Honoring the Fallen Ones and Celebrating a Survivor

This is the third old growth forest in the Southeastern United States that I have visited recently.  The first one I went to was the Moody Forest in Georgia and the second was the Albright Grove in Tennessee, which I visited earlier on the day I heard Trebbe Johnson speak for the first time.  I had been so heartbroken seeing all the fallen giants in the Albright Grove that I ended up doing more research on old growth forests in the United States.  I could tell they had been affected by climate change and blights, and that had made me very sad.  When I started reading up on old growth forests, I learned that they are actually more rather than less resilient than younger forests due to their roots and all the nutrients they provide for the soil, even after they have died.  When forests are clearcut, the soil is much less healthy. The fungi and biomass is disturbed, the land is more prone to runoff, and trees are more likely to topple and die.  Old growth trees sequester a huge amount of carbon, and if they are harvested they will release a lot of carbon back into the atmosphere.  Thankfully, modern forestry practices advise leaving the dead trees where they fall. When the fungi breaks them down, they provide nutrients for the forest, as well as sheltered places for creatures to live.  Even the day I was in the Albright Grove and was feeling so depressed, I still took note of the wildflowers, ferns, and other biodiversity on the forest floor. In clearcut forests, invasive plants are more likely to overtake native flora and fewer nutrients are provided for the biosphere. The trees become less healthy too.  I wanted to offer the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest an act of beauty in appreciation for the thriving life that still exists there and in recognition of all this and other old growth forests do for the environment.  Old growth forests store the vast majority of carbon on the planet and will continue to do so as long as they are not cut down or burned.  However, I should note that there is currently a debate as to whether younger or older trees take up more carbon.  Younger trees may take in my carbon, but as they age they will take in less and when they are younger they are more prone to suffering from the effects of climate change and dying.  All forests deserve protection, because the trees that are alive now are what are helping offset carbon.  It takes decades for reforestation to make an impact. Another reason to protect Joyce Kilmer, the Albright Grove, and the Pisgah forest  is that the loss of forest canopy is the greatest in the Southeastern United States than anywhere on the planet, due to the wood pellet and biomass-burning industry.  Climate change is having a huge impact on all lifeforms and in the future trees may not live as long as trees have in the past.  This should inspire us to be even more conscientious about preserving all our forests.  Forests that are not old growth yet, will become old growth forests in the future if they aren’t cut down.  Old growth forests have trees that are at least 120 years old, but many existing old growth forests have trees that are 200 to 400 years old.  The upper loop of Joyce Kilmer still has examples of trees that are this old.

Here are several articles on this subject that I found of interest:

https://oldgrowthforestecology.org/ecological-values-of-old-growth-forests/ecological-processes-and-functions/carbon-sequestration-and-storage/

https://theconversation.com/are-young-trees-or-old-forests-more-important-for-slowing-climate-change-139813

https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-keeping-mature-forests-intact-is-key-to-the-climate-fight

https://www.uvm.edu/news/story/new-forestry-old-growth