Effect of Topping Trees on Biomass and Nitrogen Removal in the Thinning of Norway Spruce Stands

In Central Europe, full-tree (FT) harvesting is an increasingly common harvesting method in steep terrain harvesting due to the increased use of highly economical processor tower yarders. In conventional FT harvesting, nutrient removal from harvest sites is substantially higher than in cut-to-length (CTL) harvesting due to the extraction of nutrient-rich branches and foliage. One strategy to reduce the adverse impact of FT harvesting is to cut off the tops of felled trees prior to extraction (topping). The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of implementing topping treatments in FT harvesting on biomass and nutrient removal. The effect of conventional FT harvesting on the amount of logging residues left on the site was assessed in three different Norway spruce (Picea abies)-dominated stands following cable yarding operations by collecting logging residues from the forest floor. The additional effect of topping trees on the amount of logging residues was assessed by using biomass models. These models were created based on the data of 25 sample trees, which were felled and sampled destructively within the stands. The results show that conventional FT harvesting considerably increases nutrient removal in comparison to CTL, but still do not remove all nutrients from the sites. After conventional FT harvesting, 5–18% of the nutrients remained on the sites. Topping trees at a diameter of 8 cm substantially increased the amount of remaining nutrients to 30–34%.