Old-growth forest: An ancient and stable sylvan equilibrium, or a relatively transitory ecosystem condition that offers people a visual and emotional feast? Answer—it depends

2003 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
J P (Hamish) Kimmins
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Stages Of Development ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Balance Of Nature ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Large Trees ◽  
Ecosystem Condition ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
Old Trees

As a species, humans depend heavily on their visual sense, make decisions as much from their hearts as from their heads (emotion-and value-based decisions versus analytical, logic- and knowledge-based decisions), and dislike environmental and other change. Societies in early stages of development have generally revered old people for their wisdom and experience, whereas many societies at more advanced stages of development have adopted a culture of youth. Attitudes toward forests have shown a similar trend. Respect for large and old trees was a feature of some early societies, whereas societies in and after the industrial revolution became more interested in younger, faster growing trees for technical and utilitarian reasons. However, as human population growth caused the area of unmanaged forest, old forest, and forests of large trees to decline, reverence has revived for large, old trees and for old forests. This trend has not been matched by a renewed respect for scientific knowledge about forests and for wisdom about forests based on long experience. Reflecting the pervasive effects of the culture of youth, issues in forestry, including the issue of old forests, are being judged largely on an aesthetic basis, on human emotional response to snapshot visual aspects, and on a dislike for change—the Peter Pan syndrome. "Old-growth" forest, whatever it is, has been deified as a symbol of the mythical "balance of nature," a concept discredited by ecologists as a Victorian anachronism. There are important spiritual, aesthetic, wildlife, and environmental values associated with old forests, and the area of such forests is declining. There are many valid reasons (social, scientific, and environmental) for sustaining significant and representative areas of such forests. However, conservation of such forests and ensuring a future supply of the values they provide will not be achieved unless the reverential respect for such forests is matched by another meaning of respect: understanding such forests and basing our relationship with them on that understanding. This paper challenges forest managers and forest scientists to gain a significant understanding of "old growth" to provide a logical, knowledge-based, and experience-based foundation for the identification, inventory, conservation, and management of this forest ecosystem condition, and to assert this understanding as a counterbalance to the necessary, but insufficient, value-based attitude toward old forests that arises largely from visual snapshots and the emotions they arouse. Key words: old growth, biodiversity, sustainability, stability, succession, stand dynamics, respect for nature

scholarly journals Older eastern white pine trees and stands sequester carbon for many decades and maximize cumulative carbon

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert T. Leverett ◽  
Susan A. Masino ◽  
William R. Moomaw
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
White Pine ◽  
Eastern White Pine ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Large Trees ◽  
Natural Climate

AbstractPre-settlement New England was heavily forested, with some trees exceeding 2 m in diameter. New England’s forests have regrown since farm abandonment and represent what is arguably the most successful regional reforestation on record; the region has recently been identified as part of the “Global Safety Net.” Remnants and groves of primary “old-growth” forest demonstrate that native tree species can live for hundreds of years and continue to add to the biomass and structural and ecological complexity of forests. Forests are an essential natural climate solution for accumulating and storing atmospheric CO2, and some studies emphasize young, fast-growing trees and forests whereas others highlight high carbon storage and accumulation rates in old trees and intact forests. To address this question directly within New England we leveraged long-term, accurate field measurements along with volume modeling of individual trees and intact stands of eastern white pines (Pinus strobus) and compared our results to models developed by the U.S. Forest Service. Our major findings complement, extend, and clarify previous findings and are three-fold: 1) intact eastern white pine forests continue to sequester carbon and store high cumulative carbon above ground; 2) large trees dominate above-ground carbon storage and can sequester significant amounts of carbon for hundreds of years; 3) productive pine stands can continue to sequester high amounts of carbon for well over 150 years. Because the next decades are critical in addressing the climate crisis, and the vast majority of New England forests are less than 100 years old, and can at least double their cumulative carbon, a major implication of this work is that maintaining and accumulating maximal carbon in existing forests – proforestation - is a powerful near-term regional climate solution. Furthermore, old and old-growth forests are rare, complex and highly dynamic and biodiverse, and dedication of some forests to proforestation will also protect natural selection, ecosystem integrity and full native biodiversity long-term. In sum, strategic policies that grow and protect existing forests in New England will optimize a proven, low cost, natural climate solution for meeting climate and biodiversity goals now and in the critical coming decades.

