11. Logging – Humic Acids, Horizons, Buffers and pH

344.  We especially need to know more about the fallen tree – soil interface, probably the single most important habitat and potential niche for the survival of organisms in drastically altered systems (Maser and Trappe, 1984, pg49-par1).        

345.  Some of the largest accumulations of CWD occur in the unmanaged forest of the Pacific Northwest. CWD can range from 130 to 276 tons per acre in stands from 100 to more than 1,000 years old. Although here we are concerned with Douglas fir, neither decaying wood nor research data are unique to forests of the Pacific Northwest. McFee and Stone (1966) Observed that decaying wood persisted for more than 100 years in New York and others pointed out that substantial accumulations of CWD in old-growth forest in Poland.  These observations evidence the long-term continuity of decaying trees as structural components in forest (Maser and Trappe, 1984, pg 16-par1).

346.  Logging is removing material that would have played a key role in humus formation and regulator of the incorporation of nitrogen into humic materials.  This is an important feature.  Because of its high cation exchange capacity and slow decomposition, so called rotten wood can retain available mineral nitrogen from throughfall and decomposition as well as organic nitrogen compounds mineralized within the wood chemical matrix.  Non-woody roots and mycorrhizae of plant species that colonize decaying wood use its available nitrogen (Maser, Tarrant, Trappe, and Franklin, 1988, pg39-par1).

347.  Logging is removing the long-term input by nitrogen fixation in decaying fallen trees and by canopy inhibiting lichens which would have maintained a positive balance of nitrogen in the ecosystem (Maser, Tarrant, Trappe, and Franklin, 1988, pg40-par3).

348.  Logging removing materials that would be decaying wood which would have had long term potential for contributing nitrogen for tree growth as residual lignin and humus are decomposed (Maser, Tarrant, Trappe, and Franklin, 1988, pg40-par1).   

349.  Logging is removing materials that would have performed ecological functions, in many cases, for more than 400 years. Woody duff, regardless of type or size, takes considerably longer to decompose than does needle and leaf duff.  Needles, leaves, and small twigs decompose faster than larger woody material and essential elements are thereby recycled faster in the forest floor. About 140 years are needed for essential elements to cycle in large, fallen trees and more than 400 years for such trees to become incorporated into the forest floor; they therefore interact with the plants and animals of the forest floor and soil over a long period of forest and stand successional history (Maser, Tarrant, Trappe and Franklin, 1988, pg36-last par).   

350.  Logging greatly reduces humus formation.  In fact:  Lignin is important in later stages of decomposition because it affects the proportions of different residues that may be incorporated into humic materials.  Woody duff components are generally higher in initial lignin than are nonwoody components (table 2.13); high lignin content results in formation of large quantities of humus in latter stages of decay (Maser, Tarrant, Trappe and Franklin, 1988, pg39-par1).    

351.  Logging alters the soil chemistry by creating a less acid and less humic soil in many cases.  Studies show conifer logs, so called well-rotted, can be quite acid.  Ectomycorrhizae form with just a few fungi compared to adjacent less acid humus and soil (Trappe, 1977).

352.  Logging removes the source of much needed “soil wood” (Page-Dumroese, Harvey, Jurgensen and Graham, 1991).

353.  Logging is removing future needed active parts of the soil system as soil wood.  In fact:  Coarse woody debris can be incorporated into the surface soil horizon as freezing and thawing cycles move CWD into the soil. Additionally, CWD can be covered as soil moves downhill. Depending on the forest type, large amounts can be left in the form of decaying tree roots. All of these materials, in the advanced stages of decay, can be active parts of the soil system as soil wood. (Carbon Based Cellulose) Because CWD is an important component of a functioning ecosystem, a portion of this material must be maintained. As the demand for forest products and the ability to utilize more fiber increases, less material is being left after timber harvesting or after salvage operations. These operations, in combination with past practices of slash disposal and site preparation, have reduced organic material in the forest floor, making CWD management critical (Harvey and others 1987). Consequently, recommendations for maintaining CWD for different ecosystems and forest types are needed (Graham, Harvey, Jurgensen, Jain, Tonn and Page-Dumroese, 1994).  

