FAQs

Why are there trees left standing in forests after harvesting operations?

Why are there trees left standing in forests after harvesting operations?

The trees that are left standing, and those on the ground are called deadwood. The issue of forest deadwood removal can be a complex one.  There are very good reasons in fact to leave deadwood in a forest after forest operations.  These are primarily down to two key factors – the first is for biodiversity and nature conservation reasons.  While forest deadwood looks untidy it provides food, habitat and shelter to a variety of plants, animals and fungi which in turn are preyed upon by other animal groups.

The second main reason is also nutrient retention and site fertility. On second rotation forest sites (where trees have been removed and are about to be replanted) the nutrients remaining in the deadwood often means that no fertiliser input is required to establish the crop.  Therefore, deadwood plays an important role here.  Having said that there are forest sites where deadwood is harvested and used for energy production.  This is often known as brash bundling – where the residue is gathered and then removed from site.  Before this can happen, the sites have to be selected according to specified criteria such as fertility, soil stability, etc. to ensure that the removal will not adversely affect future forest rotations.