Biomass in Land Conversion

 

1. Name - Biomass in Land Conversion

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This site provides an example of woody biomass generated from land conversion. While not a sustainable source of woody biomass, it is part of the of the woody biomasss landscape. The site is private land in the piedmont of North Carolina previously mixed pine and hardwood. Before treatment there were 275 to 300 trees per acre in the 10- to 20-inch DBH range. This sale was a lump sum clearcut to make way for a scrap metal dealer.

This site was a relatively small operation with one skidder operator and the contractor who ran the harvester, loader, and chipper. The contractor had one additional employee who drove the truck. He used a Tigercat 720 B feller buncher to clear the site and a chipper to process tops and unmerchantable trees. Clearing the site generated sawlogs ($58 per ton hardwood, $48 per ton pine), pallet wood ($25 per ton), pulp, and chips ($12 to13 per ton). Because the contractor had just one other employee, the operation was only able to generate three to five loads of logs and one load of chips per day. The chips were hauled to a boiler about 40 miles away. The field estimate for coarse woody debris was roughly 2.6 tons per acre post harvest.



The contractor purchased the chipper to aid in marketing his services to landowners about six months prior to visit. He felt that the landowners liked having a clearer site. His goal was just to break even on the chips, and he had been doing that until fuel prices went up. He also knew that what he receivd for chips ($12 to $13 per ton) was less than what other haulers received at the same location. His low volume was keeping him from getting premium rates. Given 2008 fuel and delivery prices, the operator predicted he would cease his chipping operation.