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Sections Home Page Local News AP News Blogs Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Classic Forums Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Multimedia Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Road Cams Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Women in Business Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Customer Service Advertise With Us Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map Email Story to a Friend June 3, 2005 Since You Asked: Getting to the root of forest-type definitions Quite a few articles in the newspaper use the terms old-growth forest, ancient forest and legacy forest. How are these defined by the environmental groups that use them so often? — John D. Medford Guess this is one of those times, John, when one can’t see the forest for the terms. Obviously, they conjure different meanings, depending on your viewpoint. A timber industry forester would likely have a different viewpoint than an environmentalist. But you asked about the latter so we asked Dominick DellaSala, a forest ecologist who heads the local World Wildlife Fund office. Advertisement "Old-growth forests would be characterized by trees in a certain age class that have features not found in tree plantations," he said. "For example, large live and dead trees, logs on the forest floor and a variety of tree species make up an old-growth forest." An "ancient forest" includes old-growth but is generally regarded as having never been logged, he said. This forest primeval would have been used by American Indians but not disturbed by logging, he said. "But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s old-growth," he said. "It could be coming back from a fire." However, even a burned forest would have large, standing dead trees that provide shade, erosion control and nutrients for the young trees, he noted. A "legacy forest" is another term used to describe forests that were around before European settlement, he said, noting that could include old-growth and ancient forests. "It’s a term that has been used to describe large blocks of forests free of logging or roads," he said. "Generally, these are roadless areas, which can include significant portions of old-growth and ancient forests as well as younger forests that are recovering from fire." Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Trunks, Footlocker Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Casinos Canada Cord Blood Banking Discount Hotel Reservations Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Online Casino Windermere Van Vleet Men's Clothing Debt Help New Hampshire Primary Advertisement s