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1. Introduction: What Are Old Growth Forests and Why Are They Important?

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1. Introduction: What Are Old Growth Forests and Why Are They Important? OLD GROWTH LITERATURE REVIEW by Silva Ecosystem Consultants May 1992 This document may be reproduced or distributed freely and without charge, provided said reproduction is not for profit. We request that full credit be given, with a reference to the SFF Web site. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Silva Ecosystem Consultants May, 1992 Old Growth Literature Review Page ii ______________________________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION: WHAT ARE OLD GROWTH FORESTS AND WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?...................................................................................................................... 1 2. WHAT IS OLD GROWTH? - COMPOSITION............................................................... 4 2.1 FOREST SUCCESSION AND OLD GROWTH COMPOSITION ........................... 4 2.2 FIRE HISTORY AND OLD GROWTH COMPOSITION......................................... 6 2.3 WINDSTORMS AND FOREST SUCCESSION ....................................................... 9 2.4 OLD GROWTH FOREST TYPES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA.................................. 9 2.4.1 Coastal Douglas-Fir.............................................................................................. 9 2.4.2 Coastal Red cedar............................................................................................... 10 2.4.3 Coastal Western Hemlock .................................................................................. 10 2.4.4 Coastal Mountain Hemlock................................................................................ 11 2.4.5 Coastal Yellow Cedar......................................................................................... 11 2.4.6 Coastal Sitka Spruce........................................................................................... 11 2.4.7 Interior Douglas-Fir............................................................................................ 11 2.4.8 Interior Western Larch Forests ........................................................................... 12 2.4.9 Interior Cedar Hemlock...................................................................................... 12 2.4.10 Interior Ponderosa Pine .................................................................................... 13 2.4.11 Interior Lodgepole Pine .................................................................................... 13 2.4.12 Interior Spruce And True Fir Forests................................................................ 13 2.4.13 The Boreal Forest ............................................................................................. 14 2.5 OLD GROWTH COMPOSITION - OTHER SPECIES ....................................... 15 2.5.1 Large Mammals.................................................................................................. 20 2.5.2 Small Herbivorous Mammals............................................................................. 21 2.5.3 Small Carnivorous Mammals............................................................................. 22 2.5.4 Birds ................................................................................................................... 22 2.5.5 Fish ..................................................................................................................... 25 2.5.6 Amphibians ........................................................................................................ 26 2.5.7 Invertebrates ....................................................................................................... 26 2.5.8 Soil Organisms - The Rhizosphere..................................................................... 27 2.5.9 Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria .................................................................................... 28 ______________________________________________________________________________________ Silva Ecosystem Consultants May, 1992 Old Growth Literature Review Page iii ______________________________________________________________________________________ 2.5.10 Other Plants ...................................................................................................... 29 3. WHAT IS OLD GROWTH - STRUCTURE .................................................................. 30 3.1 LARGE TREES......................................................................................................... 30 3.2 VARIATION IN TREE SIZE AND SPACING........................................................ 31 3.3 ACCUMULATION OF COARSE WOODY DEBRIS ............................................ 32 3.4 DECADENCE - BROKEN TOPS AND DECAY.................................................... 32 3.5 MULTIPLE CANOPY LAYERS, CANOPY GAPS, AND UNDERSTORY PATCHINESS................................................................................................................. 33 3.6 WATER ................................................................................................................. 35 3.6.1 Human Use Of Water - Water Quality, Quantity And Timing Of Flow ............ 35 3.6.2 Fish Habitat ........................................................................................................ 37 3.6.3 Riparian Zone Functions .................................................................................... 38 3.7 WILDLIFE................................................................................................................. 39 3.7.1 Dependence/Persistence ..................................................................................... 40 3.7.2 Minimum Habitat Required................................................................................ 41 3.7.3 The Function Of Wildlife Species...................................................................... 42 3.7.4 Conclusion.......................................................................................................... 43 3.8 BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM STABILITY ............................. 44 3.8.1 Biological Diversity In Forests........................................................................... 44 3.8.2 Forest Diversity And Soil Productivity .............................................................. 46 3.8.3 Forest Diversity And Insect Pests....................................................................... 47 3.8.4 Forest Diversity And Mycorrhizae ..................................................................... 48 3.8.5 Conclusion.......................................................................................................... 49 3.9 HUMAN USES OF OLD GROWTH FORESTS ..................................................... 49 4. HOW DO WE PROTECT OLD GROWTH FORESTS? ............................................... 51 5. LITERATURE CITED.................................................................................................... 52 ______________________________________________________________________________________ Silva Ecosystem Consultants May, 1992 Old Growth Literature Review Page iv ______________________________________________________________________________________ LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Coniferous tree species found in B.C...................................................................... 6 Table 2: Utilization of old-growth habitats by vertebrates in the Pacific Northwest (Habeck 1988)............................................................................................................................ 16 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Water moves downslope throught the sub-rooting zone...................................... 39 Figure 2: Contrast between natural and typical, managed forest rotation in Pacific Northwest. ..................................................................................................................................... 45 ______________________________________________________________________________________ Silva Ecosystem Consultants May, 1992 OLD GROWTH LITERATURE REVIEW 1. INTRODUCTION: WHAT ARE OLD GROWTH FORESTS AND WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT? What are old growth forests? The term "old growth" refers to two separate but related concepts: 1. a phase in the life cycle of all forests, and 2. a critical part of the functioning forest landscape. Ecologists often describe old growth forests based on their distinctive composition and structure. Composition refers to the plant and animal species contained in the forest ecosystem, from the massive to the microscopic. Structure refers to the characteristics and arrangement of the species and non-living elements in the ecosystem. While the species composition of old growth forests may be duplicated in other forest phases, certain structural features are found only in old growth. These special structural attributes include large trees, snags, large fallen trees, and large accumulations of forest biomass. We will see later why these structures are essential to fully functioning forest landscapes. Working together, compositional and structural attributes support the unique ecological functions of old growth forests. Storage of carbon, filtration of water, and capture of nitrogen are three functions carried out better in old growth than in other types of forests. Old growth forests maintain large, uniform, high quality timber volumes over time, and support stable or slowly evolving communities of plants and animals (Haynes 1986, Franklin and DeBell 1988). Thus, old growth forests are steady state ecosystems. Although
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