Ancient Forest Ecology

Ancient Forest is forest that has never been managed, or significantly changed by humans, and it is increasingly rare and precious. But quite apart from its beauty or spiritual value, untouched forest gives us insights into how natural forests work.

"Old-growth forests differ from younger forests in three main ways. First, they have trees that are much older than the average age for the tree species. Second, they generally have greater numbers of snags, or dead standing trees, than younger forests. And third, they have a large number of logs on the forest floor compared to younger forests. In some old-growth forest ecosystems, there are numerous logs across streams which tend to form debris dams that are less common in younger forests."

"Old-growth forests are valuable for many reasons. They keep soil from eroding away; help to keep water clean; hold on to nutrients which are very important for plant growth; provide large, natural areas which are required to maintain healthy animal populations; and by building up dead wood (snags and logs) instead of converting wood to carbon dioxide gas, they help to mitigate the problem of global warming (increased carbon dioxide leading to increased temperature at the earth's surface)."2

"Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world. "
– John Muir