Regeneration Clearcut
The forest in the top left picture was recently logged using a "regeneration cut" This type of forest management leaves only a few trees per acre. The trees that are left supposedly will regenerate the forest with a favored species.
In truth, this type of logging is really a "clearcut" using another name. Clearcut has a bad reputation. Many trees left after a regeneration cut will die anyway as the soils around them dry out. Forest interior trees are not accustomed to being in full sunlight. Many other forest species such as salamanders, frogs, and vernal herbs will not survive either under full sunlight conditions that are found in clearcuts.
30 Year Old Forest
The canopy closes over in a forest of about 30 years of age, and plants that initially grew under conditions of full sunlight will begin to die out. The young forest shown here has no mature trees to provide a quantity of seeds and nuts for animals, and it has no large trees to provide cavities for shelter. This forest provides poor wildlife habitat until it starts to mature in another 40 years.
100 Year Old Forest
The mature forest of 100 years old provides good quality wildlife habitat, but a managed forest will seldom reach this age of maturity, and if it does, the forest industry will be working to log it again. The cycle for logging in managed forests is often 85 years or less. Many public forests in Maryland are reaching an age of 100 years or more, and the forest industry is anxious to log them again. The quality habitat of 100 year old forests have allowed species like the black bear, which was once almost extinct in Maryland, to return again.
Old Growth Forest
Almost no old growth forests remain in Maryland. Old growth forests include trees that are 200 years old or older. This type of forest provides superior wildlife habitat and large quantities of seeds and nuts for food. When trees grow large enough, they provide dens for animals that cannot find shelter in cavities in smaller trees. Dead and dying trees in a complex, old growth forest environment provide habitat for many species that do not thrive in younger forests. Look at the pictures and compare the vegetation and variety of species shown in the 30 year old forest to that of the old growth forest. These pictures were taken only a few hundred yards apart, and at the same time of year. The only difference is that one of the forests was logged 30 years ago.
Appalachian Forest Preserve
The map shows (in green colors) the forests in our region that are currently protected in some manner. It shows the largest amount of wildlife habitat occurs along the Appalachian Mountains. The protected areas are highly fragmented, and many species must try to move from one protected area to another in order to survive. Connecting corridors for wildlife between the protected areas are needed for wildlife movement and future survival of many species. As the mountains become more fragmented by human population growth and development, this need will become ever more important.
Public Forests in Maryland
The map of the Western Maryland shows that public forests provide much of the remaining wildlife habitat. The red areas signify forests that have been logged in the past 30 years. Logging roads (which are not shown) have been constructed throughout the forests to provide for removal of timber. These roads fragment and degrade existing wildlife habitat.
The areas shown in red primarily consist of trees that are 30 years of age or younger. Most trees of this age are too young to provide large amounts of seed or nuts. Invasive plant species have overrun many logged areas of the public forests. Invasive plants especially proliferate along logging roads where the canopy has been broken and the seeds of invasive species can germinate in sunlight. Although a few species that are important as a food source for wildlife grow in full sun conditions, very little food or shelter will be available once the canopy has closed. Another 40-50 years will elapse before the forest will again provide good wildlife habitat.
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