Historical State:
Old-growth redwood forests are one of
the most unique features of California. They are so unique that most of California's visitors attempt to see them at least once in their lives. However, these forests used to cover much more land
in the past than they do now. The following information is given by
the government website parks.ca.gov in regards to exactly how much of
these forests remain and what they historically looked like:
“Redwoods blanketed much of the northern hemisphere over 100
million years ago. Ice sheets pushed the three remaining redwood
species (coast redwoods, giant sequoias and dawn redwoods) into
isolated patches in California. A mere 150 years ago California’s
western edge was dominated by an ancient redwood forest the size of
Connecticut. Less than 3% of that original forest exists”
(parks.ca.gov.) Humans desecrated these magnificent forests in a very short time considering that one hundred fifty years is only a few
generations of people. It is sobering to realize that an
ecosystem that takes millions of years of evolution to grow can be reduced to only a fraction of its original size in such a short amount of time.
This is a photograph of an old-growth redwood forest in California taken in the 1920's
This is a photograph taken at a later time of what old-growth redwood forests look like in California.
Humans were damaging redwood forests as early as in the1800s. The people in those time loved to cut down these huge trees just as much as the people in today's times do.
Redwood forests that remain are shown below in maps of all of the coastal redwood parks in California.
This is a photograph of an old-growth redwood forest in California taken in the 1920's
(environment.nationalgeographic.com.)
This is a photograph taken at a later time of what old-growth redwood forests look like in California.
(environment.nationalgeographic.com.)
As we can see from these two photographs, much of the forest has been destroyed. Often times people do not realize how much of the forest is gone because they do not know what it looked like historically, and because it is hard for them to see the type of destruction shown above because you need to be very high up to see it. It is important to educate people on the loss of forest so that people will be more likely to help put a stop to forest destruction. The United States forest service writes on
their website that they predict old-growth forest used to
cover over two million acres of land (fs.fed.us.) The fact that only less than four percent of two million acres of old-growth redwood forest is left is truly appalling.
Humans were damaging redwood forests as early as in the1800s. The people in those time loved to cut down these huge trees just as much as the people in today's times do.
(monumentaltrees.com)
This is the remains of the first
redwood tree discovered by Augustus T. Dowd. The tree was named “The
Discovery Tree.” Unfortunately however, it only took a year after
it was discovered before people decided to chop it down. The tree
stump above took twenty-two days to cut down in 1852. When they
finished cutting it, they used the stump for dancing (monumental
trees.com.)
Redwood forests that remain are shown below in maps of all of the coastal redwood parks in California.
Plants and Animals:
Because the redwood forests are spread across California in different areas, and because of how long these ecosystems have been there, we can see that there are many different species of flora and fauna that inhabit these ecosystems. Nps.gov gives information about some of the plants and animals in redwood forests. First of course, there is the coast redwood, which can grow to be over two hundred feet tall:
(savetheredwoods.org)
,_Jacksonville_Woods.jpg)
Madrone (Arbutus Menzeissi) -- commons.wikimedia.org
Redwood Sorrel (Oxalis Oregana) -- wildflower.org
Jeffery Pine (Pinus Jeffreyi) -- travelblog.org
These are a just a few of the many different species of plants that occur in old-growth redwood forests in California. Some of the animal species include the Bobcat (Lynx rufus), Gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargentus), Black bear (Ursus americanus), and the Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) to name a few (nps.gov.)
Bobcat (Lynx rufus) -- wild-life-rehab.com
Gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargentus) -- desertusa.com
Black bear (Ursus Americanus) -- bearsforever.org
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) -- animals.nationalgeographic.com
This is a very small percentage of the diversity that occurs in California old-growth redwood forests. It is important for people to realize that when these forests get destroyed, it is not "just trees" that are being killed. There are many other species that are being destroyed, and once they are gone, we cannot get them back. This is another reason why these forests should be preserved. They are home to many different important species.