354.  Logging reduces the soil of the forest, health. 

355.  Ectomycorrhizae absorb moisture and essential elements, and translocate them to their host plants, making ectomycorrhizae essential for the development of such ecosystems (Harley and Smith 1983; Harvey and others 1979; Harvey and others 1987; Marks and Kozlowski 1973; Maser 1990). Therefore, we assume their presence and abundance to be a good indicator of a healthy, functioning forest soil. Ectomycorrhizae have a strong positive relationship with soil organic materials (Harvey and others 1981). Soil wood, humus, and the upper layers of mineral soil that are rich in organic matter are the primary substrates for the development of ectomycorrhizae. (Graham, Harvey, Jurgensen, Jain, Tonn and Page-Dumroese, 1994).   Some examples of trees associated with ectomycorrhizae are - Chestnut, Beech, Birch, Hickory, Oak, Hemlock and White Pine.
   
356.  Logging, such as the Painter Run Windthrow Salvage Project, has demands to remove all available fiber at harvesting sites.  Intensive fiber removal or intense wildfire potentially reduces the parent materials (duff and wood residues) available for the production of organic reserves in forest soils. This reserve, primarily in the form of humus, decayed wood, and charcoal, has been shown critical to the support of both nonsymbiotic nitrogen fixing and ectomycorrhizal activities in forest soils of western Montana.  Harvest and fire-caused reductions of organic materials on and in northern forest soils have been linked to reforestation problems. This study was undertaken to provide a preliminary estimate of the impact of varying amounts and kinds of soil organic matter on ectomycorrhizal development in mature western Montana forests (Harvey, Jurgensen and Larsen, 1981).

357.  Logging often is removing heartwood of heartwood forming trees, which would have merged into humus becoming incorporated into the soil profile (Maser and Trappe, 1984, pg11-par6).

358.  Logging is removing material that would have been hugged by the soil and would have buffered it against fluctuations in air temperature.
Further, decomposing wood undergoes changes in other chemical constituents and pH as well as physical structure.  Very old, decayed wood can even become somewhat humified and leave long-lasting substrate resistant to further decay (Maser and Trappe, 1984, pg 13, pg 19-par. 4).  

359.  Logging is removing present and future material that would have contributed to long-term accumulation of soil organic matter, partly because the carbon constituents of well-decayed wood are 80-90 percent residual lignin and humus (Maser, Tarrant, Trappe and Franklin, 1988, pg44-par3).  Logging is removing present and future materials on dry sites in the soil, which the establishment of conifer seedlings and mycorrhizal fungi are positively correlated  (Maser, Tarrant, Trappe and Franklin, 1988, pg44-par3).  Logging is removing present and future materials that would have also created and maintained diversity in forest communities. (Maser, Tarrant, Trappe and Franklin, 1988).  Soil properties of pits and mounds differ from those of surrounding soil; such chemical and topographic diversity in turn affects forest regeneration processes.  All this, especially large fallen trees that reside on the forest floor for long periods, add to spatial, chemical, and biotic diversity of forest soils, and to the processes that maintain long-term forest productivity (Maser, Tarrant, Trappe, and Franklin, 1988,pg43-3).

360.  Logging is removing fallen tress or future fallen trees that when oriented along the contour of a slope, the upslope side would be filled with humus and inorganic material which would have allowed invertebrates and small vertebrates to tunnel alongside. The downslope side would have provided protective cover for larger vertebrates. When under a closed canopy, such trees would have also been saturated with water and act as a reservoir during the dry part of the year (Maser, Tarrant, Trappe, and Franklin, 1988,pg44-fig2.4).

361.  Logging removes future sites that would have served for reproduction of tree species (Franklin, Cromack, Kermit, et al. others, 1981).  

362.  Logging is removing a clearly important function of a system containing trees (Franklin, Cromack, Kermit, et al. others, 1981). 

363.  Note: The phenomenon of nurse logs is widespread in the forest types of the Pacific North- west. Minore (1972) found that seedlings of both Sitka spruce and western hemlock were more numerous and taller on so called rotten logs than on the adjacent forest floor at Cascade Head Experimental Forest (Franklin, Cromack, Kermit, et al. others, 1981). 

