[CANUFNET] References for Ramial Chipped Wood \Bois Raméal Fragmenté

[Michael Richardson]

Some very basic references associated primarily with decay mechanisms are:

Biodiversity in Deadwood
Decomposer Basidiomycetes
Ecology of Saprotrophic Basidiomycetes
An Introduction to Wood Rotting Fungi

I would also look at the work of people such as Lynn Boddy and David
Lonsdale and I would also look at the Veteran Tree Management Book
available in Britain.

Contact me privately for more info.

Michael
> Hello, I have current references from francophone Europe on this subject,
> but is anyone in Canada using or studying this approach? Would love to
> know.
> Have you ever heard of Gilles Lemieux of Laval University and his research
> in the 80s and 90's on Ramial Chipped Wood? Bois Raméal Fragmenté ?
> Ramial Chipped Wood (RCW) is hardwood chipped branches and twigs lay down
> as top mulch on a variety of landscapes at that, only every 3 years. There
> are claims that RCW can boost soil fertility and replace fossil fuel
> inputs (fertilizers and pesticides)[i]. There could be potentially be
> markets in horticulture, agriculture and silviculture. An introduction to
> RCW is "raw material consists of the twigs and branches of trees and woody
> shrubs, preferably deciduous, including small limbs up to 7 cm. in
> diameter. It is processed into small pieces (5-10cm) by chipping, and the
> resulting product has a relatively high ratio of cambium to cellulose
> compared to other chipped wood products. Thus, it is higher in nutrients
> and is an effective promoter of the growth of soil fungi and of
> soil-building in general." Wikipedia.
>
> I got this from the Permaculture side. Peter Bane says that "Young growth
> on woody plants (up to about finger size) is very rich in enzymes,
> vitamins, minerals and other nutrients…with all species where this
> ramial wood (or what the English coppicers call brash) is cut and applied
> as mulch it breaks down into humus fairly rapidly. Rates of decay are of
> course influenced by moisture and the degree of soil contact but we should
> see woody plants as a prime source of fertilizer and mulch to maintain our
> garden farms and fields.[ii]"
>
>
>
>
> [i] Lemieux, Giles, Laval University. "Fundamentals of Forest Ecosystem
> Pedogenetics ", British Columbia Ministry of Forestry, Victoria, BC.
> [ii] Bane, Peter, The Permaculture Handbook, New Society Publishers,
> Gabriola Island  BC, 2012, Pg. 314