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Deforestation: Which countries are still cutting down trees?

See growing trees isn't just scattering a few seeds and nuts. It isn't banging in a load of twiggy saplings and forgetting them. They take a seriously committed amount of long term looking after to get a result that looks like a forest and not a row upon row of xmas trees. Thats where all the ballshit lies, in the empty promises of "our company grows x amount of trees for every x amount of product we sell" cos a row of shit conifers up a Scottish hill is not a proper replacement forest or woodland.

One of my favorite woods:
1640762697271.png
Islands Thorns Inclosure, in the New Forest
The name is from when trees were grown for their special shapes required for building wooden battleships. Great place for a walk, if you know where to look you can pick up Roman pottery just lying about.
 
I have been replanting a small pocket wood, for almost a decade. What was once a plantation (hybrid black poplars) is now a mixed woodland with, not just trees, but different layers - tree canopy, shrubby under-story and herbaceous ground covering. What I have learned; not only do trees fare better in mixed plantings, they also utilise 'nurse' trees as sort of tree guardians. I planted a number of fast growing 'pioneer' such as birch, hazel or willow... which protect smaller, slow-growing saplings (black poplar, hornbeam, oak, limes, field maple), with a mycorrhizal network, and encourage straight, vigorous growth from the saplings. Planting 1st year whips within the rootzone of the adolescent pioneers has been working well (for me). The fast growing (and short-lived) pioneers can be cut down or coppiced to start a new growth cycle. Blackberry is also a terrific natural tree protector, keeping the ground free from weeds, without overly competing with new saplings.
 
campanula said:
I have been replanting a small pocket wood, for almost a decade. What was once a plantation (hybrid black poplars) is now a mixed woodland with, not just trees, but different layers - tree canopy, shrubby under-story and herbaceous ground covering. What I have learned; not only do trees fare better in mixed plantings, they also utilise 'nurse' trees as sort of tree guardians. I planted a number of fast growing 'pioneer' such as birch, hazel or willow... which protect smaller, slow-growing saplings (black poplar, hornbeam, oak, limes, field maple), with a mycorrhizal network, and encourage straight, vigorous growth from the saplings. Planting 1st year whips within the rootzone of the adolescent pioneers has been working well (for me). The fast growing (and short-lived) pioneers can be cut down or coppiced to start a new growth cycle. Blackberry is also a terrific natural tree protector, keeping the ground free from weeds, without overly competing with new saplings.
Click to expand...


Another good thing about mixed forests is that a disease or infestation will not wipe every tree out.

Also, there is a greater variety of animals living in a mixed forest.
 
Chilli.s said:
See growing trees isn't just scattering a few seeds and nuts. It isn't banging in a load of twiggy saplings and forgetting them. They take a seriously committed amount of long term looking after to get a result that looks like a forest and not a row upon row of xmas trees. Thats where all the ballshit lies, in the empty promises of "our company grows x amount of trees for every x amount of product we sell" cos a row of shit conifers up a Scottish hill is not a proper replacement forest or woodland.

One of my favorite woods:
View attachment 303552
Islands Thorns Inclosure, in the New Forest
The name is from when trees were grown for their special shapes required for building wooden battleships. Great place for a walk, if you know where to look you can pick up Roman pottery just lying about.
Click to expand...

That's a nice spot. I had a walk around Eyeworth pond the other day, which is just a few minutes from there.
 
Like campanula , I've been planting woodland. Only a small patch, but it all helps.

I'm trying for a mixed native broadleaf & conifer woodland.
This borders my main garden on the east, and hopefully, will be a decent windbreak for years to come.

I need to do some thinning this winter, as well as some hedge trimming and coppicing ...
 
Second point ref thread ...

Not far from here is the massive area of Kielder Forest.

This is managed for conifer production [timber and chip - for biomass, pulp and 'board - with bark as a minor by product].
For each tree that is felled, another is planted - in some areas, it is actually three being planted, working on the expectation that two do not reach harvesting age/size. A number of areas are now being replanted with native broadleaves and managed in a more wildlife friendly manner - hence the area now supporting at least 7 osprey nests.

