Video

What is an old-growth forest?

You’ve probably heard the term ‘old-growth forest’ mentioned a lot in British Columbia, but what does it actually mean? Watch this video to find out!

What is old growth?

The simplest definition is that old growth in British Columbia is classified as being 250 years-old in wet coastal areas and 140 years-old in the dry Interior.

However, old-growth forests are much more than their age. It’s their structure and ecology that really makes them stand out against young forests!

Old-growth forests are a rich mixture of ages, sizes and species. They have three main characteristics:

They contain a mix of ancient and young trees. This is important as the young trees can eventually replace the old ones.
They contain both living and dead trees, which provide habitat and nutrients back to the community as they decompose.
They have a rich understory filled with many types of plants. This is because of the multi-layered canopy which creates gaps that allows sunshine to break through and nourish the forest floor.

Why is protecting old growth important?

These structural features are unique to old growth. In comparison, young forests like second and third growth (aka forests that have been logged once or twice in their lifetime) are younger, denser and have a much less diverse understory.

With their complex structures, old-growth forests help sustain far more life than young forests. These intricate ecosystems are important economically, culturally and ecologically to many communities.

And it’ll take young forests over a century of growing before they turn into rich old-growth ecosystems.

Right now, only a small fraction of old-growth forests with big trees remain standing in B.C. And most are still open to logging. Let’s change that.