Benefits from Old-Growth Forests:
Old-growth redwood forests used to be very common along the coast of California. These forests hold the largest trees in the world. According to the academic article Identification of Old-Growth Forest Reference Ecosystems Using Historic Land Surveys, Redwood National Park, California by Joy A. Fritschle, redwood forests have been largely destroyed throughout the years. The destruction of these forests began to take place in the 19th and 20th century when loggers started harvesting a lot of the trees because of their high quality wood. As a result, there are far less redwoods today than what covered the land not so long ago (Fritschle, page1.) This loss of forest is demonstrated in the map below, where the green represents where the forests once reached, and the red represents what is left of them.
This is a very small percentage of the diversity that occurs in California old-growth redwood forests. It is important for people to realize that when these forests get destroyed, it is not "just trees" that are being killed. There are many other species that are being destroyed, and once they are gone, we cannot get them back. This is another reason why these forests should be preserved. They are home to many different important species.
Benefits from Old-Growth Forests:
Old-growth redwood forests used to be very common along the coast of California. These forests hold the largest trees in the world. According to the academic article Identification of Old-Growth Forest Reference Ecosystems Using Historic Land Surveys, Redwood National Park, California by Joy A. Fritschle, redwood forests have been largely destroyed throughout the years. The destruction of these forests began to take place in the 19th and 20th century when loggers started harvesting a lot of the trees because of their high quality wood. As a result, there are far less redwoods today than what covered the land not so long ago (Fritschle, page1.) This loss of forest is demonstrated in the map below, where the green represents where the forests once reached, and the red represents what is left of them.
(http://www.savetheredwoods.org/redwoods/coast-redwoods.php)
This
map shows that only a small fraction of the forests remain. This is
particularly devastating because redwoods take thousands of
years to grow to their full potential.
There are many ways in which redwood forests benefit humans. One of the most important benefits is the production of fresh oxygen for people to breath. Moreover, the wood cut down in the old-growth California redwood forests have been used for centuries to build the different products humans want. According to nps.gov Native Americans employed wood from the redwood trees to build their homes and used the forests to gather other resources for their subsistence. Today, people continue using redwoods for building. If people want to continue taking advantage of everything these forests offer, they have to take serious actions to preserve them.
There are many ways in which redwood forests benefit humans. One of the most important benefits is the production of fresh oxygen for people to breath. Moreover, the wood cut down in the old-growth California redwood forests have been used for centuries to build the different products humans want. According to nps.gov Native Americans employed wood from the redwood trees to build their homes and used the forests to gather other resources for their subsistence. Today, people continue using redwoods for building. If people want to continue taking advantage of everything these forests offer, they have to take serious actions to preserve them.
Every
ecosystem has the potential to harbor species that are medically
beneficial to humans. In the natural world there are many species
that have never been discovered. Some of these species could be in
these redwood forests, and they could have incredible benefits to
humans. According to the academic article Bioprospecting
and Biodiversity Conservation: What Happens When Discoveries Are
Made?
by Georgy Frizvold and Kelly Day-Rubenstein, biodiversity strongly
needs to be considered for medical reasons when eliminating natural
ecosystems. They state the following in their article: “We offer a
case study of the discovery and commercial development of the
anti-cancer drug taxol from the Pacific
yew
tree, highlighting neglected issues in the debate over bioprospecting
and conservation incentives. The discovery of taxol and the search
for taxol-like compounds illustrates how bioprospecting can
substitute threats to biodiversity from over-harvesting for threats
to biodiversity from habitat conversion” (Frizvold et al. Page 1.)
The Pacific Yew tree is currently being used to help treat cancer.
It was a very important medical discovery that has aided in saving
many lives. This is just one tree. We do not know how many other
species are out there waiting to be discovered that could possibly be
of service to humans. When we destroy ecosystems, it is possible
that we are destroying species that have not even been discovered
yet, and that could aid in saving countless human lives. This is
another reason why ecosystems should be preserved.
People's Impact:
The human impact on the ecosystem does not stop there. Human activities have abolished a significant characteristic of old-growths: their adaptation to fire. As fire is a natural part of this ecosystem, old-growths were originally capable of regenerating quickly after one. Over time humans have suppressed these fires, preventing the ecosystem from experiencing this natural disturbance. The suppression resulted in "fuel buildups, tree density increases, shift to fire-intolerant trees, and alteration to understory plant composition"(Abella). Hence, when a fire does take place in these old-growth forests, the trees get burned down completely and don’t recover.