scholarly journals Population densities of understorey birds across a habitat gradient in Palawan, Philippines: implications for conservation

Oryx ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.A.D. Mallari ◽  
N.J. Collar ◽  
D.C. Lee ◽  
P.J.K. McGowan ◽  
R. Wilkinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Threatened Species ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Area Network ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Density Estimates ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Habitat Gradient ◽  
Key Species ◽  
Large Trees

AbstractThere is widespread concern for many understorey and ground-dwelling bird species in the Philippines that appear intolerant of forest alteration. We present density estimates for 18 key bird species in old growth forest, advanced and early secondary growth and active cultivation within the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Palawan. Six species were not recorded in cultivation and the abundance of these and several others increased along the successional gradient from cultivation to old growth forest. Eleven species, including five endemics and three of four threatened species, had highest density estimates in old growth forest. However, several species had high density estimates in the heavily disturbed habitats and every habitat type held highest densities of at least one of the bird species. The commonest habitat association across the bird community was a preference for areas containing large trees, indicating the importance of retention of such trees in allowing suitable ground and understorey microhabitats to persist. Old growth forests have the highest conservation value for Palawan’s endemic birds and, while some species thrive in the anthropogenic habitats that occur within the Park, the present extent of cultivation and associated successional stages within its boundaries should not be increased. We caution against extrapolation of the abundance figures from the Park to the whole island but we suggest that population sizes for the threatened species are likely to be much greater than previously thought. We urge authorities to strengthen management within the protected area network in Palawan to ensure survival of key species.

A 400-year history of fire and oak recruitment in an old-growth oak forest in western Maryland, U.S.A.

2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 1437-1443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Durland L Shumway ◽  
Marc D Abrams ◽  
Charles M Ruffner
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Fire History ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Acer Rubrum ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Old Trees

We document the fire history and associated ecological changes of an old-growth forest stand in western Maryland, U.S.A. The study area is located on the side slopes of a ridge system (Savage Mountain). Twenty basal cross sections were obtained from old trees cut in 1986, which provided evidence of 42 fires from 1615 to 1958. Nine fires were recorded in the sample trees in the 17th century, 13 in the 18th century, 12 in the 19th century, and eight in the early to mid-20th century. However, there were no major fire years after 1930. The Weibull modal fire interval was 7.6 years. Oaks recruited consistently from the early 1600s to the early 1900s, but there was increased Acer rubrum L. and Betula lenta L. recruitment with fire suppression after 1930. Species recruitment patterns and long-term fire history reported in this study offer important direct support for the hypothesis that periodic fire played an important role in the historical development and perpetuation of oak forests of the mid-Atlantic region before and after European settlement.

scholarly journals Riparian old-growth forests provide critical nesting and foraging habitat for Blakiston's fish owl Bubo blakistoni in Russia

Oryx ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan C. Slaght ◽  
Sergei G. Surmach ◽  
R.J. Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
Woody Debris ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Foraging Habitat ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Large Trees ◽  
Old Growth Forests

AbstractConservation efforts for Blakiston's fish owl Bubo blakistoni in Russia are limited, partly because habitat use by these rare owls is poorly known. We therefore studied nesting and foraging habitat characteristics of Blakiston's fish owls in Primorye, Russia. We sampled habitat at 14 nest sites, 12 nest stand sites and 13 random sites; we also sampled rivers within 14 fish owl home ranges across our 20,213 km2 study area. We found that large old trees and riparian old-growth forest were the primary characteristics of nest and foraging sites, respectively. Large trees were probably used as nest sites because they have cavities large enough to accommodate these birds. Big trees are also important because they are primary sources of large woody debris in rivers, which enhances suitable habitat for salmon, the owl's primary prey. Based on habitat characteristics, nest sites were correctly distinguished from random sites 74% (Kappa = 0.48) of the time, nest stands from random sites 56% (Kappa = 0.12) of the time, and used sites from available foraging sites 68% (Kappa = 0.36) of the time. The management and conservation of old-growth forests is essential for sustaining this species because they are central to the owls' nesting and foraging behaviour. Moreover, conservation of these forests sustains habitat for many other species.

