What is the difference in Economic value between an old growth forest and a planted forest? The definition of economic value is just stating how important one is compared to the other without using numbers. Also it is helpful to know that a planted forest is also referred to as tree plantations. It is believed that an old growth forest has more economic value than a planted forest. Old growth forests are more valuable because they supply homes for many animals, some of which are endanger and the trees are really old. Old growth forests are irreplaceable. Planted forest just doesn’t supply the same feeling and ecosystem support that old growth forest do.
Old growth forest can also be known as ancient forest (http://gorp.comlgorp/resource/us_national_park]walold_nor.htm) and are primarily found in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). The old growth forest are made up of trees between 200-300 years old (http://www.wri.orgjbiodiv/b0l1-btl.html), they have a multilayered canopy sometimes broken by occasional light filled spaces http://gorp.comlgorp/resource/us_national_parklwalold_nor.htm). The trees can grow to over 2 meters in diameter and up to 100 meters high (http://www.wri.org/biodiv/b011-btl.html). The fallen logs and large standing snags, which are dead trees, play and important role in the old growth ecosystem. The old growth forest also provides homes for many animals, some of which are endangered (http://gorp.comlgorp/resource/us_national_parklwalold_nor.htm).
Some of the plants that can be found are Foliose Lichen, Dogwood, and Orchid (Booth, 1994). Lichen usually is found in the canopy which pulls nitrogen from the air, which is washed down to the soil and used by the forest vegetation (http://gorp.comlgorp/resource/us_national_parkiwalold_nor.htm). Then there is the fungus which attaches to the roots of trees and plants and supplies water and nutrients to them, and in return the Lichen receives carbohydrates (http://gorp.comlgorp/resource/us_national_parklwalold_nor.htm).
Some of the animals that can be found within the old growth forest are now endangered. Such animals are the spotted owl, bats, tailed frog, the northern flying squirrel, various woodpeckers, and many other species (Booth, 1994). As timber from the old growth PNW become scares so does habitat. Flora and Fauna which are dependent on these forests have become increasingly rare and threatened or even endangered according to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). ESA prohibits the destruction of one endangered species habitat, so the presence of an endangered species can restrict the management options. For example, 300 acres of old growth forest may be required for each nesting pair of the Northern Spotted Owl. The Northern Spotted Owl, as an endangered species, has an impact on the timber production from the forests in the PNW (Murray, 1998).
The dead trees, in the old growth forest, play a vital role such as providing homes for many birds and other animals. Fallen logs “slowly decomposes and returns nutrients to the soil” for other trees and plants to use (http://gorp.comlgorp/resource/us_national_parklwalold_nor.htm). Some of the trees that can be found are Douglas fir, Coast Redwood, Cedar, Spruce, Maple, Pine, and many more (Booth, 1994).
The animals, plants, trees and nature all play an important role in the economic value of the forest. Another important role is Human’s. “Human history alters natural history (Booth, 1994).”
The replacements of old growth forest with young stands are permitted to grow no older than 40-90 years prior to harvesting, and there is a disappearance of a biologically unique old growth ecosystem type (Booth, 1994).
Old growth preservationist also began to see the forest valuable for non- instrumental reasons, also they looked upon the forest as ecological wholes and to see that preservation of the whole ecosystem is necessary for the continued health of all living species including human beings (Booth, 1994). They have been valuable in their own right and valuable as part of an on going evolutionary process from which life has emerged (Booth, 1994). Old growth wood is highly valued because it is contained in large trees that produce high quality wood that is defect-free (Booth, 1994). However, wood is not the only valuable thing in old growth forest. Other things that can be of value are hiking, scenic observation, scientific research, hunting, observing and photographing wildlife and so on (Booth, 1994).
Hunting, hiking and photography are some examples of importance because it is all part of life. They are all part of education, fro example: hunting teaches survive skills, hiking gets people in shape and makes them aware of nature, and photography helps them to see nature in its own way, its own light. Education is important to society, so if the forest is educational then the forest should be important to society.
As the forest become scares, competition has developed for the use of the ecosystem which mutually incompatible, one maybe irreversibly destructive to another. Old growth forest can provide scientific, ecological and amenity benefits to society (Carver, 2002). The longer society recognizes non-consumption benefits of old growth, the longer society will be willing to slow or delay depletion even if consumptive benefits are valued well (Carver, 2002). If all the cost and benefits, of the different uses of an old growth forest, could be brought under the same denominator it might be easier to conclude which use of the forest should be chosen (Carver, 2002). Even if prices could be assigned to the benefits of an intact old growth ecosystem demand for the resource and relative prices cannot be accurately predicted for far into the future (Carver, 2002).
