RESTORING OLD-GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS

[Lew Ward]

RESTORING OLD-GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS

to New England’s and New York’s Forests

Old-growth forest was once the predominant natural condition across New England and New York before European settlement; however, it is now one of the rarest habitats in our region, constituting less than one-tenth of one percent (<0.1%) of our forests. Although 80% of our region is forested, the forests you see today are much different from the vast expanses of old-growth that covered the landscape upon the arrival of the first European colonists. Characteristics that are generally more abundant in old-growth forests include:

• Presence of large (>20" diameter) and old trees
• Spatial variation in tree density and size
• Large-diameter standing dead trees
• Large downed logs in various stages of decay
• Multiple canopy layers
• Understory plant communities
• Regeneration

https://masswoods.org/.../Restoring-Old-Growth...