Hello, I found a good reference concerning wood chip usage. It's called: �Fundamentals of Forest Ecosystem Pedogenetics: An Approach to Metastability Through Tellurian Biology� and was written by G. Lemieux. What's more interesting is that the work is came out of a university!!! As to show that not all science is perverted to reductionism and chemical materialism:-). As far as I'm concern the underlying philosophy of this research would certainly have its place in the biodynamic forestry paradigm (-something in development...if you want to participate, please let me know, I'm in the process of building a research program). I would say that it somewhat corresponds to BD agricultural compost management, but for the forest. Humus being the material link and holism the spiritual framework. In a sense this give function back to 'useless' plant material; twigs play an important role in forest ecosystem soil processes and, consequently, above-ground dynamics.
Below I've transcribed some important findings of the research. Note that the author uses the term RAMIAL CHIPPED WOOD (RCW). Ramial simply refers to small tree branches or, in other words, twigs. It's a tad long to read, but, again, the effort has it's rewards. If you should desire the entire paper please let me know. I'll direct you to the pdf. file. " The technique... is a combination of the sheet composting technique used in the United States and brush composting used by the French. Branches (of trees) less than 7 cm in diameter were hogged into chips no more than a few centimeters long and then spread on the ground at a rate of 200m 3 /ha, or 2 cm thick, and incorporated into the top 10 cm of soil... The agricultural results obtained from adding chipped twigs to topsoil, e.g. enhancement of soil substructure and texture, positive changes in the C/N ratio and pH, and the modification of weed, insect and disease behaviour, proved that we were looking at a very important phenomenon that had been ignored by the scientific literature... ...With assistance from Dr. Marcel Goulet, we selected a one hectare site known to have been sterile for the past 50 years but completely surrounded by forest, thereby ensuring the availability of seeds (from trees) for natural regeneration. Small plots from 2 to 4 m 2 in size were established and a 1.5 to 2.0 cm thick layer of RCW (ramial chipped wood) spread as litter or incorporated into the top few centimetres of soil, with a control plot established above each row. ... During metabolization RCW generates tellurian characteristics that foster new levels of plant succession, creating a new forest ecosystem. We then confined our work to counting and identifying seedlings in plots, distinguishing between trees, shrubs (conifers and hardwood), herbaceous plants and non native plants... This led us to draw our first conclusion: The biology and biochemistry of RCW treated soil are not suited to fir (balsam fir) for reasons that warrant further study... Plots treated with hardwood RCW were more favorable than those treated with softwood RCW, although they showed a certain instability in individual and stand growth. As well, plots treated with dominant climax hardwood RCW showed greater tolerance to hardwood germination and growth. Conclusion: Larch (Larix laricina) stands are more suited to conifer seedlings, whereas transition hardwood stands are more suitable to both conifers and hardwoods, while nevertheless showing a certain degree of instability. ...As with the first agricultural experiments using RCW has showed a clear improvement in yield, modification of soil structure, decrease or change in adventitious plants, and a decrease in fungal diseases and parasites, we concluded that we were dealing with a biological, rather than chemical or physical, phenomenon. The results obtained with the forest regeneration testing increase our conviction. We concluded that the mechanisms involving pedogenesis were of biological origins dating back millions of years. ...It is thus obvious that the techniques developed by agriculture and copied by forestry are production oriented techniques that have nothing to do with the fundamental mechanisms; in fact, it is quite the opposite, they are short cut methods designed to procure immediate profit. Both agriculture and forestry foster growing instability rather than the maintenance and enhancement of metastability, the goal in all ecosystems. This enables us to envisage the eventual use of RCW as an upgrading agent, not just by adding chemical nutrients but, more importantly, by increasing the stability of tellurian ecosystems. ...At this stage in our research, we can safety put forward the following hypothesis: Ramial wood that is invaded by basidiomycetes can replace all biological functions requiring chemical or biochemical nutrients. However, the dominant presence of bacteria capable of depolymerizing lignin will not have the same positive effects. ...suggest that the structure and evolution of lignin among pedogenetic mechanisms as a whole are directly responsible for the type of competition existing in ecosystems, through both the changes it undergoes in soil and its effects on chemical and biochemical nutrient availability. ...In keeping with the tradition of perceiving forestry from an agricultural perspective, no distinction is made between trunks and branches, both being considered logging waste. We propose that such a distinction form the basis of a new approach to forest management whereby branches, which are rich in available energy and biochemical and chemical nutrients, are allowed to become part of the life cycle through the vital process of pedogenesis. ... Chipping branches and spreading the RCW on the forest floor helps protect the "chemical heritage" as well as the valuable, high-energy-content aromatic ring (speaking of lignin and ...), in addition to building soil. Rather than leading to soil depletion and desertification, RCW initiates an upgrading process, fosters regeneration and re-creates the chemical heritage lost through the use of current silvicultural techniques, techniques which have been handed down through the generations without ever being questioned other than in agricultural terms. ...In keeping with the universality of pedogenetic mechanisms, one of my goals is to bring about a change in our national and international institutions and have them take charge of developments in the pedogenesis-related sciences. An international institute of pedogenesis could conduct studies to help solve the current problems of desertification, soil erosion, and the irreparable loss of forests around the world. Robin
