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After a
tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
has been cut and felled, the stump or tree stump is usually a small remaining portion of the trunk with the
root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...
s still in the ground. Stumps may show the age-defining rings of a tree. The study of these rings is known as
dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atm ...
.


Regeneration

Stumps (both those on the ground and stumps of removed branches) are sometimes able to regenerate into new trees depending on the species. Often, a deciduous tree that has been cut will re-sprout in multiple places around the edge of the stump or from the roots. Depending on whether the tree is being removed or whether the
forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
is expected to recover, this can be either desirable or undesirable. Stump sprouts can grow very quickly and so become viable trees themselves either for aesthetics or timber, due to the existing root structure; however, the cut portion of the trunk may weaken the sprouts and introduce disease into the newly forming tree(s). The process of deliberately cutting a tree to a stump to regrow is known as coppicing.


Stump removal

Tree stumps can be difficult to remove from the ground. They can be dug out, pulled out by a
chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. ...
, shredded with a stump grinder or burnt. A common method for stump removal is to use one of the many chemical stump removal products, so long as immediate results are not needed. These stump removers are mostly made of
potassium nitrate Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and ...
(KNO3) and act by rapidly increasing the decay of the stump. (The chemical provides nitrogen, a limiting nutrient, to tree-decaying fungi. Other nitrogen fertilizers also work.) After an average of 4–6 weeks, the stump will be rotten through and easily fragmented in manageable pieces. If time is a limiting factor, setting fire to the stump is effective because once the potassium nitrate has been absorbed it acts as an effective oxidizer. Historically, an explosive called ''stumping powder'' was used to blast stumps.Samuel Fortier, Use of Water in Irrigation (1915), page 67. Columbia National Forest: 1908 - 1949 Early History by Districts, http://books.google.com/books?id=P_URAAAAYAAJ


Stump harvesting

In plantation forests in parts of Europe, stumps are sometimes pulled out of the ground using a specially adapted tracked
excavator Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, dipper (or stick), bucket and cab on a rotating platform known as the "house". The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. They are a natural progression fr ...
, to supply wood fuel for
biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bio ...
power stations. Stump harvesting may provide an increasing component of the woody material required by the biomass power sector.


See also

* Living stump


References

* Buckley, G.P. 1992. Ecology and Management of Coppice Woodlands. ''Springer'' 336 pages,, . * Schenk, H.J., and R.B. Jackson. 2002. The global biogeography of roots. ''Ecological Monographs'' 72 (3): 311–328.


External links

. Stump removal service
Stump harvesting in Sweden

Regeneration after stump harvesting

Stumps as a resource in Finland

Stump harvesting and forest decomposers


{{DEFAULTSORT:Tree Stump Stump Forest ecology Dead wood