard to make a road. I only have a tractor,so this allows me to drive over my brush. With the way I do it,the brush,limbs that I leave in the woods,I can drive through. In a couple years it's on the ground and well on it's way onto laying flat on the ground. But as I said,it does take time. But if you are wanting it to look good,than it's time well spent. I have hauled out limb wood on a trailer in the past. I load it onto a trailer,than pile it up and saw it into firewood length. When I am in the woods now,I try to bring a bucket load of limb wood out every time.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

nativewolf

the limbs have most of the important nutrients for the forest, bark and leaves.  So, good to keep in place and the faster it gets back into the ground the better.  Getting the limbs down on the ground will help to stop erosion on your steep slopes, it helps hold moisture too and the higher moisture level will allow it all to decompose faster and give more moisture to surrounding trees.   Recommended silviculture practice in many dry forest sites.

Another reason is fire reduction, keeping forest floor from having large piles of slash (old tops and cull stems) really helps reduce fire danger.  In this way you don't want all the tops to fall into one spot but rather to fall through the forest floor.  Can make harvest a bit tricker and I'm no expert on this, some of the western members of the forum could maybe chime in. 

Liking Walnut

Satamax

Thanks a lot guys for your replies.

Well, here it's usual to leave branches on the ground, or in nearby pits. As this is mountain, rocks and grounds make all sort of craters and depressions.

But since i've seen guys haul loads of branches. I thought i would ask.

Thanks a lot.
French CD4 sawmill. Latil TL 73. Self moving hydraulic crane. Iveco daily 4x4 lwb dead as of 06/2020. Replaced by a Brimont TL80 CSA.

Claybraker

Here in the SE USA, coarse woody debris makes good cover, nesting bedding sites for critters, especially the ones that make good targets and are tasty.

g_man

I agree with Claybraker. Brush piles are great for critters and birds. If I have to move slash I usually make a brush pile. It amazes me the variety of wildlife I see using them. A side benefit of logging. Here is one I got a little carried away with but it is in the high rent district.



 

gg

mike_belben

Few years ago i noticed the squirrels and chipmunks had disappeared.. Likely due to the abundance of hawks, yotes and maybe snakes. So I culled all the crummy trees on my patch and started making brush clumps along a row that goes to the creek where all critters go for a cold one.  Spaced the piles maybe every ten foot or so.  Near the creek itself i actually made it a continuous brush row to give them cover for travel.

Theyve started coming back already, and only have genetically prime acorns to plant for me now. 
Praise The Lord

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