Soil and soil-water chemistry below different amounts of logging residues at two harvested forest sites in Sweden

Logging residues (LR), i.e. tops, branches, and needles, are increasingly being harvested for energy production in Fennoscandia. These residues are temporarily piled on site awaiting transport. This study was undertaken to investigate effects on the soil and soil-water chemistry below different amounts of LR at two recently harvested coniferous sites in Sweden. Seven treatments were included and the studied amounts of LR ranged from no LR left on the ground to four times the estimated LR amount of the harvested stands. Two treatments included eight times the estimated LR amount of the harvested stands but here the LR were removed after 7 or 20 weeks. Soil-water