Old growth; perhaps just 15 percent of the West's original forests still exist in their wondrous old-growth state.
And storm is raging over how much should be saved and how much cut - includes related articles
Sunset, August, 1990
Old Growth Like so many resources, America's biggest trees--the virgin stands of coast redwood and giant sequoia of California, the Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, Western hemlock, and Western red cedar of Oregon and Washington--were once thought to be inexhaustible.
But now that the West's old growth is small enough to measure (some 15 percent of the original Pacific Coast forest), timber and environmental concerns are fighting desperately in Congress, in the courts, and in the forest over what remains. By early summer, there were already heated protests by people on both sides of the issue--for more on the public debate, see page 64.
The issue is uniquely Western. Virtually all of the nation's old-growth coniferous forests are here. As old growth is cut, we have nowhere to go for more. And as it is set aside, fellow Westerners will be the ones who lose their jobs.
What is old growth? What sets it apart from second-growth forests created by nature or replanted after logging? It comes down to diversity. In old growth, you'll find an enormous amount of wood, living and dead, standing and fallen; a great variety of plants, animals, birds, insects; a wide range of tree ages, sizes, and kinds.
In the lumberyard, more than half the clear wood that's sold is old growth, as is the darkest (and most rotresistant) of the Western red cedar and redwood. Old-growth supply, however, is already dropping, while the demand for wood is increasing. Results are rising prices and changing options; many of us are switching to tight-knot (instead of clear) redwood for decks, for example--and pressure-treated hemlock instead of cedar for fences.
Use these 11 pages for help in understanding what the old-growth debate is all about--and in getting out and appreciating the majesty and fascinating ecosystem of our old-growth forests. The destination we suggest are principally in areas where old growth is not being contested, where it has already been protected in parks and other accessible areas.
What makes an old-growth forest
Though scientists have only just begun to understand the complex workings of old-growth forests, they have come up with some common denominators. The most obvious one is that the trees tend to be old--125 to 250 years is the most widely accepted starting point. Dense stands of these big trees tend to temper the seasons, keeping summers milder, winters less severe.
The features we describe on these pages apply to the huge conifers that range from the narrow canyons of Big Sur, California, up the coastal plains to Alaska. The one anomaly, giant sequoia, lives in moister parts of the relatively dry central and southern Sierra; undergrowth isn't as lush or dense, but even so it still exhibits some of the old-growth features outlined here.
Indicator species. Many animals prefer, even require, old-growth forests to breed and thrive. Roosevelt elk slip in and out of Douglas fir and redwood groves to graze in coastal meadows
Nurse log. New trees take root in the thick, nutrient-and moisture-rich dead wood of a fallen tree, often thriving in a patch of light (left). Look for rows of mature trees (right) with buttressed bases completely surrounding the crumbling log
Nitrogen fixers. This lichen grows in the canopy, where it traps atmospheric nitrogen. When lichen falls to the earth, it releases nitrogen--essential to forest life--into the soil. Some fungus also convert nitrogen. Small mammals eat the fungus, helping disperse nitrogen through the forest.
Spawning streams. Waters of coastal forests are habitat for salmon, steelhead; golden trout live in sequoia creeks. These 2-foot pink salmon spawn among silt-free pebbles.
World's tallest trees and Sierra behemoths
Few trees anywhere stop traffic like California's two kinds of redwoods. You first notice northern California's coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) for its soft, setter red bark. Then you look up; this is the tallest tree in the world.
Farther inland, the trunk of giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) tells all: this isn't just the biggest tree in the central and southern Sierra; it's the most massive living thing on the planet.
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Standing snags. Struck by disease, fire, or lightning, some giants die but don't fall right away. All provide a heyday for beetles and other insects, and hence woodpeckers. Snags also provide nests for cavity dwellers, such as flying squirrels
Large downed trees. Fallen trees in streams slow the water's velocity, important for the success of eggs and fry for salmon and trout. Wood serves as food for midges, mayflies, snails, and crayfish, which then serve as food for fish, otters, raccoons, birds, bears, and other animals
Multilayered canopy. Note the tapestry of different-age species. Look for low shrubs and ferns beneath arcing understory trees. In windows of light, created when giants fall, look for young conifers reaching toward the canopy 200 feet or more overhead. Furrowed trunks and limbs of old trees are covered with mosses and lichens; insects and bats hide in deep fissures
Hummocking. On the ground, trees may take more than twice as long to decompose as they did to grow. Once fallen, they function much like huge timed-release vitamin capsules, slowly breaking down into nutrient-rich soil. In essence, the trees get recycled
Fire scar. Thick bark on old trees often protects them from fires that sweep through the forest. Fire is an important part of the forest ecosystem clearing out plant litter, providing windows of light for new growth, adding nutrients to the soil, and--in some forests--causing cones to release seeds |
