Part 1: Logging residues in piles - Needle loss and fuel quality. Part 2: Nitrogen leaching under piles of logging residues

Part 1: Experimental piles were built in three geographical locations during May-Sept. 1989. Logging residues consisted of 95% spruce and 5% pine. Height of the piles varied between 80 and 230 cm. Needles were collected by placing drawers under 40 randomely chosen piles. The drawers were emptied every two weeks during the storage period. Natural needle loss was between 18 and 32% of the total amount of needles after the first two months of storage. At the end of the storage period, 24-42% of the needles had fallen down to the drawers. At the end of the experiment the total needle fall was 95-100% in the shaken piles. According to the results of this study piles smaller than 150 cm had the most effective needle fall. Piles should be placed on open places where the air and sun heat penetrate and dry them. Needles were the most sensitive fraction to variations in precipitation compared to the other components, such as branches. Piles usually dried quickly, but they also rewet easily. This was especially true in the smaller piles. The lowest moisture content was measured at the end of June. The ash content in needles varied between 4 and 8%. 16 refs., 15 figs. Part 2: Three field experiments were equipped with no-tension humus lysimeters. Pairs of lysimeters with the same humus/field layer vegetation material were placed in pairs, one under a pile of felling residues and another in the open clear felling. Leaching of nitrogen as well as pH and electric conductivity in the leachate was followed through sampling of the leachate at regular intervals. The results from the investigation show that: * the amount of leachate was higher in lysimeters in the open clear felling, * pH in the leachate was initially lower under piles of felling residues, * the amount of nitrogen leached was higher in the open clear felling. Thus, storing of felling residues in piles during the summer season did not cause any increase in nitrogen leaching, which had been considered to be a risk