I have two different ways of dealing with brush depending on the location of my work. In an area that will be used as yard or extended garden, I will shred and chip. In areas of mostly forest, I will cut the logs into managable lengths and construct brush piles.
Shred and Chip.
I've tried to send whole fir/pine trees through my little tractor powered chipper. If it's any warmer than 20 degrees, the needles release their pitch and the result is a constantly gummed up exhaust chute. So, on trees that will be left standing, I prune branches with loppers or a pruning saw. On trees that will be taken down, I will use my chainsaw to remove the branches by skimming the surface of the tree. The branches, up to about an inch thick, are cut into 3-4 ft lengths and placed in rows. Once I have a number of rows, I will use my field mower to shred
the branches into mulch. Running over the branches does a very nice job of shredding them into mulch. The mulch can either be left in place or moved to an area, such as a trail or low spot. I usually stack my branches in an area where they can be mulched and left. I then trade the mower for my chipper and chip the poles (up to 4 ") over the top of the mulched branches. I feel these shredded and chipped trees, in a few years, will decay and add to the soil layer. By increasing the surface area (through shredding and chipping) of your plant matter, you have provided more opportunity for the insects and microorganizms that cause decay to do work and do their thing.
Logs and Brush Piles
Brush Piles
In areas that are "managed forest", I will make brush piles. Well built brush piles not only provide a slow-release fertilizer as they decay over time; they also can provide habitat for a number of different animals. According to several sources, a well built, habitat-oriented brush pile begins with some 6-10" logs placed parallel to each other on the ground. There should be about 12-16" between the logs and the rows should be about 6-8' long. A second perpendicular row of logs is placed on top of the first. Heavy brush goes on next, then lighter brush. The logs provide habitat for ground dwelling animals and the brush on top provides habitat for birds. Ideally, the brush piles should be located at the edge of a field area, in the transition area between field and forest, as this is where the animals that live in your brush pile would feed. Most small bird species feed in field areas. I've built several variations of brush piles and will be interested to see which ones are the most preferred.
Logs
This is the tricky part as I have lots of trees blown down by some recent strong winds. It would have been nice if these trees were hardwood and usable as fuel but they are mostly balsam fir which is not a good fuel source or source of lumber. Balsam fir does decay relatively quickly and I will take advantage of this. After the branches are removed, the remaining trees are cut into manageable lengths (about 3' feet for me). These are stacked close to the brush piles for later use. I plan to lay these logs in low, moist spots where they will decay. As it is the middle of winter and we have almost two feet of snow on the ground, placing them in these areas will have to wait till we are snow free.
