There was a time when the earth was nearly covered in trees or ancient forests. Hard to believe as we look around today and see an ocean of homes or cleared land.
Ancient forests that once covered the land has been dwindled down to almost 20 percent of its historic standing. And half of this 20 percent has been removed just in the last thirty years. Even with deforestation's estimated contribution to global warming, ancient trees are still being removed due to illegal logging and industrial scale farming.
So what is an 'old growth forest'? Definitions state that it is a presence of old trees, dead standing snags, a multilayered canopy dominated by large overstory trees, and accumulations of large dead woody material.
Other requirements for an old growth forest include:
• The forest habitat possesses relatively mature, old trees;
• The old-growth trees have long continuity on the same site;
• The forest itself has not been subjected to significant inhabitation by mankind that has altered the appearance of the landscape and its ecosystems, has not been subjected to logging, and has inherently progressed per natural tendencies.
Many wonder why old-growth forests cannot just be replanted and whether that would provide the same amount of carbon and nutrients as an old growth forest would. The answer is no, old-growth forests take years to build rich communities of plants and animals, which contribute to the biodiversity of the planet. Old-growth forests also serve as a reservoir for species that cannot thrive or easily regenerate in younger forests. Such forests also provide invaluable medicines that are being discovered to cure ailments. And last, old-growth forests store large amounts of carbon above and below the ground, either as humus or in wet soils as peat.
Because of the large amounts of carbon stored in old forests in the wood, soil humus and peat, when these forests are cut or destroyed, the carbon dioxoide or methane is released into the environment, agitating the already current ecosystem.
Old-growth forests store large amounts of carbon, which is stored in wood, soil humus and peat. When forests are cut, the trees' wood, soil humus and peat all decay, releasing the carbon as carbon dioxide or methane. Logging practices often include burning of the logged area, releasing further CO2. Release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and then trying to counteract it with the planting of new trees has proven counter-productive. To replace the old forests and recapture the benefits these trees provide can take centuries.
Old forest trees also have a staggered ages, something a new forest planted would not have. As trees regenerate and grow at different times along with varying spatial location to the main canopy, the regeneration pattern can easily be disturbed by humans.
A forest in old-growth stage has a mix of tree ages, due to a distinct regeneration pattern. New trees regenerate at different times from each other, because each one of them has different spatial location relative to the main canopy and hence each one receives a different amount of light. This regeneration pattern is different from the regeneration of trees after a major disturbance, when trees regenerate on the site in relatively similar time. In younger forests, trees have similar ages, because they all started to grow at the same time, after the old forest stand was killed.
The biggest issue with disturbing what Mother Nature has spent millions of years creating is the tipping of the biodiversity scale. Biodiversity is the representation of a large number and wide range of species of animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms. Scientists consider biodiversity important to the life of the planet as it can provide important balance in cases where when life forms are limited, one organism can wipe out huge amounts of crops - as in the Irish Potato Blight.
Today, biodiversity is most strongly represented in ancient forests, and more specifically in Brazil's Atlantic Forest. This forest along contains close to 20,000 plant species, 1350 vertebrates, and millions of insects, about half of which occur nowhere else in the world.
Describing the benefits of ancient-forests can be complex and scientific when related to the benefits of the whole planet. But on a human scale, they represent our heritage and a beauty that is hardly irreplaceable.
-