What is a “low-productivity” old-growth forest? The photos below show old but stunted forests growing in bogs, on rocky mountainsides, in nutrient-poor soils, or sub-alpine landscapes. These forests now constitute more than half of the remaining old-growth forests on the coast of BC, are generally of little to no commercial value, and do not provide adequate habitat for many old-growth dependent species.
In contrast, “high-productivity” old-growth forests, or “ancient forests,” are home to enormous old-growth trees that you see in many of our famous photographs. Some examples are places like Cathedral Grove, the Carmanah Valley, Avatar Grove, and the Walbran Valley.
The BC government regularly inflates its figures for remaining coastal old-growth forests by lumping in the non-endangered “low-productivity” old-growth forests with small trees and the endangered “high-productivity” old-growth with big trees. Depending on the specific circumstance, this disingenuous practice adds hundreds of thousands to even millions of hectares of remaining old-growth to their statistics. Doing this is like including your Monopoly money with your real money and then claiming to be a millionaire.
Take action by sending an instant message to protect old-growth forests.
Photography by TJ Watt.
