You have considered the ramifications of clearing your land (To Clear or Not To Clear – That Is the Question, Virginia Cooperative Extension publication 465-340), and you have decided to go forward. Now this publication addresses a question many new landowners ask: How do I clear land?
Land Clearing Methods
Perhaps the most common method of clearing land is to harvest the timber, bulldoze to “grub” or remove the stumps, and then establish the next cover (yard, pasture, house, driveway, etc.). Leftover trees and brush can be handled in a variety of ways (Table 1). While this method may be the most economical and makes finding operators easy, it can also result in extensive damage to the soil. Additionally, unless the timber is very valuable, using a bulldozer may end up costing more than if the timber value was forfeited for easier stump removal.
Table 1: Pros and cons of various wood waste handling options. Method Pro Con Pile and burn
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Simple, cheap
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Removes most material
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Poses fire hazard, hard to get complete burn, wasteful
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Releases greenhouse gases, like carbon, into the environment
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May require permit (check with local fire department or Virginia Department of Forestry)
Dig, burn, and bury
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Simple, cheap
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Removes material from sight
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Poses fire hazard, hard to get complete burn, wasteful
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Releases greenhouse gases, like carbon, into the environment
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Back-filled hole after burning may develop sinkhole properties
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May require permit (check with local fire department or Virgin- ia Department of Forestry)
Pile and leave
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Very cheap
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Some wildlife habitat value
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Unsightly
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Not as valuable for wildlife as purposefully constructed wildlife brush piles
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Can harbor weeds
Mulch with tub grinder
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Results in useable resource (mulch)
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Removes all material
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Generally more expensive
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Site variables affect cost
Waste-wood utilization
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Potential income from firewood* sales, hobby wood custom sawing, wood chip mulch
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Maximizes economic value and utilization
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Time consuming
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Variety of skill sets needed (sawmilling and marketing)
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Variety of equipment needed
*See Firewood for Home Heating, Virginia Cooperative Extension publication 420-003.
In some cases, it may actually be cheaper to simply hire a bulldozer operator to clear the land without harvesting the timber. It may be faster to remove high stumps and whole trees than to dig out low-cut stumps which lack leverage. However, economic considerations are not the only factors at play.
While bulldozers and front-end loaders make for quick and relatively easy clearing, it nearly always destroys the topsoil. Leaf decomposition as well as the decomposition of fallen branches and roots helps maintain healthy topsoil. When the roots of a tree are ripped out of the ground, a significant amount of valuable topsoil is often lost. In many areas of Virginia, there are at best a few inches of topsoil to begin with. It is much more difficult to establish grass without the nutrients and organic matter unique to topsoil, the loss of which can prevent successful pasture or lawn establishment. While measures can be taken to remove topsoil and grade it back into an area, this will increase time and cost. It also requires a very skilled operator. Instead of using a bulldozer, an excavator and root rake will result in fewer disturbances, but it will not eliminate the loss of topsoil.
Option 1: Delayed Stump Removal Method
Today’s fast-paced society sometimes causes a “blinder” effect; in other words, often all options are not considered before making a decision. In many cases, the reason
In the case of pine-dominated forests, a timber harvest can probably accomplish most of the clearing work.
If it’s valuable enough, the timber might be traded for the cost of clearing or even competitively sold through the services of a consulting forester for income. Pine- tree stumps, with one exception (shortleaf pine, Pinus echinata, which can sprout from the stump), will rot away in three to five years.
In the case of hardwood (deciduous trees) forests, a timber sale can also be the primary tool for land clearing. The main difference is that most hardwood trees vigorously sprout on the stump unless something is done to kill the root system of each tree cut. Appropriately labeled herbicides are the cheapest, easiest, and most effective tool for killing root systems of hardwood trees. Herbicides applied properly on recently (less than 15 minutes for water-based solutions; up to one hour for oil-based solutions) cut stumps will be absorbed by the stump and translocated to the root system, resulting in a complete kill. For more information on herbicide recommendations, contact your local Extension office.
A practical challenge associated with herbicide application is the need for close proximity so that chemical can be applied before the stump loses its uptake capacity. A suitable alternative may be to leave stumps high enough that a follow-up cut can be made to lower the stump at a time when the herbicide can be applied. Rates of hardwood stump decomposition vary with size, environmental conditions, and species. Decomposition rates for hardwood species can be anywhere from a few years to decades. Larger and denser species rot more slowly. Once a stump is dead, increasing its surface area by drilling, chopping, or cross cutting will accelerate decomposition.
Though the idea of using herbicides is often discounted, agriculture and natural resource professionals generally agree that the benefits of soil retention outweigh the potential risks of chemical damage when appropriately used. Additionally, many of the approved herbicides are relatively low in toxicity and have minimal to no lasting impacts on soil (McNabb, 1997). https://extension.psu. edu/herbicides-and-forest-vegetation-management.
Option 2: Tree and Stump Mulching
This alternative preserves soil integrity and quickly removes stumps and other woody debris Machines can now be equipped with mulching/chipping implements (Figure 1) that chip vegetation while incorporating it into the soil. Mulching heads can be mounted on large or small tracked and wheeled equipment and used to push down and mulch stems up to 6 to 8 inches in size and grind out a wide range of stump sizes.
This alternative preserves soil integrity and quickly removes stumps and other woody debris. Machines can now be equipped with mulching/chipping implements (Figure 1) that chip vegetation while incorporating it into the soil. Mulching heads can be mounted on large or small tracked and wheeled equipment and used to push down and mulch stems up to 6 to 8 inches in size and grind out a wide range of stump sizes.