Ask Extension - Burning (Forest Management)

As it pertains to climate is it better to eradicate invasive spices, (honeysuckle, buckthorn) by cutting and burning or cut and wood chip? As a partial matter, burning easier and faster, without hauling heavy equipment but as seemingly running out of time on climate, should chipping be given greater weight

Extension Message
From:	Christopher Evans Forestry Extension and Research Specialist Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences cwevans@illinois.edu

Burning does release some CO2 into the environment, but it would be a small amount when just burning piles of invasive shrubs. This CO2 emitted would likely be more than offset by the increase in growth of other vegetation following the clearing of invasive species. Chipping is definitely a viable option as well, as would just leaving the tops to decompose over time. Overall, I feel any of those options are suitable treatments for dealing with the slash when removing invasive species.

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