Don,
So if you match up the tree ring data, which shows the drought years by
narrow rings, with the increase in atmospheric CO2, is there some kind
of correlation?
I would guess there are too many other factors involved like Pacific
ocean currents (El Nino, etc.) to account for droughts and other weather
anomalies.
Regarding thinning those overstocked Ponderosa Pine and other conifer
stands out west, some environmentalists say it increases the risk of
catastrophic fires rather than reduce it. However, I think they are
referring to conventional logging operations which just take out the
more valuable and merchantable sawlogs while leaving the tops. By
employing whole tree harvesting, I'd say it would greatly reduce the
fire risk. After one of my operations, sure there is still a bit of
scattered slash around but the feller-buncher and the grapple skidders
turn the rest of it into a sort of mulch (fragmented bark, branches,
twigs, leaves, etc.).
But your distances are so vast out there; it is no doubt extremely
difficult to do this type of harvesting profitably unless many small
biomass plants are built locally in the small towns as you say being
centrally located close to the source. This has been one of my arguments
against the big 50 MW biomass plants - the supply radii and trucking
distances are too long. Reducing the size of these plants will reduce
trucking distances and all that diesel pollution.
I think the problem of overstocked conifer forests out west due to
unnatural fire suppression has grown much too big for anyone to solve so
Mother Nature will help solve it with more catastrophic forest fires.
Burn baby burn!
Mike
Mike-
I don't pretend to know much about NIPF in
Massachusetts.
I don't think you have ever read me saying the phrase
global warming. I know that to be a loaded concept that hasn't been
universally accepted.
But I do believe that the regions I've worked and lived
in are experiencing climate change outside of the natural range of
climate variation.
Yes, actually there is tree ring documentation to that
effect. Dendrochronology started with a man named Douglas at the
Flagstaff Observatory (the one that discovered "canals" on Mars), and
was furthered in partnership with early archeologist Emil Haury when
they discovered missing tree ring segments in Anastazi roofing
timbers...there are some really intereseting regional climate graphs
that have been derived from dendrochronological research carried on at
the University of Arizona at their Tree Ring Lab ('google' Tom Swetnum
for a broad coverage of just about everything I've said).
I do however have a fair handle on forestry in the
Southwest US. I can send you any number of supporting documents
regarding my statements below. I stand behind my statement that all five
of those points are inter-related, not separated as they were in your
reply. Deconstruction doesn't work that way.
Regarding your comments on bio-fuels, you may be
surprised that I've supported it, particularly in the Southwest, and
with smaller more efficient operations. For much of the ponderosa pine
forests, conditions (4 of 5 points below) have led to abundant smallwood
that despite multiple efforts, no commercial operations can handle.
More acres of controlled burning occur than should (difficult not to
exceed air quality regulations), and running it as bio-fuel through an
efficient energy generation plant was a solution being sought in
Northern Arizona. Finding the balance between constant, consistent,
regular source in the amounts appropriate for the energy generated was
the key, that and being located centrally to the source. The small wood
fuels are abundant and burgeoning.
-Don
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: [ENTS] Re: High elevation forest response to
climate change and other factors
Date: Tue, 2 Jun 2009 16:41:24 -0400
Don,
How do you know that the current drought in the west is
the worst since 600 AD? Tree ring data?
I would say that unnatural fire suppression has led to
invading white fir regeneration and above normal ponderosa pine
regeneration as well as much of the bark beetle outbreaks. Blaming it
all on global warming is bunk.
Mike
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