Basal area growth impacts of dwarf mistletoe on western hemlock in an old-growth forest

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 576-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Shaw ◽  
Manuela Huso ◽  
Howard Bruner
Keyword(s):  
Basal Area ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Western Hemlock ◽  
Dwarf Mistletoe ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Basal Area Growth ◽  
Initial Diameter ◽  
Large Trees ◽  
Area Growth

We investigated the effect of western hemlock dwarf mistletoe ( Arceuthobium tsugense (Rosend.) G.N. Jones ssp. tsugense ) on the 13 year basal area growth of large (>45.7 cm diameter at breast height) western hemlock ( Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) trees in an old-growth forest in southwestern Washington state. We controlled for spatial effects on tree growth by utilizing twenty-seven 0.4 ha plots that had uninfected, lightly, moderately, and severely infected classes of trees present on each plot. Basal area growth was analyzed using analysis of covariance of a randomized block design that was a balanced design with four treatments (infection classes) and 27 replicates (blocks or 0.4 ha plots), with initial diameter as the covariate. Basal area growth was found to be significantly different among the infection classes (F[3,77] = 10.09 and p < 0.0001). Growth of the light and moderate infection classes was not detectably different from growth of uninfected trees. However, severely infected trees grew from 16% to 46% (mean = 36%) less than uninfected trees of the same initial diameter over the period of study (1991–2004). The large trees in this stand did not show growth impacts until they were severely infected.

scholarly journals The importance of managing and conserving large old trees: a case study from Victorian Mountain Ash forests

2016 ◽  
Vol 128 (1) ◽  
pp. 64 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lindenmayer
Keyword(s):  
Key Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Population Recovery ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Mountain Ash ◽  
Old Trees ◽  
Regrowth Forest

Large old trees are critical structures in the Mountain Ash forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria. They perform many critical ecological and other roles. Populations of these trees are also in serious decline. A range of key management strategies is needed to arrest the decline of existing populations of large old trees and instigate population recovery. In particular all existing large old trees need to be properly protected with adequate buffers of uncut forest. In addition, all stands of old-growth forest, irrespective of their size, need to be protected to ensure they are not logged. The size of the old-growth estate also must be expanded so that it encompasses at least 30%‒50% of the distribution of Mountain Ash. Finally, the recruitment of new cohorts of large old trees is critically important to replace existing trees when they are lost. To achieve this, large areas of existing regrowth forest that regenerated after the 1939 fires need to be excluded from logging and grown through to an old-growth stage. Implementation of altered management in Mountain Ash forests is urgent, as delays in policies will exacerbate the decline of this significant population of large old trees in south-eastern Australia.

Helmeted Woodpeckers roost in decay-formed cavities in large living trees: A clue to an old-growth forest association

The Condor ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martjan Lammertink ◽  
Juan Manuel Fernández ◽  
Kristina L Cockle
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Roosting Ecology ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Forest Region ◽  
Large Trees ◽  
Critical Resource ◽  
Large Living

Abstract Woodpeckers (Picidae) are broadly associated with forests but vary in sensitivity to habitat alteration, with some species restricted to mature and old-growth forests, usually because of their foraging or nesting requirements. Roosting sites have rarely been considered a critical resource for woodpecker conservation because nearly all woodpecker species roost year-round in excavated cavities similar to their nest sites. A possible exception is the globally vulnerable Helmeted Woodpecker (Celeus galeatus) of the Atlantic Forest of South America. To determine whether roosting ecology may explain their association with mature forest, we radio-tracked 12 Helmeted Woodpeckers in old-growth and selectively logged forests in Argentina, monitored roost cavities, and provided 9 roost boxes. Unlike other woodpeckers, Helmeted Woodpeckers roosted year-round in decay-formed cavities (n = 21), with perching space above the entrance, in the living trunks of large trees. Adults usually roosted alone, but after nesting (in excavated cavities), each adult roosted with one juvenile in a shared, decay-formed cavity for up to 67 days, implying that cavities need enough space for 2 birds. We did not observe use of roost boxes. Helmeted Woodpeckers travelled up to 1,482 m between nests and roosts, reused roost cavities over multiple years (sometimes changing ownership), and interacted aggressively with other cavity-nesting birds at roost cavities, indicating that suitable cavities are a scarce resource. Because logging is likely to have a strong negative impact on the availability of this resource, we urge managers in the Atlantic Forest region to retain large living trees with decay-formed cavities and to allow more selectively logged areas to become old growth.

