Tree Farms Are Not Forests
Warning: this essay shifts a paradigm. Please remain seated while reading, to avoid injuries from fainting.
Ready? Here it is: tree farms are not forests and forests are not tree farms. The Old Paradigm holds that they are the same thing. The New Paradigm, presented herein, says they are completely and utterly different land uses. Well, maybe not utterly. Tree farms and forests both have trees. Other than that, the differences are starkly obvious and fundamental. Understanding the differences will benefit you, whether you are pro-tree farms, pro-forests, or pro-both, like me.
How are tree farms and forests different? Let us count the ways. First, they are structurally different. By “structure” I mean the three- dimensional, above-ground lattice: the stems, branches and leaves that constitute the architectural framework.
On tree farm plantations the trees are all the same age, down to the week or day of planting. They are evenly spaced. As they grow, all the trees have similar heights, crown shapes, crown lengths, and stem diameters. Structure is homogeneous.
In forests the trees are never the same age. Even in so-called “even- aged” forests, stem recruitment actually lasts for many decades following stand replacement disturbance. In forests the trees are never evenly spaced. As differently aged and spaced trees grow, they diversify into unequal heights, crown shapes, crown lengths, and stem diameters. Structure in forests is heterogeneous horizontally and vertically.
Second, tree farms and forests are different biologically. Tree farm stands have only a few tree species, sometimes only one. Very few other plant species occur, especially under the dense canopies of fully- stocked plantations. Nor do many wildlife species find preferred habitat on tree farms, because of the structural and biological limitations.
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