Assessing the Post-Harvest Characteristics of Pellet Feedstock and Conventional Harvest Sites in the Southeastern US

https://doi.org/10.1007/s44391-025-00024-w

Forest Science May 2025

Authors
Paul M. DiGiacomo, University of Georgia
M. Chad Bolding, University of Georgia
Joseph L. Conrad IV, University of Georgia
Holly L. Munro, NCASI
Kyle M. Woosnam, University of Georgia

Abstract
Environmental and site quality concerns exist regarding the effect of wood pellet feedstock harvesting on forest soil, water, and wildlife habitat, though limited information is available to characterize these harvests. We evaluated 67 recent pellet feedstock and conventional pulpwood harvests throughout the Coastal Plain of five southeastern US states for operational feature size, soil disturbance, ground cover, snag density, residual basal area, and vegetation height. Sites were organized by harvest type (clearcut or first thinning) and treatment (conventional pulpwood roundwood, pellet roundwood, or pellet in-woods chipped). Pellet roundwood harvests were statistically similar to conventional pulpwood harvests across all metrics. However, in-woods clearcut harvests for chipped pellets comprised approximately 11% more of the total harvest area in bare soil (p = 0.03) and 5% total more area in skid trails (p = 0.05) than in-woods conventional pulpwood clearcuts. Pellet chipped harvests comprised less area in light slash than pellet roundwood harvests in clearcuts (4% less, p = 0.06) and thinnings (3% less, p = 0.07), though no differences were found regarding heavy slash and piles. Overall differences in post-harvest characteristics between pellet feedstock and conventional pulpwood harvests were minimal, though in-woods chipping may result in slight alterations to post-harvest ground cover.

Keywords: Biomass Harvesting, Environmental Impacts, Forest Harvesting, Sustainability, Bioenergy