Tree stumps can be difficult to remove from the ground. They can be dug out, shredded with a stump grinder or burnt.

A common method for stump removal is to use one of the many chemical stump removal products, so long as immediate results are not needed. These stump removers are mostly made of potassium nitrate (KNO3) and act by rapidly increasing the decay of the stump. After an average of 4–6 weeks, the stump will be rotten through and easily fragmented in manageable pieces. If time is a limiting factor, setting fire to the stump is effective because once the potassium nitrate has been absorbed it acts as an effective oxidizer.