When it comes to selective land clearing and brush management, cutting or removing the brush is only half of the battle. Dealing with the trees, trimmings, mulch, or chippings left after the first phase of selective clearing can seem like a monumental task! Planning your clearing project from start to finish is essential to reduce overall cost and provide you with a final product that meets your vision. We’ll provide a summary of different types of material that can be left after clearing and what can be done with it.
Hand clearing with a saw crew can provide some of the highest quality, cleanest-looking work with high species selectivity and low ground impact provided the right technique is used to deal with the cuttings. Machine path logistics and proper operator training are key for maintaining low impact and fast ground recovery times. There are a few options available for dealing with cuttings:
- Brush chipping – Brush chipping is a process in which trees and trimmings are fed into a dedicated machine which uses a large, enclosed rotating disc or drum equipped with knives to cut the material into much smaller pieces (chips). Chippers provide material that is of smaller, more uniform size than a forestry mulcher. The chute of a chipper can be adjusted to either chip to piles or broadcast the material in a general area. The right machine and operator can smoothly and efficiently spread chips for gardens, trails, and moisture retention around trees. This material biodegrades faster, makes a better walking surface, and is easier to work with than forestry mulcher product. Chippings can also be hauled off if desired and are easy to load and stage for haul-off.
- Brush hauling – Brush can be hauled off containers, dump trailers, or specialized trucks such as grapple trucks. The brush is taken to a wood recycling center where it is typically reground and used for commercial grade mulch or compost. The scale and logistics of the project dictate whether or not hauling is an economic option. Hauling is often the best option when the project is of smaller scale and only one or few loads of smaller scale and only one or few loads of material are generated. As projects increase in acreage and scale; mulching, grinding, or chipping prior to hauling can start to yield savings in terms of moving more material per load versus cost to size reduce the material.
Hauling material off-site, whether it be raw brush or chippings, can add a
significant amount to the overall project cost. Options to deal with the
material on-site are almost always more cost-effective. - Brush burning – Brush burning is a common option to eliminate the
material from clearing. Brush burning done properly leaves relatively little
ground impact and eliminates the need for haul-off. Properly staged piles
result in consumption of all material, including stumps. Brush burning may
not be allowed per community or local jurisdiction rules, so it is important
to check this prior to planning a burn. One downside of burning is that it is
extremely weather-dependent. In Texas, it could be a few days, or it could
be months before favorable weather conditions allow piles to be burned. It
is extremely important to choose an experienced company that knows
when and how to burn safely - Forestry mulching or shredding of staged piles – Cuttings can be staged in
certain zones for forestry mulching or brush shredding. This is an
alternative to burning that is more cost-effective than chipping but leaves
behind material of larger size that can take a very long time to decompose.
This material can be hauled off or left in certain target areas for
decomposition over time.
There are many techniques for selective land clearing and dealing with the material left behind. We hope that you found this article useful in planning your project and choosing the right land clearing company! Tyler Nash
