[Table of Contents]
7. SITE PREPARATION
ALASKA
Landowners carrying out site preparation are required to protect residual trees, avoid degradation of water quality or significant harm to fish habitat and minimize use of heavy equipment where soil compaction may cause site degradation.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Site preparation treatments must comply with all rules for soil conservation, must accommodate the objectives of integrated resource management, and must be suitable for the site and species being regenerated. Mechanized silviculture treatment methods, equipment types and soil conditions must be specified in the Silviculture Prescription or Stand Management Prescription. Where livestock is used for site preparation, measures must be designed to: protect fish, wildlife and their habitat; minimize predator conflicts; protect irrigation and domestic water supplies; prevent disease transmission to wildlife; and maintain the health of the livestock. Livestock corrals must not be constructed in a riparian management area or on a site which drains into a waterbody, and livestock are not permitted for vegetation management within the Riparian Management Area within community watersheds. Smoke abatement restrictions are covered by the B.C. Waste Management Act and the Open Burning Smoke Control Regulation. Strategies and techniques to meet requirements are in the Fire Management Guidebook.
CALIFORNIA
In principle, site preparation is to maximize timber productivity, reduce fire hazard, maintain soil productivity and avoid or minimize adverse environmental impacts.
Site preparation practices must be detailed in THP's.
Site preparation practices must observe more or less the same precautions and limitations that are imposed on timber harvesting with respect to protection of waters and soils.
FINLAND
Available site preparation methods include prescribed burning, patch scarification, scarifying, and mounding.
Forest workers are encouraged to use as little site preparation as possible and in some areas methods are restricted. Near water courses, prescribed burns are limited in size and a buffer strip must be left between the burned area and the waterway to prevent the leaching of phosphorus.
The Finnish Forest and Park Service Environment Guide specifies site preparation to occur parallel to land contours, or obliquely across the downhill slope and, where erosion is a problem, for scarification not to be continuous. As well, upstream water may be routed past highly erosive areas to reduce the possibility of sedimentation.
GERMANY
Federal Republic of Germany
The Federal Forest Law does not regulate forest operation activities.
Baden-Wurttemberg
Site preparation is not used in 95% of the state. All logging debris is left on the site. The only preparation that does occur is in some pine forests. In this case the site may be shallow ploughed, scarified and/or fertilized (Brunner, pers. comm.). Burning is prohibited by the Nature Preservation Law.
Bavaria
Forest owners are free to choose the site preparation method in Bavaria's forests. There are no special prescriptions in the Forest Law. However, like Baden-Wurttemberg, site preparation is generally restricted to pine sites.
NOVA SCOTIA
Sites must be assessed prior to preparation to determine whether site preparation is warranted, and soil assessments must be conducted to determine equipment to be used and timing of site preparation techniques. Numerous specific guidelines are provided in the Manual of Procedures and Standards. Where pesticide application will occur, appropriate permits must be obtained from the Department of Environment, and commercial applicators must be licensed by the Nova Scotia DOE (McQuarrie, pers. comm.).
ONTARIO
Harvested sites can be prepared for regeneration, either artificial or natural, using machines, prescribed burns or chemicals, alone or in combination. Slash is removed or realigned. Competing vegetation and the forest floor are then treated to promote the success of the desired species for the new forest (EA Decision - EA, 1987:02). Site preparation techniques will vary depending on the species to be regenerated, the stand, and site conditions.
OREGON
Provisions for streambank and riparian zone protection related to site preparation are in the Rules. These are aimed at avoiding disturbance near streams and to prevent deposition of debris or sediment into streams.
SWEDEN
Site preparation techniques are not regulated by the Forestry Act. Preparation methods are the choice of the forest owner. Methods in use are burning, in areas with a thick layer of inactive humus, ditching, when sites become waterlogged after harvesting, and scarification. The National Board of Forestry recommends matching the scarification method, screening, harrowing, digging or ploughing, to ground moisture conditions, degree of latitude and altitude. The benefits of scarification increase as one moves northward, to higher elevations and/or when soils become finer and wetter.
Permission from the County Administration Board is required if scarification is to occur near a cultural heritage site.
TASMANIA
Site preparation techniques should assist in establishment and growth of crop trees, facilitate fire protection, improve access for future tending or harvesting, but must not cause unacceptable erosion or other detrimental effects, on or off site (FPC, 1993:68). Operations should be carried out in dry weather conditions to prevent erosion, puddling, mixing or compacting of soils, and must cease when turbid water is flowing for more than 10m or when machinery causes rutting to a depth of more than 300 mm below the original ground level over a 20 m section (FPC, 1993:72).
UNITED KINGDOM
No general site preparation regulations apply in the United Kingdom. Site preparation recommendations are made on a project by project basis by the land owner, Forestry Authority staff or professional forester.
U.S. FOREST SERVICE (REGION 6)
Site preparation practices must meet objectives set in site specific silvicultural prescriptions.
VICTORIA STATE
Site preparation operations must be appropriate to the characteristics of the particular site, and be conducted with due consideration given to the maintenance of soil and water values (Code, 1989:11, 32). All merchantable timber must be salvaged. Areas to be planted, roaded, or used for firebreaks must be cleared, and waste and debris must be disposed of according to the nature of the waste, the site, and the management objectives of the owner or organization preparing the site (Code, 1989, 11, 32). The cleared site must be prepared using methods to ensure successful regeneration. Smoke abatement restrictions are not considered under the Code. Other protocols specify some restrictions for large area burns wherein lighting must be delayed on smog alert days in the Melbourne area (Leonard, pers. comm.).
WASHINGTON
Landowners are normally required to leave harvested areas in a condition suitable for artificial or natural regeneration. Use of heavy equipment is prohibited in areas with compactible or erodible soils.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
In karri forests, where natural regeneration from seed trees is the preferred replacement method, regeneration burning is used to allow the release of seed from capsules (COLP, 1990:51). Fertilization is used to improve the fertility of Western Australia's soils and to accelerate growth rate, particularly in pine plantations (CALM, 1987:33-34). Smoke abatement restrictions are in place for prescribed burning situations (in Fire Management Manual), and burns must not occur on windy days when the smoke would create hazards or irritation in other places (ie the Perth city airport) (Clarke, pers. comm.).
