| Forest fragmentation, due to timber cutting and access road construction, means an increased proportion of forest "edge" relative to forest interior. This less sheltered, less buffered "edge", is far from ideal habitat for most forest species. It is likely to suffer increased drying from solar radiation, and in temperate regions will likely have deeper snow cover in winter. The more fragmented the forest, the more difficulty some species find in moving from one area to another. | Where commercial logging operations rely on clearcutting, forest "management" plans mean there will be no old growth. Short rotations for timber harvests mean there will be no snags, no rotting, mossy "nurse logs" full of moisture, no natural succession of species following a disturbance. Instead trees will be cut relatively young, and there may be altered microclimates and a reduction of mycorrhizal fungi. In tropical rainforests, when old growth is removed, the soil may be too poor to support such forests again for thousands of years. |
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There are many alternatives to clearcut logging which do not damage the forests so severely. Selective logging, taking
only certain trees from an area rather than completely clearing it, is much more ecologically sustainable, as long as it is done in a way that
doesn't harm the surrounding trees.
Horselogging is also an alternative which is less destructive. Photo courtesy Al Walters. |
overcutting -- page 3 of 4
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[forest life] [seasons] [temperate forests] [fungi] [tropical forests] [forests through time]
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