Beginning an orchard means purchasing a gently sloping old pasture, rich in a perfect loam..not a sapling or rock in sight. Fast forward to reality. Nearly all resources for information on orchard establishment take as a given somewhat ideal conditions. When we established our orchard (which is still occurring every year) the land was steep, rocky, and occupied by dense mixed species forest. We dealt with it the way any amateur would: we harvested the wood and used it, and planted the fruit trees between the stumps. Fertilization came a bit at planting, but generally after the fact. Heavy slopes have been dealt with by some aesthetic terracing. My point? If I had followed too close the advice of most (not all) extension agents or books on the subject, the land would have been stumped with backhoes and leveled with bulldozers. The roots and slash would have been burned in towering piles. This we felt would have wreaked havoc on the micro environment of the soil to say nothing of the texture matrix. By leaving root systems, even the slowly decaying softwoods will become compost. The high lignin content of many woods can be broken down more quickly by the addition of higher nitrogen composts (urine is excellent for this purpose). Slower decay can be just as beneficial, however, don't always be impatient. These dacayed root systems will allow for better aeration and soil texture improvement deep into the subsoil. We have burned hardwood slash in the woodstove and piled softwood boughs around the blueberries. Extra slash gets piled against the fencing to deter deer from tunneling under...all free material. Under this strategy we were able to plant quickly and in a less intrusive fashion. If stumps are bothering you, they can be cut low and topped with compost to vanish. Yes, in less hospitable slopes and terraces, or with stump and root left in space plowing is near impossible, and motorized travel prohibited..but these are not necessary in an orchard and are certainly detrimental in terms of tiller panning and compaction anyway. Here at the nursery I hear of everyone's plan of orchard establishment and they nearly all are stumping and plowing and going a little broke getting it done. They have no clue there are other options. Folks are in a hurry to make things LOOK like an orchard (perhaps a bit self conscious). We should keep in mind it isn't always better or easier to upset or downright violate system of life that already exists on their land. There is nothing wrong with letting be that wild elderberry or cool knarled hemlock in the orchard. A diverse species environment means places for other creatures to take residence in, not just varied herbal plantlife. I insist that everyone's orchard should look as different as everyone elses children. And I'll guarantee it'll be a much more interesting place to be in.