Tree stump

thumb|Tree stump, about 37 years after falling A '''tree stump''' is the remaining portion of a tree trunk and its roots that remain after a tree has been felled or has naturally fallen. The roots often remain largely intact underground.

The cross section of a tree stump shows the annual growth rings that can reveal the tree's age, growth patterns, and environmental conditions during its lifetime. The scientific study of these rings, known as dendrochronology, can reveal historical climate information.

Many tree species, particularly deciduous trees, retain the ability to regenerate new growth from stumps. This natural regeneration capacity has been utilized in traditional forest management for centuries. It is known as coppicing, and multiple shoots can grow from the remaining trunk.

Tree stumps can present practical challenges in land management, agriculture, and urban planning, as they can be difficult and expensive to remove. Stumps can be removed by various methods including mechanical grinding, digging, burning, and chemical decomposition.

== Regeneration == Stumps (both those on the ground and stumps of removed branches) are sometimes able to regenerate 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.<ref>J. & Götmark, F. (2014) Differential survival and growth of stumps in 14 woody species after conservation thinning in mixed oak-rich temperate forests. European Journal of Forest Research, 1-11.</ref> Depending on whether the tree is being removed or whether the forest 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).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-29 |title=Tree Wounds and Healing |url=https://www.purdue.edu/fnr/extension/tree-wounds-and-healing/ |access-date=2023-10-20 |website=Purdue Extension Forestry & Natural Resources |language=en}}</ref>

thumb|A freshly cut tree stump, two hours after cutting [[File:Junge Fichte auf Baumstumpf - young picea on stump - Saprobiont.jpg|thumb|A saprobiontic young spruce on a stump]] The process of deliberately cutting a tree to a stump to regrow is known as coppicing.<ref>Buckley, G.P.: ''Ecology and Management of Coppice Woodlands'', 336 pages. Springer, 1992.</ref>

== Stump removal == Tree stumps can be difficult to remove from the ground. They can be dug out, pulled out by a chain, shredded with a stump grinder or burnt.<ref>{{Cite web |title=4 Ways to Remove Tree Stumps |url=https://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Tree-Stumps |access-date=2023-10-20 |website=wikiHow |language=en}}</ref>

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 (KNO<sub>3</sub>) 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.)<ref name="AL">{{Cite web |last=Stan Roark |date=February 27, 2008 |title=Stump Removal for Homeowners |url=http://www.aces.edu/homegarden/news/archives/003560.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323054236/http://www.aces.edu/homegarden/news/archives/003560.php |archive-date=March 23, 2012 |publisher=Alabama Cooperative Extension System}}</ref> 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.{{cn|date=July 2023}}

Historically, an explosive called ''stumping powder'' was used to blast stumps.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fortier |first=Samuel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_URAAAAYAAJ |title=Use of Water in Irrigation |date=1916 |publisher=McGraw-Hill book Company, Incorporated |language=en}}</ref><ref>[https://professionaltreetrimmerswpb.com/ Professional Tree Trimmers]</ref>

== Stump harvesting == {{main|Stump harvesting}} In plantation forests in parts of Europe, stumps are sometimes pulled out of the ground using a specially adapted tracked excavator, to supply wood fuel for biomass power stations. Stump harvesting may provide an increasing component of the woody material required by the biomass power sector.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stump harvesting |url=https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/research/stump-harvesting/ |access-date=2023-10-20 |website=Forest Research |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Trees}} * Living stump

==References== {{reflist}} * Buckley, G.P. 1992. Ecology and Management of Coppice Woodlands. ''Springer'' 336 pages, {{ISBN|0-412-43110-6}}, {{ISBN|978-0-412-43110-4}}. * Schenk, H.J., and R.B. Jackson. 2002. The global biogeography of roots. ''Ecological Monographs'' '''72''' (3): 311–328.

==External links== {{commons category|Tree stumps}} * [https://archive.today/20130418105359/http://ex-epsilon.slu.se/archive/00002832/ Stump harvesting in Sweden] * [http://www.dina.dk/phd/s/s8/Reports/Nuutti_report.pdf Regeneration after stump harvesting] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714114507/http://www.dina.dk/phd/s/s8/Reports/Nuutti_report.pdf |date=2010-07-14 }} * [http://www.tekes.fi/eng/publications/kannotengl1.pdf Stumps as a resource in Finland] * [http://www.jyu.fi/science/laitokset/bioenv/en/sections/eko/research/stumpharvesting Stump harvesting and forest decomposers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090809115847/http://www.jyu.fi/science/laitokset/bioenv/en/sections/eko/research/stumpharvesting |date=2009-08-09}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tree Stump}} Stump Category:Forest ecology Category:Dead wood