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Forests

Forests. Old Growth. Forest that has not been disturbed by humans or disaster for 200 years or more Russia, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia & Papua New Guinea have more than 75% of the world’s Old Growth forests. Second Growth Forest. Forest resulting from secondary succession. Benefits of Forests.

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Forests

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  1. Forests

  2. Old Growth • Forest that has not been disturbed by humans or disaster for 200 years or more • Russia, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia & Papua New Guinea have more than 75% of the world’s Old Growth forests

  3. Second Growth Forest • Forest resulting from secondary succession

  4. Benefits of Forests • Remove CO2 from the atmosphere • Provide habitat for many species • Plants found in forests may be used for pharmaceutical purposes • Reduce erosion • Purify water • Recreation • Jobs • Fuel wood & lumber

  5. Harm from deforestation • Erosion • Habitat fragmentation • Sediment runoff

  6. Forest Fires • Surface fires – burn the forest floor • Benefits: • Burn away flammable material making the forest less susceptible to more damaging fires • Free up mineral nutrients in the litter and undergrowth • Release seeds from lodge pole pines • Stimulate germination of certain tree seeds • Control disease and insects

  7. Crown Fires • Very hot, leaping tree-to-tree, engulfing entire trees in flame • Usually occur when areas have not had surface fires for several decades • Dead wood, leaf litter accumulate • Fires destroy vegetation • Kill wildlife • Increase vegetation • Burn/damage structures

  8. Forest Fire in Colorado • We have had an increasing number of forest fires in Colorado • Forest fires are fought and suppressed as soon as possible • Is this the right thing to do?

  9. Suppression Benefits • Saves homes • Saves trees • Keeps forests aesthetically pleasing (do we really want to see Summit County burned?)

  10. Suppression Drawbacks • Species adapted to periodic fires cannot adapt (lodge pole pine) • Overcrowding in the forests • More, weaker trees • Susceptible to disease (pine beetle) • Crown fires more likely

  11. Pine Beetles • Pine beetles attack stressed trees • Overcrowded • Old age • Drought • Disease

  12. Pine Beetle Prevention • Natural Controls: • Predators such as woodpeckers and insects that feed on the pine beetle • Extreme cold (severe freeze in the fall, temperatures below -30 F for 5 days in the winter) • Peeling the bark

  13. Are beetle kill areas timber waiting to burn? • This seems like an obvious answer with so much dead wood, however…. • Recent research suggests that the dead fall left behind makes the forest less vunerable to forest fires because: • Live trees have flammable oil in the needles, dead trees do not • Crown forest fires jump from tree-to-tree

  14. What is best for the forest may not be what is best for us

  15. Other Forest issues • Rainforest Destruction • Boreal Forest Destruction

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