Maybe you’ve never even heard of old growth forests, but by the end of this article, you’ll know what it is, why they matter, and the health benefits of being in one. Increasingly, countries around the world, such as the United States, Canada, Sweden, Poland, Austria and many more have taken active measures to protect their old growth forests.
You even have organizations like the WWF (1) that actively work to preserve old growth forests.
Key Takeaways
What are Old Growth Forests?
To begin, you need to understand how forests, like humans, can be at different stages in their lives. The four stages, known as forest stand development, include:
Why Do Old Growth Forests Matter?
What happens if you cut down a forest but replant three trees in every single tree’s place?
Many environmentalists see this as a great choice, and while some argue it has its merits, others say that it could be causing more harm if the wrong trees are planted in the wrong place.
Stanford did a report (2) on tree planting and how it can threaten biologically valuable forests.
If you’ve ever gone to a tree plantation with a single species or two or three species and walked through it, the place has a totally different vibe compared to an old growth forest, which is teeming with life. It feels more like a monotonous desert in the forest.
In an old growth forest, you’ll find a lot more plant diversity and food for the animals that live there. The trees will also have different ages and heights.
The multilayered canopies in an old growth forest will allow for diverse species to live in the forest. You’ll also find more dead wood in an old growth forest, which allows for even more wildlife habitat.
When you understand how long it takes for this natural ecological diversity to take place, you begin to realize why old growth logging is so bad for the environment. Old growth logging leads to several problems like:
I hope that highlighting these things raises awareness of the importance of old growth forests and how preserving them can even help us in the fight against climate change. Logging them is arguably not sustainable due to the amount of time it takes for them to grow back.
An old growth forest has higher carbon density storage than a younger forest. When you cut down old growth forests, the carbon stored gets released back into the atmosphere warming our climate faster.
These forests are also better at purifying your air for better health. They absorb air pollution and dangerous gases like nitrogen oxide.
Did you know that, according to the Wilderness Society, 60 million people in the United States alone (17% of the total population), get their drinking water from national forests? Many cities depend on the watersheds from these forests to bring us drinking water.
Many endangered species like the northern spotted owl, red-cockaded woodpecker, Olympic salamander, and Del Norte salamander all depend on old growth forests to survive.
Some scientists believe we are currently in the midst of a global mass extinction with millions of species going extinct in the coming decades, and old growth forests help to protect many of these species from that fate while also preserving ourselves.
Understanding the Scope of the Problem
More than 20 million hectares of old growth forests in the United States are at risk of logging activity.
These forests have no federal protections, and if they get logged, the carbon being stored in those trees will be released back into the atmosphere where it will accelerate climate change.
Many worry about carbon emissions from fossil fuels, but cutting down old growth forests with the 20.8 million hectares, would account for around 25% of the annual carbon emissions from fossil fuels.
The largest threat facing old growth forests right now comes from logging, but the logging could also cause harm with our efforts at stopping climate change. Logging these forests harms the surrounding communities. We need to take action before it’s too late.
There are different organizations that you can support to stop logging old growth forests. Some of the organizations include:
This only shows you a couple of the many organizations. These organizations focus on making policy changes, taking legal action, and driving a public awareness campaign of the importance of our old growth forests. Supporting one of them is a way to take action against climate change.
Final Thoughts
Old growth forests are something that not everyone is aware of, but they can have a big impact on our climate and our world. For those who care about animals and the environment, taking action by preserving old growth forests is a great way that you can make a difference.
(1) https://www.worldwildlife.org/
(2) https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2020/06/planting-trees-threatens-forest
(3) https://www.wilderness.org/articles/blog/6-reasons-old-growth-forests-are-really-important
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