Logging

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Logging

Logging is the systematic process of cutting down trees for lumber and wood products. The method of logging called clearcutting, in which entire areas of forests are cleared, is the most prevalent practice used by lumber companies. Clearcutting is the cheapest and most efficient way to harvest a forest's available resources. This practice drastically alters the forest ecosystem , and many plants and animals are displaced or destroyed by it. After clearcutting is performed on forests, forestry management techniques may be introduced in order to manage the growth of new trees on the cleared land. Selective logging is an alternative to clear-cutting. In selective logging, only certain trees in a forest are chosen to be logged, usually on the basis of their size or species . By taking a smaller percentage of trees, the forest is protected from destruction and fragile plants and animals in the forest ecosystem are more likely to survive. New, innovative techniques offer alternatives for preserving the forest. For example, the Shelterwood Silvicultural System harvests mature trees in phases. First, part of the original stand is removed to promote growth of the remaining trees. After this occurs, regeneration naturally follows using seeds provided by the remaining trees. Once regeneration has occurred, the remaining mature trees are harvested.

Early logging equipment included long, two-man straight saws and teams of animals to drag trees away. After World War II, technological advances made logging easier. The bulldozer and the helicopter allowed loggers to enter into new and previously untouched areas. The chainsaw allowed loggers to cut down many more trees each day. Today, enormous machines known as feller-bunchers take the place of human loggers. These machines use a hydraulic clamp that grasps the individual tree and huge shears that cut through it in one swift motion.

High demands for lumber and forest products have caused prolific and widespread commercial logging. Certain methods of timber harvesting allow for subsequent regeneration, while others cause deforestation , or the irreversible creation of a non-forest condition. Deforestation significantly changed the landscape of the United States. Some observers remarked as early as the mid-1700s upon the rapid changes made to the forests from the East Coast to the Ohio River Valley. Often, the lumber in forests was burned away so that the early settlers could build farms upon the rich soil that had been created by the forest ecosystem. The immediate results of deforestation are major changes to Earth's landscapes and diminishing wildlife habitats. Longer-range results of deforestation, including unrestrained commercial logging, may include damage to Earth's atmosphere and the unbalancing of living ecosystems. Forests help to remove carbon dioxide from the air. Through the process of photosynthesis , forests release oxygen into the air. A single acre of temperate forest releases more than six tons of oxygen into the atmosphere every year. In the last 150 years, deforestation, together with the burning of fossil fuels , has raised the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by more than 25%. It has been theorized that this has contributed to global warming, which is the accumulation of gasses leading to a gradual increase in Earth's surface temperature. Human beings are still learning how to measure their need for wood against their need for a viable environment for themselves and other life forms.

Although human activity, especially logging, has decimated many of the world's forests and the life within them, some untouched forests still remain. These forests are known as old-growth or ancient-growth forests. Old-growth forests are at the center of a heated debate between environmentalists, who wish to preserve them, and the logging industry, which continually seeks new and profitable sources of lumber and other forest products.

Very little of the original uncut North American forest still remains. It has been estimated that the United States has lost over 96% of its old-growth forests. This loss continues as logging companies become more attracted to ancient-growth forests, which contain larger, more profitable trees. A majority of old-growth forests in the United States are in Alaska and Pacific Northwest. On the global level, barely 20% of the old-growth forests still remain, and the South American rainforests account for a significant portion of these. About 1% of the Amazon rainforest is deforested each year. At the present rate of logging around the world, old-growth forests could be gone within the first few decades of the twenty-first century unless effective conservation programs are instituted.

