branch
A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins.
History and etymology
In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includ ...
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksfelling.
Limbing plays a role in
fire prevention
Fire prevention is a function of many fire departments. The goal of fire prevention is to educate the public on the precautions that should be taken to prevent potentially harmful fires from occurring. It is a proactive method of preventing fir ...
by removing branches from live trees that can otherwise serve as part of a fuel ladder allowing a fire to climb from the ground into the
tree canopy
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only p ...
. A California fire prevention guide recommends to "Remove all tree branches at least 6 feet .8 metersfrom the ground" and "Allow extra vertical space between shrubs and trees."Maintain Defensible Space Ready For Wildfire,
CAL FIRE
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, colloquially known as CAL FIRE, is the fire department of the California Natural Resources Agency in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for fire protection in various are ...
In
British English
British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...
, limbing can be synonymous with snedding. Alternatively, limbing can be used to describe the operation on larger branches, and snedding on smaller.
In logging
Options for cutting off the branches include
chain saw
A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable handheld power saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar.
Modern chainsaws are typically gasoline or electric and are used in activities such as tree fell ...
s, harvesters, stroke delimbers and others. Limbing can happen at the stump in log/tree length systems and cut-to-length systems or at the landing in whole-tree logging.
When the tree is lying on the ground, branches may be storing enormous
potential energy
In physics, potential energy is the energy of an object or system due to the body's position relative to other objects, or the configuration of its particles. The energy is equal to the work done against any restoring forces, such as gravity ...
chain saw
A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable handheld power saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar.
Modern chainsaws are typically gasoline or electric and are used in activities such as tree fell ...
, this energy can be released suddenly and the branch can jump dangerously. In addition, a branch may be supporting the tree, and the tree can fall or roll when the branch is cut. For these reasons, limbing is a skilled operation requiring careful safety planning.
See also
*
Axe
An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...
*
Chainsaw
A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable handheld power saw, power saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar.
Modern chainsaws are typically gasoline or electric and are used in activities such as t ...
Hewing
In woodworking, hewing is the process of converting a log from its rounded natural form into lumber (timber) with more or less flat surfaces using primarily an axe. It is an ancient method, and before the advent the sawmills, it was a standa ...
*
Logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksLog bucking
* Feller buncher