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The Forest Industry describes its “pine plantations ” as “working forests”. This interpretation redefines a forest from that of a complex population of diverse species--as we know it to be--to that of a single species (monoculture) of trees being grown for its wood fiber. Diverse native hardwood forests are entirely converted to pine plantations by the forest industry. While this strategy may produce an abundance of wood fiber, it defeats the goals of preserving and protecting diverse populations of other species whose welfare is very important to everyone. Public funds should not be spent purchasing pine plantations.
Pine plantations should really be considered agricultural land with wood being grown as the major crop. Pine plantations are frequently saturated with herbicides to help the crop achieve a high growth rate--at the expense of other species. These herbicides destroy the vegetation required by many other species, and kill many beneficial insects like the parasitoid wasp, ladybug, and predatory beetles. They also destroy many microorganisms that play a vital role in creating humus and aerating the soil—these functions are very important in a real forest. Herbicides are highly toxic to fish when they find there way into waterways, and they are also known to cause tumors, cancers, and sexual problems in animals and humans. While herbicides may help produce quantities of wood fiber, these tree farms are sterile environments for many other creatures, and do not provide the same functions as a natural native forest.
Herbaceous plants contribute nearly 80% of the flora in eastern deciduous forests, and are far more representative of plant diversity than trees. Unlike birds and trees, which colonize rather quickly after a major disturbance, many herbaceous plants are slow to recolonize or disperse after a logging operation. Studies done by Duffy and Meier (1992) on a dozen sites logged 90-100 years earlier, found the once-logged stands had less than half the herbaceous diversity of similar un-logged sites. These studies showed that even a single logging operation would drastically reduce diversity of plant species even a hundred years later.
Certain species do well in young pine forests, and these “wildlife” species are often cited as examples by the forest industry to show that tree farm management practices are good for wildlife. Birds are frequently used as examples. While certain species of birds may be found in young pine forests, species that require large, old growth trees for their nesting cavities will be absent. Whitetail deer and bears are also seen in young pine forest, at least during part of the year, but these animals still need seeds and nuts from mature forests to survive through the winter months.
Studies show up to 80% of the salamanders are exterminated following a clearcut logging operation (Ash 1988, Petranka et al. 1994), and 80-120 years later these species have not fully recover. Salamanders are creatures that require moist conditions to survive, and they need the favorable conditions found in mature forests. Logging exposes the ground to the sun and dries out the forest floor. Salamander species will never recover in pine plantations where the rotational cutting cycles are often as rapid as 35-50 years.