Estimated erosion, ground cover, and best management practices audit details for postharvest evaluations of biomass and conventional clearcut harvests

Abstract

Increased use of biomass for energy will likely result in greater utilization of logging residues. Reduced levels of logging residues due to biomass harvesting is considered a potential concern for postharvest erosion rates and best management practices (BMP) implementation. Twenty operational harvests consisting of 10 Biomass and 10 Conventional clearcuts, with an average size of 39.8 acres, were evaluated in the Virginia Piedmont for estimated erosion rates, residual ground cover, and BMP implementation. Harvests were stratified into operational areas and the universal soil loss equation was applied to estimate erosion rates within each operational category on the 20 sites. No significant differences in estimated erosion rates were found in any of the operational categories. The overall estimated erosion rates were relatively low for both Biomass (0.7 ton acre−1 year−1) and Conventional harvests (0.8 ton acre−1 year−1) (P = 0.5708). BMP audits were conducted following the Virginia Department of Forestry procedures, and no significant differences were found for overall BMP implementation on Biomass (85.2%) versus Conventional (81.3%) sites (P = 0.6753). A comparison of BMP audit data and estimated erosion rates indicates a significant correlation (R 2 = 0.9198, P < 0.0001) between the two indices of BMP efficacy.