Rob DeGraff via flickr.
The beauty and elegance of the old-growth forest are as striking as its beauty.
Robin Wall Kimmerer (p. 284)
Old-growth forests conjure up images of majestic trees surrounded with lush undergrowth such as berries and ferns. I imagine myself walking through a forest floor covered in moss, and imagining a world of green. It is a scene suitable for fairies. This landscape isn’t some mythic, ancient land inhabited only by fantastical creatures. There are many species of wildlife that roam between these magnificent treesbears deer, wolves and beetles.
Yet, logging is threatening the wildlife that has survived in these amazing ecosystems. Few old-growth forests are left The United StatesWith an average loss of 95% for the West and 99% for the East, It’s a depressing statistic but trees can still grow if you allow them to. That’s exactly what we asked the Biden administration for: a new plan to protect our older trees and forests, so that they can age well.
While the United States has lost much of its old-growth forests, it still has large areas that are home to mature trees. Mature trees are those that have accumulated a significant number of years for many species. This is usually seventy to eighty years, but not enough to be considered old growth. Old-growth forests take time to grow. It is possible to replenish old-growth forests by protecting these mature trees now.
Old-growth forests are undoubtedly beautiful, but their beauty cannot be separated from their elegance and function, as Robin Kimmerer stated in Sweetgrass Braiding. To understand how beauty, function, and function interact in old-growth forests we need to first answer a foundational question.
Credit: Forest Service Alaska Region, USDA via Flickr
Tom Spies is a research forester ecologist at Pacific Northwest Research Station. University of Washington Professor Jerry Franklin created a definition of old growth forests for the U.S. Forest Service. Old-growth forests are ecosystems distinguished primarily by their old trees and related structural attributes. These may include tree size, accumulations large dead woody material and number of canopy layers. They also have a variety of species composition and ecosystem function..
These old trees and their associated structural attributes can be referred to as the green architecture of a forest structure, which Kimmerer calls a model for efficiency. What is it that makes this forest structure so green, efficient, and beautiful?
For centuries, forests left to grow on their own develop irreplicable ecological functions. Multilayered canopies produce a mosaic of leaves that can optimize solar energy and provide critical habitat for many species. Even fallen trees play a vital role in providing safe habitats for crawling insects and feeding fungi, moles, and lichen. Salamanders and mice. Old-growth forests take many years to mature, fostering interconnected and symbiotic ecosystems. These ecosystems effectively cycle energy as well as nutrients throughout the entire forest. Essentially, An old-growth forest is a great example of self-sustaining communities..
It is important to preserve the habitats of wildlife and healthy ecosystems that sustain our planet’s climate stability. If that isn’t enough to keep our remaining trees standing, then this might be: Old-growth forest stores large amounts of carbon.
The more carbon a tree stores, it is older. A mature tree has reached its near-peak carbon sequestration. It will continue to absorb carbon at a high rate for many years, with incremental increases over time. Even soil from old-growth forest can store carbon.For example, 44% of total carbon is stored in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. This is 8% more than all the carbon in U.S. forests. It is important that 50% of this carbon is held in the Tongass’ oldest trees. In addition to their incredible ability to reduce global warming, mature and old-growth trees are also able to do so. More resilientThere are more dangers to younger forests than drought and wildfires. These are all conditions that are becoming more severe as we approach the climate crisis.
Big trees are a big deal for climate change. Now is the time to take advantage of them. The Biden Administration must immediately end the logging of old-growth and mature trees. Why? Because forests are disappearing. Earth loses 5,000,000 hectares of forest each year. This is an area almost as large as Costa Rica. If we want to avoid mass extinctions and prevent the worst effects of global climate change, we need to let trees grow. We must start now.
Photo credit: Hani Azmir via Flickr
