Home backyard had about 20 old D Fir stumps when I bought the property in 1971. There apparently was a really nice big grove here back then. It was originally logged in 1917. Also have 32 acres near St. Helens logged in 1895 and again in 1969. Also a few hemlock stumps.
The question is the relative rot rates of D. Fir stumps.
Ihave one stump that is still about 8 ft dia, a number near that size, and a few just in the 4 ft dia (est orig tree minimum at 6ft DBH)
In 1971, a D2 cat against event he smallest stump at ground level would not budge, had to dig them out with that smal lmachine (10,000or so #).
When I got a Ford 4500 backhoe a few years back, I tried it out on some stumps. The hemlock could pretty much be chewed apart with the hoe, and a few of the D.Fir.
However, even some of the smaller 4 ft D Fir were still solid, Sawed a couple off abut 3 ft above ground (all had springboard notches still visible at about 5-6 ft high) and counted 440 rings on one till I hit the outer foot or so of rot moving inwards.
Dug up a couple of 18" dia roots about 2 ft down and they were still solid - zero rot.
Had 2 of the solid stumps about 8 ft apart, so tried the constant pull technique - 6 ton 3 sheave roller cahin come along on 8" block with 3/4" choker. Heard this would pull stumps over a period of tightening the comealong over a period of a few months. ---never even able to take up any more on the come along after the first few days..
So the question - what is the rot time for D.Fir stumps? do we in America even have sufficient time on the continent to measure it?
Extrapolating the root and my biggest 8 ft stump, which was cut about 10 ft up, it will be another 4-500 years to rot naturally?
The hemlock stumps from 1890 are pretty much all gone, it does not appear that there were many DFir over 6 ft dia down on the St. Helens property, so hard to tell from those as have not dug any up and are mostly 5 ft high moss mounds (only have an old JD440 there for thinning, no backhoe for 'chewing').
The question is the relative rot rates of D. Fir stumps.
Ihave one stump that is still about 8 ft dia, a number near that size, and a few just in the 4 ft dia (est orig tree minimum at 6ft DBH)
In 1971, a D2 cat against event he smallest stump at ground level would not budge, had to dig them out with that smal lmachine (10,000or so #).
When I got a Ford 4500 backhoe a few years back, I tried it out on some stumps. The hemlock could pretty much be chewed apart with the hoe, and a few of the D.Fir.
However, even some of the smaller 4 ft D Fir were still solid, Sawed a couple off abut 3 ft above ground (all had springboard notches still visible at about 5-6 ft high) and counted 440 rings on one till I hit the outer foot or so of rot moving inwards.
Dug up a couple of 18" dia roots about 2 ft down and they were still solid - zero rot.
Had 2 of the solid stumps about 8 ft apart, so tried the constant pull technique - 6 ton 3 sheave roller cahin come along on 8" block with 3/4" choker. Heard this would pull stumps over a period of tightening the comealong over a period of a few months. ---never even able to take up any more on the come along after the first few days..
So the question - what is the rot time for D.Fir stumps? do we in America even have sufficient time on the continent to measure it?
Extrapolating the root and my biggest 8 ft stump, which was cut about 10 ft up, it will be another 4-500 years to rot naturally?
The hemlock stumps from 1890 are pretty much all gone, it does not appear that there were many DFir over 6 ft dia down on the St. Helens property, so hard to tell from those as have not dug any up and are mostly 5 ft high moss mounds (only have an old JD440 there for thinning, no backhoe for 'chewing').