Methods do exist for valuing consequences of irreversibility (Carver, 2002). The contingent valuation method employs a hypothetical market to elicit an individual’s equivalent variation or willingness to pay. Even when monetary valuation of non-market benefits incorporated into intertemporal welfare maximum individualistic preferences still do not reflect existence of larger societal concerns. The statement is contrary to Hotelling’s assumption that socially optimal intertemporal use of nonrenewable resource can be reduced to efficiency problem (Carver, 2002). The Hotelling rule helps society to understand why so many natural resources are threatened. First that many renewable resources are treated as they are non-renewable. Second discount rates applicable to resource extraction contexts are often very high. Social utility function embodies economic ecological and societal values without relying on monetary value estimates of non-user benefits (Carver, 2002). Utility in this case means happiness or the level of happiness.
The reduction or loss of ecosystem health affects social utility in two ways. The first is that it represents direct loss of biological diversity and irreversible loss of the benefits of an intact ecosystem. The second one is that it conceptually represents reduction in options available to society and therefore illustrates central postulate welfare economics; expansion of choice represents welfare gain (Carver, 2002). The application of preference of current utility over future utility encourages impatience to consume old growth ecosystem with greater uncertainty about the future, society will be more reluctant to forego current consumption. Initial rates of consumption are similar for high and low environmental variance because society cannot be sure it will receive the expected benefits of an intact ecosystem in such a distant time period (Carver, 2002).
The following are characteristics and economic aspects of an old growth ecosystem which provides an economic framework for viewing the use of old growth:
a) The old growth must be looked at in terms of stock (inventory) and that it has a flow of useful natural resource commodities or services produced from the stocks. The stock and flow characteristics are different between old growth and commercially developed forest (also know as tree plantations).
b) Old growth forests are modeled as a non-renewable stock. The distinguishing feature of a nonrenewable resource is that it is exhausted when used as input of production while at the time the rate of growth is nothing.
c) All uses of the resource may not be allocated efficiently by the markets.
d) Time considerations are a central importance, given that irreversibility is associated with consumption, it is a determination of the optimal old growth allocation policy.
e) Given that society desires both market and non-market goods and service flows from old growth forest, the social welfare function approach may be necessary (Carver, 2002).
There are many practical difficulties in implementing forest management strategies based on the conceptual foundations. First, society currently benefits from both consumption and conservation of old growth forest, exact form the welfare function and how changes over time are unknown. Second, it assumes that the harvest of an old growth forest is irreversible. Third, that the health of the entire forest ecosystem may not be reflected in viability of a single species (Carver, 2002).
Tree plantations are structurally different than old growth forest. The 60 year old tree plantations are structurally simple, with only one well developed layer of foliage (the canopy), there are no larger logs or snags expect the legacies from ancient forest and there is a very low diversity of species (Norse, 1990).
The floor is almost barren, with very few plants concealing the litter fallen from the canopy. There also is an abundance and diversity of animals in the same way as plants (Norse, 1990).
The canopy is so dense that very few plants can grow in the darkness below (Norse, 1990).
The same methods used to value the old growth forest can be used to figure out the value of the tree plantations.
This paper was trying to prove that an old growth forest is more valuable than a tree plantation. As mentioned there are many methods for trying to determine the value of a forest. Also the importance of the forest and what is an old growth forest or tree plantation plays an important role in which one is more valuable.
Hopefully after reading this paper it is stilled believed that an old growth forest have many concepts that make them unique, compared to tree plantations, and more valuable. With out old growth forest society would be missing out on many chances. Animals will start disappearing, hiking will be pointless, and so on. Everything will be affected and not necessarily for the best. Hands-on, real life education will start to decrease without the trees and animals. The students would not be able to see the importance of the forest if society keeps tearing them down.
So hopefully by now society is more aware of what an old growth forest has to offer and why it is so valuable.
Works Cited
A dynamic model for intertemporal allocation of old-growth forests in the Pacific
Northwest. Carver, Andrew D.; Lee, John G.; LeMaster, Dennis C. Journal of
Environmental Management Volume 66 issue 4, December 2002.
Ancient Forest of the Pacific Northwest. Norse, A Elliot. The Wilderness Society, 1990.
Federal Timber Restrictions and Interregional Arbitrage in U.S Lumber. Murray, Brian;
Wear, David. Land Economics Volume 74, 1998.
Old Growth Forest. http ://gorp.com/gorp/resource/us_nationalpark!wa/oldnor.htm
Old-Growth Forests in the United States Pacific Northwest.
http://www.wri.org/biodiv/b0 11-btl. html
Valuing nature: The decline and preservation of old-growth forests. Booth,-Douglas-E.
Lanham, Md. and London: Rowman and Littlefield, 1994.