By Tony D'Amato

What is an Old-Growth Forest?

“Old growth” is a term used to describe forests that have never been directly impacted by human land-use (e.g., logging, agriculture). By their nature, these forests typically contain very old trees as well as unique structural attributes such as large trees and accumulations of dead wood on the forest floor. Prior to European settlement, these forests covered 70-90% of Massachusetts; however, they rapidly disappeared from the landscape following European settlement as forests were harvested for commodity production and cleared for agriculture. By the turn of the 20th Century, many people believed that no old-growth forests remained in Massachusetts; however, these sentiments have changed over the past three decades as intensive research efforts have documented several old-growth stands located primarily in the Berkshire Hills and Taconic Mountains of western Massachusetts. Based on research conducted by the Harvard Forest and University of Massachusetts-Amherst, the total amount of old-growth forests remaining in the state is now estimated at 1119 acres. This acreage represents 0.1% of the total forested area of Massachusetts making old-growth forests the rarest forest type in the state.

Restoring Old-Growth Forest Characteristics Thankfully, recent statewide plans for forest reserves have designated old-growth forests as the centerpiece for large, permanently-protected blocks of forests in western Massachusetts. These efforts will maintain current areas of old-growth on the landscape, as well as provide an opportunity for the surrounding forest to mature and eventually develop old-growth structures. In addition, opportunities exist to increase the amount of old-growth habitat in the state using various forest management strategies. These strategies include the felling and leaving of selected medium to large size trees to create logs on the forest floor and the designation of legacy trees (permanently protected canopy trees) to serve as future sources of dead wood and vertical structure. Collectively, the use of these approaches can be balanced to sustain economic and ecological benefits from our forests, while restoring a critical habitat type. A recent publication by Tony D’Amato and Paul Catanzaro discussing strategies and approaches to restoring old-growth characteristics to Massachusetts forests can be downloaded here.