# @stem_antics on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Ddxcydsgqo4
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70844129-stem-antics-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/536fb797c3.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-27T01:40:21.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Stem Antics (@stem_antics) — https://gondola.cc/stem_antics

## Caption

Two crawler tractors, a length of surplus naval anchor chain, and a few hundred metres of open ground between them. Chaining is among the bluntest instruments in land management, and also one of the most mechanically elegant.

The method is simple in layout. Two large crawler tractors drive parallel courses, dragging a heavy chain between them in a U or J shaped loop. Anything rigid and upright in the path is pulled over and, ideally, uprooted.

The mechanics behind it:
- The chain meets the trunk above ground level, so tractive force acts through a lever arm and generates a large bending moment at the base
- When that moment exceeds the anchorage capacity of the root plate, the tree rotates out of the soil rather than snapping
- Chain mass keeps the loop low and in contact; lighter chain rides up and over vegetation
- Swivels allow the links to roll, shedding debris and disturbing the seedbed
- Heavy steel balls or weighted links are often added to stop the chain riding up and to break the soil surface

Effectiveness depends heavily on the vegetation. Brittle, single stemmed trees with shallow root plates topple cleanly. Flexible shrubs and resprouting species bend under the chain and spring back, which is why many operations run a second pass in the opposite direction, known as double chaining.

The technique scaled rapidly after the Second World War, when surplus ship chain and powerful crawlers became widely available. Queensland used it extensively in the Brigalow Scheme from 1962, and the US Bureau of Land Management chained large areas of pinyon juniper woodland across the Great Basin for rangeland conversion. Today it is used more selectively, often for fire management and habitat restoration, and is tightly regulated in many regions.

Leverage, mass and soil strength decide the outcome long before the tractors move.

#stemantics #landmanagement #engineering #soilmechanics #forestry

## Stats

- **Views:** 36,084
- **Likes:** 422
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 52

## Tags

engineering, forestry, soilmechanics, landmanagement, stemantics

---
Copyright (c) Gondola