As technological advancements of the twentieth century dramatically increased the efficiency of logging, there was also a growth in understanding about the contribution of the forest to the overall health of the environment, including the effect of logging upon that health. Ecologists, who are scientists that study the complex relationships within natural systems, have determined that logging can affect the health of air, soil, water, plant life, and animals. For instance, clearcutting was at one time considered a healthy forestry practice, as proponents claimed that clearing a forest enabled the growth of new plant life, sped the process of regeneration, and prevented fires. The American Forest Institute, an industry group, ran an ad in the 1970s that stated, "I'm clear-cutting to save the forest." Ecologists have come to understand that clearcutting old-growth forests has a devastating effect on plant and animal life, and affects the health of the forest ecosystem from its rivers to its soil. Old-growth trees, for example, provide an ecologically diverse habitat including woody debris and fungi that contribute to nutrient-rich soil. Furthermore, many species of plants and wildlife, some still undiscovered, are dependent upon old-growth forests for survival. The huge canopies created by old-growth trees protect the ground from water erosion when it rains, and their roots help to hold the soil together. This in turn maintains the health of rivers and streams, upon which fish and other aquatic life depend. In the Pacific Northwest, for example, ecologists have connected the health of the salmon population with the health of the forests and the logging practices therein. Ecologists now understand that clear-cutting and the planting of new trees, no matter how scientifically managed, cannot replace the wealth of biodiversity maintained by old-growth forests.

The pace of logging is dictated by the consumer demand for lumber and wood products. In the United States, for instance, the average size of new homes doubled between 1970 and 2000, and the forests ultimately bear the burden of the increasing consumption of lumber. In the face of widespread logging, environmentalists have become more desperate to protect ancient forests. There is a history of controversy between the timber industry and environmentalists regarding the relationship between logging and the care of forests. On the one hand, the logging industry has seen forests as a source of wealth, economic growth, and jobs. On the other hand, environmentalists have viewed these same forests as a source of recreation , spiritual renewal, and as living systems that maintain the overall environmental health . In the 1980s, a controversy raged between environmentalists and the logging industry over the protection of the northern spotted owl , a threatened species of bird whose habitat is the old-growth forest of the Pacific Northwest. Environmentalists appealed to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to protect some of these old-growth forests. In other logging controversies, some environmentalists chained themselves to old-growth trees to prevent their destruction, and one activist, Julia Butterfly Hill, lived in an old-growth California redwood tree for two years in the 1990s to prevent it from being cut down. The clash between environmentalists and the logging industry may become more intense as the demand for wood increases and supplies decrease. However, in recent years these opposing views have been tempered by discussion of concepts such as responsible forest management to create sustainable growth, in combination with preservation of protected areas.

Most of the logging in the United States occurs in the national forests. From the point of view of the U.S. Forest Service , logging provides jobs, helps manage the forest in some respects, prevents logging in other parts of the world, and helps eliminate the danger of forest fires. To meet the demands of the logging industry, the national forests have been developed with a labyrinth of logging roads and contain vast areas that have been devastated by clearcutting. In the United States there are enough logging roads in the National Forests to circle the earth 15 times, roads that speed up soil erosion that then washes away fertile topsoil and pollutes streams and rivers.

The Roadless Initiative was established in 2001 to protect 60 million acres (24 million ha) of national forests. The initiative was designed by the Clinton administration to discourage logging and taxpayer-supported road building on public lands. The goal was to establish total and permanent protection for designated roadless areas. Advocates of the initiative contended that roadless areas encompassed some of the best wildlife habitats in the nation, while forest service officials argued that banning road building would significantly reduce logging in these areas. Under the initiative, more than half of the 192 million acres (78 million ha) of national forest would still remain available for logging and other activities. This initiative was considered one of the most important environmental protection measures of the Clinton administration.

Illegal logging has become a problem with the growing worldwide demand for lumber. For example, the World Bank predicted that if Indonesia does not halt all current logging, it would lose its entire forest within the next 10 to 15 years. Estimates indicate that up to 70% of the wood harvested in Indonesia comes from illegal logging practices. Much of the timber being taken is sent to the United States. Indigenous peoples of Indonesia are being displaced from their traditional territories. Wildlife, including endangered tigers , elephants , rhinos, and orangutans are also being displaced and may be threatened with extinction . In 2002 Indonesia placed a temporary moratorium on logging in an effort to stop illegal logging.

Other countries around the world were addressing logging issues in the early twenty-first century. In China, 160 million acres (65 million ha) out of 618 million acres (250 million ha) were put under state protection. Loggers turned in their tools to become forest rangers, working for the government in order to safeguard trees from illegal logging. China has set aside millions of acres of forests for protection, particularly those forests that are crucial sources of fresh water. China also announced that it was planning to further reduce its timber output in order to restore and enhance the life-sustaining abilities of its forests.

[Douglas Dupler ]