364.  Logging is removing so called rotten wood or so called rotten wood to be.  So-called rotten wood is critical as substrate for ectomycorrhizal formation. E.g., in one forest which contained a coniferous stand of trees (Eastern Hemlock and White Pine are coniferous), over 95 percent of all active mycorrhizae were in organic matter of which 21 percent were in decayed wood.  In another study in the northern Rocky Mountains, decayed wood in soil was important.  In moist, mesic, and arid habitat types (Harvey et al. 1979); it was the most frequent substrate for active ectomycorrhizae on the dry site, probably because of high moisture levels in the wood.  Mycorrhizal fungi can colonize logs. presumably using them as sources of water, essential elements and nutrients.  (Franklin, Cromack, Kermit, et al. others, 1981). 

365.  Logging is removing material that would have facilitated a slow release of essential elements, ameliorated leaching, and provided a growing substrate for bryophytes. (Harmon et al. 1986; FEMAT 1993; Samuelsson et al. 1994) (Voller and Harrison, 1998).     

366.  Logging is removing material that would have buffered water and essential elements released from duff and above-ground processes, especially processes such as nitrogen fixation in above-ground plants such as hepatics (Harmon et al. 1986; FEMAT 1993; Samuelsson et al. 1994) (Voller and Harrison, 1998).     

367.  Logging removes present and future symplastless wood, which in terrestrial ecosystems would be primary location for fungal colonization and would have often acted as refugia for mycorrhizal fungi during ecosystem disturbance (Triska and Cromack 1979; Harmon et al. 1986; Caza 1993) (Voller and Harrison, 1998).      

368.  Logging is removing maternal that is needed for colonization by fungi and microbes.  This is thought to be disrupting one of the most important stages in essential element cycling (Caza 1993); however, these processes are still relatively poorly understood (Voller and Harrison, 1998).    

369.  Logging reduces soil wood. Soil wood contains a disproportionate amount of the coniferous non-woody roots or ectomycorrhizae in forests (Harvey et al. 1987) (Voller and Harrison, 1998).     

370.  Logging is removing one of the dominant sources of organic matter (Voller and Harrison, 1998).      

371.  Logging is removing an important determinant in soil formation and composition (Caza 1993) (Voller and Harrison, 1998).    

372.  Conclusion:  What purpose and need is there that humus, humic acids, pH and the health of the soil – horizons with respect to forest (system) health, go unobserved, has it is in the Painter Run Windthrow Salvage Project. Claims that system health will increase by removing (killing) present and future CWD and its processes / functions, are absurd.  What is clearly shown is a purpose and a need to correct past false promise-based treatments, which are still being used as a foundation for treatments proposed and approved in the Painter Run Windthrow Salvage Project.  Sound science, with respect to system health, needs to be considered in order to protect this once fertile forest; i.e., including but not limited to – animals and plants as well as diverse fungi and their connections and functions. We especially need to know more about the fallen tree and soil interface, probably the single most important habitat and potential niche for the survival of organisms in drastically altered systems. As the demand for forest products and the ability to utilize more fiber increases, less material is being left after timber harvesting or after salvage operations such as the Painter Run Windthrow Salvage Project. These operations, in combination with past practices of slash disposal and site preparation, have reduced organic material in the forest floor, making CWD management critical for this project. Consequently, no recommendations for maintaining CWD for this project area have been considered, nor have bio-indicators been taken into consideration (that we know of).  Thus, a purpose and need exist, for such data, before such treatments be considered.  Ectomycorrhizae absorb moisture and essential elements and translocate them to their host plants, making ectomycorrhizae essential for the development of such ecosystems. Therefore, we interpret their presence and abundance to be a good indicator of a healthy, functioning forest soil. Ectomycorrhizae have a strong positive relationship with soil organic materials.  Soil wood, humus, and the upper layers of mineral soil that are rich in organic matter are the primary substrates for the development of ectomycorrhizae.
This project as approved, demands efforts to remove all available fiber at harvesting sites!  We know intensive fiber removal reduces the parent materials (duff and wood residues) available for the production of organic reserves in forest soils. This reserve, primarily in the form of humus, decayed wood, and charcoal, has been shown critical to the support of both nonsymbiotic nitrogen fixing and ectomycorrhizal activities in forest soils of western Montana. 
Harvest of organic materials on and in northern forest soils have been linked to reforestation problems –not deer!  This study was undertaken to provide a preliminary estimate of the impact of varying amounts and kinds of soil organic matter on ectomycorrhizal development in mature western Montana forests.


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