PORTLAND, Ore. –April 2, 2010. Countless studies and reports
exist describing how a landscape is impacted after logging
Douglas-fir: What is the impact on the soil? Should one leave
the debris in place? Pile it? Burn it or haul it offsite in
preparation for replanting the area in the future? However, few
studies have examined this hypothesis: Is it possible, that the
debris remaining on the ground after logging may actually
suppress competing vegetation resulting in a positive effect on
the survival of Douglas-fir seedlings? At a variety of clearcut
sites, research forester Tim Harrington, noticed that plant
invaders were sparse when the debris was left behind. He also
began to reason that the method of dealing with debris might
indirectly affect the survival and growth of conifer seedlings
by way of its impact on vegetation that managers may consider a
nuisance. Harrington and Virginia Tech professor, Stephen
Schoenholtz, conducted two studies to quantify the effects of
different levels of logging debris on