Maryland's Old-Growth Forests

National Park Service

Honoring the Ancients

Trees are essential to all life on earth. We’ve all heard it before. However, not everyone knows that age is much more than just a number in the realm of trees. Think of the 1000= year old Redwoods of California, or the Hemlocks in Virginia which were standing during the Revolutionary War. These ancients are more than monuments. There are some functions that old growth forests have that younger trees cannot take on--not yet anyway. Every stage of a forest’s life plays an important ecological role; from seedlings to the final rotting hulk of logs decomposing into soil. All forests prevent erosion, provide habitat for millions of species, and reduce CO2 levels. Yet there is something more to America's oldest trees, which are irreplaceable for more than aesthetic reasons.

Old Growth forests are usually classified as essentially untouched tracts of forest containing mature trees and standing dead trunks among young growth, existing without unnatural change for a bare minimum of 150 years. What makes the ancients different? Why are they so essential, so impossible to replace?

We like to think of trees as one of our most reliable resources, easily renewable, endlessly useful. But this is not quite correct. Old-Growth forest straddle the line between nonrenewable and renewable resources. Let us call them protractedly-renewable resources. It takes a minimum of around 150 years to even begin to classify a tree as “Old-Growth.” Meaning we cannot simply put a seed in the ground and have all the benefits of a healthy, established forest within a decade. Old forests can be made from current woods, if they are protected and left alone for the next century or two. These are nature’s greatest investments.
 
Their sheer size and grandeur is enough for most to see the value in their protection, but these tracts offer much more than aesthetic appeal. Ancient forests have borne witness to history, were here before the birth of any human currently living on earth, and help provide the means for every living thing to survive. These elderly forests can also house some of the richest pockets of biodiversity in the world, maintaining the integrity of their ecosystem in their own little corner of the natural world which is becoming increasingly fragmented and endangered. The hollows and snags in old and dying trees provide habitat for bird and insect species that no young forest ever could, regardless of health. There are some things that only time can provide.

Every aspect of these places are vital, from the sheer amount of CO2 that their canopies can absorb from the atmosphere, to the unique habitats provided by the huge rotted hulls of the dying ancients. Undisturbed carpets of forest litter, such as fallen leaves and pine needles, purify runoff as it drains through the layers, while the immense canopies absorb corresponding amounts of CO2 and nitrogen. Topsoil is manufactured here, layers of leaves, dead trees and animals decaying over time into rich soil.

As rich as the natural bounty that these giants provide to the world is, the commercial temptation is just as strong and sadly much flashier to humans, creatures of instant gratification. We are the greatest threat to our most vital resources. Less than 10% of forest cover in the United States can be classified as “Old Growth.” Here on the East Coast, only half a percent remains. These groves may be at great risk, but the tracts that remain are resilient. They can withstand natural events such as storms and fires, bouncing back quickly.  Only humans can permanently harm these forests, with destructive activities such as clear-cut logging.

Here at the Sierra Club, the fight to protect these trees is held near and dear. Park ranger, and leader of our stewardship team, Marc Imlay was involved  in the efforts to protect Seaton Belt woods years ago. Seaton Belt Woods Natural Environment Area is a 625-acre natural area managed by the Maryland Park Service of Prince George’s County. It contains a National Natural Landmark for one of the last stands of old-growth hardwoods on the Atlantic Coastal Plain, containing old-growth oaks and tulip poplar trees which exceed 200-years of age and measure over 140 feet tall.

Its places like this that make our state so beautiful and which need protection. Once they have disappeared, getting them back is incredibly difficult, and in the meantime the local ecosystems suffer in the absence. The good news is that many of these regions have been protected, in national and state forests and parks. Maryland hosts several locations which house these elderly groves like Swallow Falls State Park in western Maryland, home to a grove of 300+ year old Hemlocks and White Pines, preserved and protected within the bounds of the park, safe for all Marylanders to visit and enjoy.

Full List of Old-Growth Forests in Maryland 

(Table taken from Oldgrowthforest.net) 

(Photo from www.somd.com)

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness”

-John Muir