Treating Old Forests with New Tricks
Research directs how we can protect the recovery of the few remaining old-growth forests from the ground up.
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forest managment
A Matter of Mulch: Restoring Post-Fire Pine Forests in the Western United States
Following severe fires, forest soils can erode, depositing sediment into nearby waterways after it rains and threatening local water quality as a result. Mulch is often used to reduce soil erosion in forests following wildfire. Following the High Park Fire in Colorado, scientists tested several types of mulch to determine which was most effective. Thanks to this study, we now know that wood mulch is better than wheat-straw mulch at promoting the return of pine trees and excluding non-native species from taking over, while also stabilizing the soil, probably because wood mulch persists longer and holds more moisture.
Read moreOld is Better than Young: The Carbon Sequestration Potential of Letting Forests Mature
“Globally, terrestrial ecosystems currently remove an amount of atmospheric carbon equal to one-third of what humans emit from burning fossil fuels…. Forests are responsible for the largest share of the removal.” (Moomaw et al. 2019). What if we could increase the amount of CO2 forests extract from the air? We can!
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