what is the difference between a tree plantation and a second growth forest

What is the difference between forest and plantation?

is that forest is a dense collection of trees covering a relatively large area larger than woods while plantation is large farm; estate or area of land designated for agricultural growth often includes housing for the owner and workers. is to cover an area with trees. A dense collection of trees covering a relatively large area.

Is plantation wood stronger than competitive wood?

We know the growth rate in a plantation is much faster than in a competitive forest. In many species, this means stronger wood. However, there is a “catch” to this statement.

Are secondary forests increasing or decreasing in extent?

The secondary forests, however, are increasing in extent. Most of the forests in North America and Europe have for long been secondary in nature. More of primary forests are being lost each year globally, making way for agriculture, plantations and urban sprawl.

When does a plantation turn into old growth timber?

Plantation timber is harvested at the point of maximum economic return, which is usually long before a stand reaches old growth status. Old growth is not a virgin stand. Not all virgin stands are old growth. Left long enough, a plantation will turn into old growth, and has. Not too far from where I live is a 1920 clearcut that was replanted.

What is the difference between old-growth forest and second growth forest?

Second-growth stands are ecologically much different from old-growth stands because after 20–30 years, the stands often reach the stem exclusion stage where pole-sized trees grow so tightly packed that light does not reach the forest floor, and understory forage does not grow.

How is a tree plantation different from an old-growth forest?

Plantations may include introduced trees not native to the area. Plantations are always young forests and do not contain the type of growth, soil or wildlife typical of old-growth.

What is a second growth tree?

"Second growth," when applied to a forest stand, denotes timber that grew after the removal of a large portion or perhaps even all of the previous stand by cutting, fire, wind, or other means.

What is considered a second growth forest?

A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident.

What is the difference between a plantation and natural growth timber?

1. Native forests comprise of Australian tree species that naturally regenerate. Plantation forests are planted by man, usually in rows for the purpose of wood production.

What are the benefits of old growth forests?

Old growth ecosystems support diverse flora and fauna, from mosses and liverworts to large mammals and species at risk. These forests also provide habitat for many birds, mammals, and amphibians. Government has protected old growth forests in areas throughout the province to support species that depend on them.

What is plantation forest?

“Plantation forests”: are planted forests that have been established and are (intensively) managed for commercial production of wood and non-wood forest products, or to provide a specific environmental service (e.g. erosion control, landslide stabilization, windbreaks, etc.).

What is primary and secondary forest?

Primary forests are forests of native tree species, where there are no clearly visible indications of human activities and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed. Secondary forests regenerate on native forests, which have been cleared by natural or man made causes, such as agriculture or ranching.

Why are old growth forests often more ecologically valuable than second-growth forests?

Old-growth forests have more fallen and standing dead trees known as “woody debris” which provide food, shelter, and moisture for more biodiversity. Second-growth forests have less and smaller woody debris.

Why are tree plantations not a great way to increase biodiversity?

In contrast, tree plantations decrease plant diversity compared with primary forests (Bremer & Farley, 2010), which might decrease above- and belowground biodiversity through the simplification of food and substrate structure (Guo et al., 2021; Rutten et al., 2021).

How tall are second-growth redwoods?

Most loom over 250 feet, and a handful stand merely a few inches shorter than the 276-footer. The grove is situated in a canyon, which means trees are vying for light, prompting them to grow taller, faster. Under normal conditions, it can take 300 to 400 years for a coast redwood to reach 300 feet.

How old are second-growth redwoods?

Don) Endl.) forests are an important and uncommon resource in the redwood region. Development of second-growth redwood forests beyond rotation age is not well understood. Continuous long-term data are especially lacking, considering that the maximum possible age of second-growth stands is now over 150 years.

What are the stages of a trees growth?

As with all living things, trees have a life cycle – from conception (seed), to birth (sprout), to infancy (seedling), to juvenile (sapling), to adult (mature), to elderly (decline), and finally to death (snag/rotting log).

What is new growth on a tree called?

Tree growth occurs in two ways. Growth from the root and shoot tips resulting in increases in height and length is called primary growth. Growth that increases the thickness of stems and branches is called secondary growth. Primary growth occurs in small areas called apical meristems.

What is it called when a tree grows new leaves?

The Cambridge dictionary defines the term to sprout as: to produce leaves, hair, or other new developing parts, or (of leaves, hair, and other developing parts) to begin to grow.

What does the tree says about its growth?

Answer: Tree's Bud Growth - Apical Growth. Tree height and branch lengthening begins with a bud. Tree height growth is caused by the apical meristem whose cells divide and elongate at the base of the bud to create upward growth in trees with a dominant crown tip.

What is plantation timber?

Plantation timber is planned, managed, and exploited with a few fundamental objectives in mind. Primarily, they are established with financial considerations in mind and are usually conceived with the objective of seeking the best cost/benefits from their existence. More than a few plantations of timber trees may have environmental stability or land restoration in mind at the outset.

What is an old growth forest?

