The purpose of this written report is to inform the reader about the concerns and facts
involved with
reforestation. Reforestation began in Ontario after World War II. What happened was,
professional foresters
were assigned to an area and became responsible for its well being. Under the Crown
Timber Act, long term
management was prepared. Then the many steps needed to rebuild a forest began.
Included in this report will be information on the effects of cutting and replanting,
such as Carbon Dioxide,
and Global Warming. Following this will be methods for planning a forest, and how they
are conveyed before
planting in a forest begins.
There are many reasons why forests are cut down. One is to benefit economically, with
furniture and home
building. But there is also another reason. Arguments say "the United States could help
slow the atmospheric
accumulation of carbon dioxide by replacing old-growth forests with faster-growing young
trees". A new study
of young and old forests says how this is in fact not true. Loggers have said that new
trees pull the carbon
dioxide better than old trees, and this may seem true, but it is not. There is one point
being overlooked from
all of this. The older, larger trees can store much, much more carbon dioxide than a new
tree could. By cutting
and burning these magnificent seasoned trees, the CO2 is being released back into the
atmosphere. These releases
of carbon dioxide add up in our surroundings, only to intensify Global Warming.
Although this shows what happens
when one burns and cuts down old forests, one must still plant new trees for long term
plans, not letting them
grow for a few years, to then cut them down.
There are many methods for planning a forest. The simplest method of replanting a forest
is to leave it to
nature. A suitable seed bed in which trees will readily take root is integral for
successful regeneration.
Reducing competition by eliminating grass, weed or shrubs is another requirement in
securing a new crop of trees.
These will sprout to produce seedlings. Though the weeds were eliminated before, they
still grow back, and
because of this poor, quality trees will grow. Another method though, is to create a
planned forest, where new
conifers are grown from seed in a special nursery. Seeding is a reforestation technique
used mainly in the Boreal
forest area where fire or logging tends to leave no or very little seeds for growth. In
specific cases, Ministry
staff seed the area with treated tree seeds. Following this is the planting. In many
cases, planting is the
only means of initiating a new forest. Up to 80 000 000 trees are planted annually in
Ontario on Crown and
private land. Usually immature forests have to be tended to. Once situated, a new crop
needs intermittent care
for the next 60 to 100 years. This means continuing protection from fires, disease and
insects and routine
thinning to focus the growth on selected crop trees.
Before a forest can be grown, certain procedures must first occur. Collecting and
processing seeds is one of
them. Tree flowers fertilized by blowing winds or insects generate seed, in a time of
somewhere within 1 to 2
years. Seed collecting from the woods must be timed with periodically occurring good
seed years. Angus, near
Barrie, is where all forest tree seed collection is co-ordinated. Stock of seeds can
value up to $500 000.
Usually this is around 3 billion seeds from 59 tree classes.
In summary of the aforesaid, trees are very valuable to the human race economically and
for health. Without trees
the environment could worsen to the point where we would be living on one large dessert.
We must remember that
forest do not grow as easily as they used to because of fires and other disasters. This
is why many forests are
planned, and cared for. Most of us will never now how they turn out because for a forest
to completely grow,
it needs within anywhere from 60 to 100 years or more.
There are many reasons why we should have reforestation. One being mostly that we need
forest to live! Without
forests, or any type of plant, the carbon cycle can't result. There are not many
arguments against reforestation,
but there can be some opposition for the land being used between a large business company
and the Ministry.
I feel replanting of forests is very crucial to the human race. The earth depends on
many cycles, where one
organism depends on the other because of what it does. We, exhale carbon dioxide which
the trees take in, while
they give off vital oxygen.
In closing, we live in an age of technology, leaving behind us the past. With the past
we are forgetting forests;
we must make sure this doesn't happen.
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