Forestry Equipment for a Slash Burning Alternative

Slash treatment after a logging operation gave the "SLASHBUSTER"® it’s name, and for good reason. The "SLASHBUSTER"® chunks and evenly distributes slash while installing plantable microsites, creating an ecologically and economically sound alternative to burning.

 

Advantages over conventional slash treatment and forestry equipment include:

• Fire containment risks are eliminated
• Public approval increases with no air quality concerns
• Rapid reforestation begins with the next planting season, rather than being delayed by burn crews waiting for a burn window
• Mychorrizae survival rates are increased with quicker replanting and the mulch provides biomass for rapid beneficial fungi colonization
• Herbicide reduction as the mulch suppresses competing vegetation. A forestry herbicide applicator can be used for immediate basal application.
• Nutrient cycling releases nutrients long-term as the slash naturally decomposes into soil rather than going up in smoke
• Humidity increases in the microclimate, increasing sapling survival rates
• Habitat quality for smaller organisms is improved over a barren landscape
• Soil damage is avoided because:

Hot burning piles destroy soil structure and chemistry, affecting long-term productivity of the area underneath them.
Skidders scarify and compact the soil as they pile slash, which decreases forest productivity and allows invasive species to colonize the disturbed area.

The initial cost per acre for slashbusting is slightly more than for burning, but only if long term economics and environmental effects are not taken into consideration. Additionally, when slash is burned, land managers risk waiting years to replant in forest soils that are scarified, burned, nutrient-depleted and colonized with weeds. For people concerned about long-term profits and ecosystem-based sustainable forestry, "SLASHBUSTER"® forestry equipment is a solid and responsible investment with predictable payouts -- economically and ecologically.