Old-growth forests (plural) are those forests that have historically, traditionally, or practically been difficult to reach, difficult to manage, and difficult to exploit. As a result of the combined constraints, old-growth forests have escaped the rapacious tendencies of mankind. One huge benefit bequeathed to us all is a strong institutional resolve to preserve them for their aesthetic grandeur.

What was the old growth in North America?

There is a myth that prior to Europeans, all of North America was covered in old growth. That is completely false. At first contact, only about 45% of the US was forested. And the forests were not all old growth. Less than a third was old growth, in small non-contiguous stands. Forests were a mosaic of different age classes, some stands were mixed species, other single species. Some were all-aged, others even aged. There were openings in the forest canopy where meadows and brushfields were growing, patches of seedlings and young trees, barren ground and rock. In many areas there is more old growth than ever existed historically (Lake Tahoe Basin, for example, is 40% old growth — about double the historic level).

Why is hardwood losing market share?

Sustainable U.S. hardwood is losing market share to illegal logging because of tariffs. https://time.com/5740290/trade-war-lumber-hardwood-environment-forests/. The glut in timber and pulping fibre arose as a result of clearcutting of old growth and planting of fast-growing plantation stock.

What keeps the earth's soil from being cut off or land sliding?

Tree roots keep the earth’s soil from being cut off or land sliding.

What are the benefits of trees?

We have read many of the benefits of trees in our books as a child. The biggest advantage of them is that they provide us with oxygen that is essential for breathing.

Why do trees help people?

The presence of trees reduces stress and depression and makes people mentally and physically healthy, while living between trees also increases their creative performance.

What is secondary forest?

Secondary forests are those which are recovering from human disturbances, both in the short-term and the long-term. The recovery of the forest can be natural or by people intervention through reforestation or afforestation. The composition of plants and animals, and the structure of the forest is simpler than that of primary forests.

Why are secondary forests important?

Despite this, secondary forests are valuable as they can still help maintain the biodiversity of the region, provide protection against soil erosion, and serve as sources of other valuable products such as timber and fuel wood. If left standing, secondary forests can also acquire more species over time, according to Mongabay.

How are primary forests formed?

Primary forest have a well developed stratification which creates a myriad of niches for other plants and animals. So all primary forests have a higher biodiversity than the secondary forests that replace them. Secondary forests have a simple stratification, and the species and type of plants found varies with the age of the forest. Most of the species are common ones which can survive the harsher growing conditions of open areas, and differ from the unique primary forests in the region.

How many square kilometers of forests are lost in a year?

More of primary forests are being lost each year globally, making way for agriculture, plantations and urban sprawl. Around 60,000 square kilometers of forests are lost each year, most of which are in the tropics. Temperate forest loss since the start of this ...

What are the two main categories of forests?

Even though there are hundreds of forests types that exist all around the world, there are some major differences distinguishing two of the broadest categories, namely primary and secondary forests, from one another.

How much forest is lost in a year?

Around 60,000 square kilometers of forests are lost each year, most of which are in the tropics. Temperate forest loss since the start of this millennium has been negligible. Fire accounts for 1% of global forest losses, and insects and diseases for 3% of total forests lost. 2. Differences in Habitat and Biodiversity.

Why did the world cut down forests?

For many millennia, the development of civilization has resulted in the cutting down of forests to make way for agriculture, pastoralism, and for human settlement. Primary tropical forests in South America and Asia, have parts that have been cut for shifting agriculture many centuries ago.

Why is the juvenile core of a plantation tree larger?

Because of faster growth of a plantation tree, the juvenile core will be larger in volume, so it is more likely that lumber sawn from the plantation log will have this juvenile wood and behave poorly, as noted. We may therefore have to change processing slightly to help moderate any problems, compared to “normal” wood.

Why does plantation wood split?

Because "plantation" wood grows faster than "natural" wood it will not be as dense or as strong and the growth rings will be rougher. Because of this, there is a predisposition to splitting that will occur when cutting plantation woods as opposed to natural woods.

Which wood species has the least decay resistance?

One area that is a bit unclear is that some species with natural decay resistance (including cedar, cypress, redwood) seem to have less decay resistance in today’s growth compared to the older growth of 50 or more years ago (called “old growth” wood).

Is the growth rate of a plantation faster than that of a competitive forest?

But, from time to time, there are a few differences that we should be aware of and check for. We know the growth rate in a plantation is much faster than in a competitive forest. In many species, this means stronger wood. However, there is a “catch” to this statement.

What happens to the strongest trees in selective logging?

In selective logging, the best and strongest trees are removed, and the weaker ones left behind

What is a plantation made of?

A plantation is made up of trees planted to replace already-logged forests or to substitute for their absence.

Is wood production higher on a tree plantation?

Wood production on a tree plantation is generally higher .

Is forest harvesting harmful?

Forest harvesting involves cutting trees and delivering them to wood-processing plants. However, this method is less harmful to forests because it is based on -silviculture- the science of growing and harvesting trees for sustained yield.

