If you don't want to burn or can't burn, I've been told that if you drill four or five holes at downward angles around the trunk and a couple straight down on the top and fill them with rock salt and keep them filled for a couple weeks you shuld have a dead stump you can push over with a tractor in 4-6 months. I haven't tried it yet but as dry as it already is I probably will. Another option would be to dig around the stump and use an old chain saw to cut it off below ground, pour some turloc on it and cover it with dirt.
<font color="blue"> if you drill four or five holes at downward angles around the trunk and a couple straight down on the top and fill them with rock salt </font color>
I hadn't heard the rock salt thing, but I've done this using Roundup. Kills the stump and all the roots but good, then the tractor can break 'em out. I should try rock salt - cheaper than Roundup.
Salt will preserve the stump, and the subject is "removal" of the stump. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Salt may "kill" the stump and keep it from sending out new shoots, but beyond that, it likely will not help much.
Depending on what species it is (Iowa it may be cottonwood, which will decay fairly rapidly), the stump could take years (see Bird's note on oak) to "decay". Best to keep it moist and full of bacteria and air to get them to decay. Salt is however a preservative and will defeat the decay process.
Cutting just below grade and covering with dirt will likely cause it to decay as fast as anything. But hope it isn't something like walnut, which takes forever to decay. Some people like to dig out walnut stumps and make craft-type things from the figured wood.
The maples, both hard and soft, are listed in the Wood Handbook as only slightly to non-resistant to decay. So they should decay much quicker than white oak or walnut.
Sorry for the blank look, as I thought you were indicating we missed some reference to maple. Now, looking back, I better understand your post. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
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