Old Growth vs. New Growth Forests

Protester standing next to an old-growth tree in Ada'itsx/Fairy Creek, BC. Credit: Will O'Connell [1] 

  Have you ever heard of the terms old growth and new growth when thinking of forests? While these may be new terms for you, the definitions are simple and easy to define. According to the government of British Columbia, old-growth forests are defined as any forest that contains trees that are 250 years or older [2]. On the flip side, this means that the new growth, also referred to as second-growth forests are forests that are younger than 250 years old [2]. This definition is just one of the many ways in which these terms can be defined. In some instances, interior forests, those that are not along coastlines can be considered old growth if they contained trees 140 years or older [2]. 

Characteristics to look out for when thinking of old-growth forest include [2,3],: 

• More standing dead trees, snags, and decomposing wood 

• Often much larger trees

• A Forest canopy that is layered will allow for light to filter through. This encourages rich, lush vegetation such as ferns, shrubs, mosses, and lichens. 

• Limited invasive species

• Often not impacted by claustrophobic events

The takeaway from these definitions is that the main difference between the two types of forest growth, the older and denser the forest is than it can be considered old-growth forestry. Old-growth forests take hundreds of years to develop and often at a slower pace [2]. 

References

[1] R. Baker. (2021, April 1). Teal-Jones wins court ban on Fairy Creek old-growth blockades [Online]. Available: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/04/01/news/teal-jones-wins-court-ban-fairy-creek-old-growth-blockades. 

[2] Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. (2021). Characteristics of old growth [Online]. Available: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/forests_types/oldgrowth/characteristics.html.

[3] Ministry of Forests, Province of British Columbia. (2021, July 9). Old growth forest management [Online]. Available: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/forestry/managing-our-forest-resources/old-growth-forests.