CCL’s training video seems to support removal of old and large trees In favor of younger trees. How is this promoting healthy forests? Among others, the Biden administration and the Sierra Club think saving stands of old growth trees is a good idea.
Hi @Ken Wall. I discuss this around the 21 to 22 minute mark in the healthy forests training video:
policy-wise you kind of want to do both things. You want to conserve and preserve the old growth forests while also doing a lot of planting of new trees so that those new trees can grow and pull more carbon out of the atmosphere. So you have to do both things and keep both things in mind in your policy development.
So yes, preserving old growth trees is definitely a good idea. When we talk about working forests and harvesting trees, those are relatively young trees (not classified as old growth). And we also talk about replanting trees in areas where there used to be forests (a.k.a. reforestation) and planting urban trees.
Inside Climate News article on 4/21/‘23 by M. Lavelle contains multiple misleading statements in regards to carbon sequestration of “old trees” and “old growth” forests and similarly misleading statements about logging on national forest lands. The article links to another article with misleading statements by the same author dated 3/5/‘23. These statements can lead to factually flawed and technically incorrect conclusions in regards to carbon sequestration by old growth forests and logging on lands managed by the US Forest Service. In addition the articles reference sources that are likely biased. Skepticism is warranted.
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