As nouns the difference between forest and plantation

is that forest is a dense collection of trees covering a relatively large area larger than woods while plantation is large farm; estate or area of land designated for agricultural growth often includes housing for the owner and workers.

English

A dense collection of trees covering a relatively large area. Larger than woods.

English

Large farm; estate or area of land designated for agricultural growth. Often includes housing for the owner and workers.

How tall is a giant redwood?

The giant redwoods are on a different scale--the General Sherman (sequoia) has a height of 275 ft and a basal diameter of 36 ft. A fallen branch had a diameter of 6 ft and a length of at least 140 ft.

What trees are shade intolerant to mid-tolerant?

There should also be no abundant stands of trees of shade intolerant to mid-tolerant trees that are known to follow after human disturbances: white ash, basswood, aspens, hickories, butternut, American chestnut, black birch, gray birch, oaks, pines. Scattered individuals of these trees are possible in first growth.

What is the climax vegetation?

Old growth areas tend to reach a natural equilibrium of tree species. This is sometimes called the climax vegetation -- The species will vary based on elevation, latitude, climate, soil, etc. A return to climax vegetation might also be a reasonable criteria for considering that a second growth area has returned to old growth. The climax vegetation does change over time as the planet goes through warming / cooling trends and climate changes. At one time there was no red spruce in the northeastern US. The red spruce spread very slowly into the northeast from the southern Appalachians in the last 2000 to 3000 years. At the same time balsam fir has experienced a slow decline in the northeast. In time the balsams may be replaced entirely by hardwoods. Northern hardwoods were introduced in the northeast at the start of the Hypsithermal Interval (8500 years ago). During the warmest period of the Hypsithermal Interval (6000 years ago) southern hardwoods (oaks, chestnut, walnuts, hickories) were introduced. It is estimated that the earth was then 2-3 degrees C warmer than it is today. Not bad for natural global warming. The hemlock population crashed following the end of the Hypsithermal Interval (5000 years ago), and returned about the same time the red spruce arrived.

How old are cedar trees?

Besides the bristlecone pines out west, there are cedars in the Great Lakes area which have been estimated at approx 1000 years old ( http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteer...entcedars.html ). Here in NH we have the oldest deciduous trees in eastern North America, which are black gum trees, some in Rockingham County are estimated at 700 years old, though they may be "only" 3 feet in diameter. I've found a few in my town that are fairly large (18-24") and that may be 250-350 years old.

Is all first growth area considered old growth?

All first growth areas are considered old growth.

Did logging kill old growth?

Yes, there once were very large trees in the east - on a scale that dwarfs what is around now...

Is old growth related to trees?

I know a few ecologists and have been told that "old growth" is only partially related to the trees' characteristics; the other part being an increased level of biodiversity, e.g. thicker soil / moss / more herbaceous species, all of which are impacted with timber harvesting.

Why are there more than enough plantations?

There are more than enough plantations to meet current and expanding needs. 4. Plantations are the only sector of the timber industry that are not heavily subsidised by taxpayers. You, as a consumer, can help save our native forests and help to ensure that the industry moves into the already-existing plantations.

What is the future of Australian timber?

The future for the Australian timber industry is in plantations. This is not wishful thinking, but hard commercial fact. Plantation timber has many advantages over native forest timber. Plantations already supply the majority of our domestic timber needs. A recent study of the wood products industry in Victoria predicts that the amount of sawlogs will double over the 1990's, with a further doubling possible in the following decade. This situation is similar throughout Australia.

Why did the logging industry lose jobs?

A recent study found that 98 percent of job losses in the industry during 1971-1989 were due to increased mechanisation, competition from plantation timber and the industry running out of forest due to over-cutting. Only 2 percent of job losses were caused by forest being reserved (ie, as National Parks, World Heritage listings, etc).

How much land was cleared in 1994?

The Biodiversity Unit of the Commonwealth Dept of Environment, Sport & Territories stated that, for 1994, permits for the clearing of 1,079,297 hectares of land were granted in Queensland alone.

Where does Australian timber come from?

This is mainly sourced from our beautiful, untouched tall eucalypt forests in Queensland and north-east NSW to East Gippsland, Tasmania and the south-west of Western Australia.

Is the timber industry destroying our natural heritage?

While the timber industry continues to stubbornly persist in logging native forests, it is consequently destroying our priceless natural heritage and actually reducing employment. Tourism based on our spectacular native forests has enormous potential.

Is there a consensus on the need for native forest logging?

While it is widely accepted that the timber industry needs to shift out of native forest logging with all haste, it is by no means a consensus viewpoint that there is presently in place sufficient plantation resource "for our current and expanding needs".

Defining Primary and Secondary Forests

Historical Transformation of The Earth's Woodlands

State of The World's Modern Forests

Differences in Habitat and Biodiversity

• The habitats in primary forests areformed not just by the climate and soil conditions of the area, butare also influenced by the former presence of past forests. The soil and airtemperatures get moderated by the presence of continuous tree cover,and there is more organic matter formation. Primary forest have awell developed stratification which cre...

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Ongoing Environmental Threats and Conservation Efforts