Why is it important to preserve old-growth forests?
Forests can take 150 years to reach late stages of succession, with some forests taking as long as 500 years to become “old-growth.” It takes centuries to millennia for these forests to regenerate, so clearcutting this timber has a lasting impact on the ecosystems they create. The tremendous age of the trees shows that past disturbance events were moderate and did not kill all vegetation. In other words, the forests are fairly stable, allowing many rare species of plants and animals to occupy them over a long period of time. In addition to influencing the biodiversity of the area, old-growth forests store large amounts of carbon, both above and below ground. This is particularly important because it reduces the carbon dioxide in the air, thereby preventing further warming of the planet from occurring. Not using this kind of lumber therefore may offset the release of carbon dioxide.
