Today, dead wood is often scarce in watercourses, which is unfortunate as it serves several important functions. Dead wood provides, among other things, food, shelter, habitats, shade, and structural functions. Cultural wood, which is the term for the timber used in timber floating constructions, can sometimes still be found in watercourses and serves the function of dead wood. Certain species, such as Microscapania, require old, partially submerged dead wood. It is therefore very important to handle cultural wood carefully and reuse it during restoration work.
Things to consider:
- Keep safety in mind! As the supervisor, maintain a safe distance and ensure that no one else is nearby while the tree is being processed.
- Open the clamshell bucket and use the scoop as a hold when pushing the tree.
- Push the tree away from the machine or sideways.
- Never pull the tree towards the machine.
- Preserve the root wad as much as possible and allow it to remain on land, as it acts as an anchor and can help keep the tree in place even during high flows.
- Pine lasts the longest in water, but a variety of tree species is beneficial since they decompose at different rates.
- Use trees that grow on the gravel banks as dead wood.
- Don’t hesitate to retrieve trees from land if needed. It’s advisable to collect trees a bit away from the shoreline, as this will gradually supply dead wood.
- Create larger clusters by placing the trees closely together at various angles.
- Distribute the dead wood in different areas of the watercourse, such as in the shoreline zone, near islands, in outer bends, and main channels.
- Try to position the tree so that it looks like it has fallen naturally.
- Place dead wood dry on the ground near the watercourse and on the floodplain.
- If it is too unsafe to fell the tree with the machine, use a chainsaw.
- Never take unnecessary risks when felling trees!
