Predicting Logging Residue Volumes in Alaska

Alaska forest managers seek information on how timber harvesting practices change the creation of postharvest woody residues. To predict residue volumes, researchers investigated how residue ratios - growing-stock residue volume per mill-delivered volume - related to readily available data on logging site and tree attributes in Alaska. Residue ratios were not related to logging site-level variables but were related to individual tree variables with predictive models. Ratios varied widely by tree species and were predicted to increase with larger stump height and larger small-end used diameters and decline exponentially with increasing diameter breast height (dbh) to approximately 25 inches. Ratios were then predicted to increase progressively in larger dbh trees. Results from this study update previous findings in other US Northwest states and can be used to produce or improve residue prediction tools for Alaska land managers.