Repeatedly Harvesting Narrow Strips of Forest for Energy Biomass Benefits the Herbaceous Layer

Kelsey T Razvillas* and Kirsten Stephan
Division of Forestry and Natural Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26056

Presentation No.: 34

Assigned Category (Presentation Format): Agricultural & Environmental Sciences (Poster Presentations)

Student’s Major: Forest Resource Management

The repeated harvesting of wood as a source for energy biomass is a potential option to reduce fossil fuel usage. Responses of the forest ecosystem (e.g., soils, herbaceous plants) to a single cut have been well documented, but effects of repeated strip cutting for woody biomass harvest are not yet well studied. In this study, herb-layer cover, species richness and Shannon-Wiener diversity were compared between harvested areas (strips) of variable width (2.4 m, 3.7 m, 4.9 m), 2.4-m residual strips between the cut strips, and an uncut control. Treatment plots were cut in spring 2014 and 2020 and sampled in summer 2019 and 2020. Results show that the means of herb-layer cover, richness, and diversity were higher in cut strips (regardless of width) than in the control, but only the difference in cover was statistically significant (P=0.03). Thus, with respect to the herbaceous layer, strip cutting for woody biomass as an energy source appears to be sustainable and likely beneficial.

Funding:

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: Other