11. Coarse Woody Debris – Humic Acids, Horizons, Buffers and pH

336. What methods were used to determine soil health in these areas? In other words, what were the bio-indicators used?

337. Forest managers need to know what actually happens in order to plan harvests that will protect essential element and nutrient cycles and streams from low pH precipitation (Hornbeck, 1992, page 151).

338. 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).

339. Humus formation is important in regulating the incorporation of nitrogen into humic materials. 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. Roots and mycorrhizae of plant species that colonize decaying wood use its available nitrogen (Maser, Tarrant, Trappe and Franklin, 1988, pg40-par2).

340. The substrate of poorest quality is the decay-resisting outer bark, which is low in moisture, carbohydrates, cellulose, and carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio but high in lignin, taxifolin, total extractives, and density. (Maser and Trappe, 1984 pg 11-par4).

341. The long-term input by nitrogen fixation in decaying fallen trees and by canopy inhabiting lichens maintains a positive balance of nitrogen in the ecosystem (Maser, Tarrant, Trappe and Franklin, 1988, pg40-par5).

342. Decaying wood has long-term potential for contributing nitrogen for tree growth as residual lignin and humus are decomposed (Maser, Tarrant, Trappe and Franklin, 1988, pg 41-par1).

343. Woody duff, regardless of type or size, takes considerably longer to decompose than needle and leaf duff do. 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, pg 37-par2).

344. 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, pg38-par1).

345. 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).

346. What is being removed would be termed “soil wood” in the future (Page-Dumroese, Harvey, Jurgensen and Graham, 1991).

347. 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).

348. Some examples of trees associated with ectomycorrhizae are - Chestnut, Beech, Birch, Hickory, Oak, Hemlock and White Pine. 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).

349. NATIONAL WOOD FIBER NEEDS indicate substantial increases in demand for wood fiber - based products. This demand has resulted in increased efforts 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).

350. Much of the heartwood will merge into the humus becoming incorporated into the soil profile (Maser and Trappe, 1984, pg11-par6).

351. As decay proceeds a fallen tree begins to more closely be hugged by the soil, it buffers it (the soil) against fluctuations in air temperature (Maser and Trappe, 1984, pg 13-par3).

352. 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 16-par 4).

353. Decaying, fallen trees contribute 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. Decaying wood in the soil and establishment of conifer seedlings and mycorrhizal fungi on dry sites are positively correlated. Fallen trees also create and maintain diversity in forest communities. 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, pg 44-par3).

354. A fallen tree oriented along the contour of a slope, has unique characteristics. The upslope side is filled with humus and inorganic material that allows invertebrates and small vertebrates to tunnel alongside. The downslope side provides protective cover for larger vertebrates. When under a closed canopy, such trees are also saturated with water and act as a reservoir during the dry part of the year (Maser, Tarrant, Trappe and Franklin, 1988, pg45-par2.9).

355. Logs also serve as sites for reproduction of tree species, especially western hemlock. This is clearly an important function in natural stands since these seedlings and saplings supply replacements as openings appear in the overstory canopy. In one old growth stand at mid-elevation in the Cascade Range, over 64 percent of the western hemlock and 4 percent of the Pacific silver fir reproduction was rooted in so called rotten wood. The phenomenon of nurse logs is widespread in the forest types of the Pacific Northwest. Minore (1972) found that seedlings of both Sitka spruce and western hemlock was 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).

356. So called rotten wood is also critical as substrate for ectomycorrhizal formation. In one forest which contained a coniferous stand of trees, 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).

357. Symplastless wood facilitates a slow release of essential elements, ameliorates leaching, and provides a growing substrate for bryophytes. The latter buffer water and essential element release from duff and aboveground processes, especially processes such as nitrogen fixation in aboveground plants such as hepatics (Harmon et al. 1986; FEMAT 1993; Samuelsson et al. 1994) (Voller and Harrison, 1998).

358.   Colonization of symplastless wood by fungi and microbes may be one of the most important stages in essential element cycling (Caza 1993); however, these processes are still relatively poorly understood. Soil wood contains a disproportionate amount of the coniferous non-woody roots or ectomycorrhizae in forests (Harvey et al. 1987). As one of the dominant sources of organic matter, symplastless wood is an important determinant in soil formation and composition (Caza 1993) (Voller and Harrison, 1998)

359. 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 “Burn and Clearcut Project”. Claims that system health will increase by removing (killing) present and future CWD and its processes / functions, are absurd. What are clearly shown are 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 “Burn and Clearcut 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 “Burn and Clearcut 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.

360. 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.

361. The substrate of poorest quality is the decay-resisting outer bark, which is low in moisture, carbohydrates, cellulose, and carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio but high in lignin, taxifolin, total extractives, and density. (Maser and Trappe, 1984 pg11-par4).

362. The whole-tree harvest resulted in a total production of about 30000 eq H+ ha-l due to biomass removal. In contrast, wet and dry deposition at rates measured in this study could add more than 50000 eq H+ ha-l in the 65-year period before the next harvest. Reducing the intensity of harvest may lessen long-term impacts of these sources of H+ on acidification of soils and streams (Hornbeck, 1992, page 151).

363. Recent studies by Johnson et al. (1988) show that biomass removed during whole-tree harvesting in the United States contains from 12-82 kmol ha-1 of base cations. When combined with increased nitrification and leaching of cations that accompany harvesting, there is potential for significant net increases in H+ on harvested sites. At the same time, soil disturbances that accompany logging create fresh weathering surfaces and a new environment that may favor increased consumption of H+ (Hornbeck, 1992, page 151).

364. A post-logging survey of soil disturbance showed that only 8% of the surface area remained undisturbed, and that organic matter was displaced or mixed to the extent that mineral soil was exposed on 18% of the harvested catchment (Hornbeck, 1992, page 153).

365. The soil data suggest that by year 2 after harvest, pH had increased by about 0.4 unit in the forest floor, and perhaps half that much in mineral soil horizons (Hornbeck, 1992, page 153)

366. A concern is whether effects of harvest (both in terms of biomass removal and increases in weathering and mineralization) and atmospheric deposition might eventually reduce soil acid neutralizing capacity to the degree that soil solution and surface waters become chronically acidified (Hornbeck, 1992, page 154).