America's Nonfederal Forests

[mcaldon at aol.com]

In article <Rr6z00O5IMnU091yn at teleport.com>, larryc at teleport.com (Larry
Caldwell) wrote:

|In article <34ce4279.1438770 at news.mindspring.com>,
|wolfbat359 at mindspring.com (Donald L Ferry) wrote:
|
|> I see!  If they are tree farms how do they contribute significantly to
|> the environment?
|
|A number of ways.  
|
|A regular harvest cycle creates forest edge environments where most 
|wildlife lives.  
|
Huh? What are you trying to say here? That wildlife likes chain-saw music?

|Selection of seedling stock reverses the decline in genetic fitness of 
|trees caused by selective harvesting of wild stocks.
|
Interesting concept if true.  IMO, tree farms consist of undiversified 
species designed primarily for fast growth.

|Farms can produce a steady supply of fiber, taking the harvest pressure off
|of legacy timber supplies.  
|
True.

|Farms can be established in areas suitable for repetitive timber harvest, 
|allowing permanent layout of skid trails and roads.
|
This is hardly a "contribution to the environment."

|Of course, all the benefits of air and water purification are the same
|as for a wild forest.  A tree doesn't care where it is growing.
|
I'd say trees care a lot about where they're growing.  Apparently they
don't care to g row in areas that have been clear cut, judging by the
lack of success in reestablishing forests  in many clear-cut areas.

-- 
Don McKenzie  
Mail to AOL isn't read. Substitute pacbell.net