People's Impact:
 |
| "Remaining Old-Growth Forests" |
Reducing forests in the U.S. by 97 percent, people’s impact on old-growth forests is appalling. As human population increases more and more rapidly, the need for wood grows as well. To meet this need, a great portion of the forests are clear-cut and turned into the products humans desire. Although some replacement trees are planted due to tree enforcement policies, the time it takes for these trees to become old-growth is too long to counteract the effects of clear-cutting. As a result, old-growth forests decrease in size and don’t recover(Boucher). Another way humans reduce these forests is by turning them into cropland. Once again the ecosystem suffers trying to provide for the vast human population.
 |
| "Clear-cutting" |
| Acres Per Fire | 137.61 |
| Lumber Produced in Millions of Board Feet | 1623 |
| Pounds of Paper Used Annually | 14.2 billion |
(see reference)
Improvements To Be Made:
Although we have lost the majority of old-growth forests over the last few hundred years, there are certain things we can do to restore them. The most natural approach to the issue is passive management, a process which involves the development of forests through time without any human interference. While it’s true that waiting for a forest to grow and survive through natural disturbances will result in the most authentic old-growth forests, this technique means waiting for nearly two centuries(Catanzaro). To quicken the restoration process, active management should be used. In contradiction to passive management, active management requires human intervention to revive old-growth characteristics. First, since dead trees are a significant part of old-growth forests, a certain number of trees known as “legacy trees” should be reserved so that they will grow and eventually die. Girdling large trees will also result in an increase of dead trees. Furthermore, sufficient gaps should be made between trees in order for the forest to have trees of different sizes and ages. Lastly, forests should be thinned which is proven to increase tree size and accelerate their growth (O’Hara). The wood that is cut out as a result of thinning can be used as timber.
Improvements To Be Made:
Although we have lost the majority of old-growth forests over the last few hundred years, there are certain things we can do to restore them. The most natural approach to the issue is passive management, a process which involves the development of forests through time without any human interference. While it’s true that waiting for a forest to grow and survive through natural disturbances will result in the most authentic old-growth forests, this technique means waiting for nearly two centuries(Catanzaro). To quicken the restoration process, active management should be used. In contradiction to passive management, active management requires human intervention to revive old-growth characteristics. First, since dead trees are a significant part of old-growth forests, a certain number of trees known as “legacy trees” should be reserved so that they will grow and eventually die. Girdling large trees will also result in an increase of dead trees. Furthermore, sufficient gaps should be made between trees in order for the forest to have trees of different sizes and ages. Lastly, forests should be thinned which is proven to increase tree size and accelerate their growth (O’Hara). The wood that is cut out as a result of thinning can be used as timber.
 |
| "Old-growth Forests in Perspective" |
Since there is a positive correlation between population growth and deforestation, the likely future prospects for old-growth redwood forests depend highly on human population(World Population and Cumulative Deforestation). Considering many measures are taken to control the population growth, the amount of old-growth forests left should not decrease in the future. However, humans must understand the value of this ecosystem and reassess if using so many unessential wood products is worth risking the existence of the remaining forests. As long as a universal goal to protect and restore these forests is established, we will be able to recover some of lost forest. Because society shows concern over this issue and is starting to understand its degree of importance, we should be optimistic that improvements will be made.
 |
| "The Enchanted Forest" |
Abstract in Armenian:
Քալիֆորնիայի հին անտառները պարունակում են ծառեր որոնք ավելի քան երկու հարյուր տարեկան են: Այսօր միայն երեք տոկոսն է մնացել այդ անտառներից: Մարդկանց կողմից ծառերի ոչնչացնումը եւ հրդեհները հանդիսանում են անտառների կրճատման պատճառ: Շատ կարեւոր է պահպանել այդ անտառները որովհետեվ մարդիկ բազմաթիվ առավելություններ են ստանում նրանցից: Ուստի մենք պառտաւոր ենք դադարեցնել ծառերի կտրումը եւ նվազեցնել ծառերի խտությունը որպեսզի ծառերը երկար ապրեն:
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