Forest structure, services may be lost even as form remains

Forest structure, services may be lost even as form remains

10-3-11

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A forest may look like a forest, have many of the same trees that used to live there, but still lose the ecological, economic or cultural values that once made it what it was, researchers suggest this week in articles in Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences.

One study outlines services and functions that are disappearing in mountain ash forests in Australia, and a commentary in the journal pointed out that many of the same issues are in play in forests of the Pacific Northwest, the grasslands of the Great Basin, and other areas.

Beneath a veneer of forest health, dramatic reductions may be taking place in such functions as carbon sequestration, water yields, wildlife protection and biodiversity of species, said scientists from Oregon State University and the University of Washington.

They called for more attention to natural processes, restoration of the broad range of forest structures needed to maintain the original ecosystem, and reassessments of policies and management practices as needed. In particular, the article questioned any continued harvest in old growth forests and salvage logging after wildfires or wind storms.

…