scholarly journals Conflicting portrayals of remaining old growth: the British Columbia case

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Price ◽  
Rachel F Holt ◽  
Dave Daust
Keyword(s):  
Forest Policy ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Provincial Government ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Forest Resilience ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Large Trees ◽  
Relative Productivity ◽  
International Conventions

Old growth is disappearing globally with implications for biodiversity, forest resilience and carbon storage; yet uncertainty remains about how much exists, partly because assessments stratify ecosystems differently, sometimes obscuring relevant patterns. This paper compares portrayals of BC’s old growth forest stratified in two ways: by biogeoclimatic variant, as per policy, and by relative site productivity. Our analyses confirm provincial government claims that about a quarter of BC’s forests are old growth, but find that most of this area has low realized productivity, including subalpine and bog forests, and that less than 1% is highly productive old growth, growing large trees. Within biogeoclimatic variant, nearly half of high productivity forest landscapes have less than 1% of the expected area of old forest. Low productivity ecosystems are over-represented in protected forest. We suggest that the experiment of managing old growth solely by biogeoclimatic variant has failed, and that current forest policy, in combination with timber harvesting priorities, does not maintain representative ecosystems, counter to the intent of both policy and international conventions. Stratifying old growth by relative productivity within biogeoclimatic variant seems an appropriate method to portray ecosystem representation, potentially increasing the probability of maintaining ecosystem resilience.

scholarly journals Occurrence of Psocoptera in boreal old-growth forests

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jussi Kanervo ◽  
Gergely Várkonyi
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Host Tree ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
Forest Biodiversity ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Old Trees ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
New Distribution

We aim to assess habitat and host-tree preferences of psocids (Insecta: Psocoptera) sampled in old-growth-forest biodiversity studies conducted during 1997–2003 in central and southern Finland. Thirty-one out of the recognized sixty-nine Finnish species were found in the samples, four of which (Elipsocus abdominalis, Reuterella helvimacula, Stenopsocus lachlani and Trichadenotecnum majus) might be associated with old-growth forests or with old trees. Psocidus flavonimbatus, a rare taiga species only previously known from the 19th century holotype from Estonia, was repeatedly collected in Kuhmo region, eastern Central Finland. This species is possibly associated with boreal spruce-dominated old-growth forests and likely to prefer Norway spruce as a host tree. We also provide new distribution data for several species and discuss their host-tree preferences.

scholarly journals One large tree crown can be defined as a local hotspot for plant species diversity in a forest ecosystem: a case study in temperate old-growth forest

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wakana. A Azuma ◽  
Natsuki Komada ◽  
Yuya Ogawa ◽  
Hiroaki Ishii ◽  
Akira Nakanishi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Plant Species Diversity ◽  
Tree Crown ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Terrestrial Species ◽  
Large Tree ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Large Trees

Abstract Large trees have survived for a long time, and their complex crown structure serves as habitat for epiphytic plants. Canopy plants are not as well studied in the temperate zones as in the tropics, because many of them are accidental epiphytes, epiphytic individuals of normally terrestrial species. We hypothesized that the canopy can serve as a refuge for terrestrial species that have difficulty establishing on the ground (e.g., insufficient light, over-browsing), promoting and conserving forest species diversity. Terrestrial species may also vary in their ability to adapt to canopy growth conditions. Here, we investigated canopy vascular plants hosted on a large Cercidiphyllum japonicum tree in a temperate old-growth forest, Japan. The canopy plant community was diverse with 39 vascular plant species, including 31 accidental epiphytes and six threatened, obligate epiphytes. High numbers of canopy plant species, including most accidental epiphytes, were found where multiple, large reiterated trunks as well as on large horizontal branches. Canopy plants leaves exhibited higher water use efficiency and higher nitrogen concentration compared to plants on the ground, but were controlled by transpirational water loss rather than by investing in leaf nitrogen with increasing height. We found at least 14 species could escape over-browsing by establishing in the canopy and may function as seed-sources for future re-colonization on the ground. Our results show one large tree crown can be defined as a local hotspot for current and future plant species diversity in a temperate old-growth forest, reinforcing its ecological value for conservation purposes.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document