This area also has quite a lot of small "schedule D" [tax dodge] or pit prop production plantations - many of these have been planted and then largely ignored by the landowner ... as a result they are often well past their "fell-by" date. More recently, or at least over the past few years, a number of these patches have been clear felled and replanted.
 
StoneRoad said:
some info off the beeb [via COP26 coverage] about the UK


clch - UK tree planting par StoneRoad2013, on ipernity
Click to expand...

What the graph doesn't tell you is that almost all of the stuff pre-1990 was for commercial forestry and pretty harmful to biodiversity and landscapes. A more diverse range of natives are being planted now and not so much for commercial purposes. But that still doesn't excuse the huge decline in planting, especially considering how little of the UK is forested compared to other countries.
 
Carvaged said:
What the graph doesn't tell you is that almost all of the stuff pre-1990 was for commercial forestry and pretty harmful to biodiversity and landscapes. A more diverse range of natives are being planted now and not so much for commercial purposes. But that still doesn't excuse the huge decline in planting, especially considering how little of the UK is forested compared to other countries.
Click to expand...

A huge proportion of the UK's Oak trees went into building the "wooden walls" of the Napoleonic Wars and the trading ships of that era. I think it was Admiral Collingwood who went around planting acorns for replacements, now that's long-term planning as they wouldn't be ready for over 200 years !
The UK's lowland woods never really recovered from that harvesting, not to mention all the earlier clearances for farming ...

Much of the commercial forestry in upland areas in the northern part of the UK grows on poorer quality land, but the species are frequently non-native trees that grow quickly.
[Speaking as a user of timber, comparing the quality of much modern wood with that from even as recently as pre-1945, you can feel the difference, just in the weight - modern plantation grown softwood is very open grained].
 
Canada cuts down a lot of trees.

People get upset when they see clear cutting, so the wood industry leaves several yards of forest so people can not see it.

Hiding it does not really happen in my area. Retiring farmers are selling their woodlots for large sums of money. The purchaser clear cuts, drains and makes it into farm land.

We are only of the last woodlots still standing.

We own twenty acres, and all the forests near me are now fields.

home - winter.jpg

We no longer see deer and several species of birds are no longer here.

I really do miss my cranes nesting just down the road.
 
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In North America, most houses are made of wood. The basement is poured concrete, then a wood frame is made for the balance of the structure. Inside walls are usually made of gyprock, floors and doors and mouldings.

Wood is essential for building a house. Trees have to be harvested.

Due to the pandemic, there are a lot of people wanting new houses. Living in an apartment with children emphasized the need for a house with a yard. Letting the kids outside became a priority.

Sadly, there is little wood for the construction. If any is found, it goes for a ridiculous large amount of money. This results in the contractor building a house needs more money from his clients. Ugly situation.

Just to let you know how severe the shortage is, a friend went out to get some 2x4' to build shelves for his kids. The only thing left were pieces that were totally warped.

Wood is like gold over here.
 
My daughter works in the manufacturing side of the wood industry. Her company (Moulding) makes mouldings, handrails, columns and all sorts of things needed for a house. Due to the increased demand for houses, the demand for their products has sky-rocketed. They even added a shift to keep up with the demand.

They import wood from as far away as South America and China.

Remember that cargo ship that dropped several containers of stuff, then had a fire in some that did not go overboard? Moulding had wood on that ship. Until the ship is unloaded, they have no idea if their stuff has been destroyed.

Actually, daughter says that they have wood on most cargo ships stuck in the ports. They need the wood to keep up production. Her friend is tasked with "find wood, any wood" mandate/


Moulding also does mdf. Mdf is basically sawdust glued together. They can not find any resin to glue the sawdust together. Supply chain issues.
 
Beavers are intent on cutting down every tree they can find - they're marching northwards due to climate change, and will cause more melting of the permafrost, dooming humanity. Clever plan to take over the planet.

5159.jpg


www.theguardian.com

Dam it: beavers head north to the Arctic as tundra continues to heat up

Dammed rivers could accelerate climate crisis as creatures move into previously inhospitable areas
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
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