Anyone who's spent a few years in or around Oregon has noticed the increased clear-cutting, especially while driving to the coast. Sadly, what's beyond what we can see from the road is much worse. The loss of mature trees is only part of the problem; forest plantations, the loss of biodiversity, and soil depletion are also serious issues.
First, the seedlings planted to replace the clear-cut trees aren't growing quickly enough to replenish what's being cut, but many of the seedlings are non-native, introduced species.
These replanted clearcuts will replace natural forests to become forest plantations.
Forest Plantations
Forest plantations differ from natural forests because existing plants (and ecosystems) are destroyed to create space for timber; it's what's planted after clear-cutting has taken place.
These monoculture forests are planted for the sole purpose of future timber harvests.
Beyond the loss of sheer tree acreage, the area of biodiverse natural forest―a forest composed of indigenous trees and not classified as a forest plantation↟―lost in Oregon is becoming a serious risk to endangered tree, plant, and wildlife species.
The negative effects of clear-cutting and tree plantations on the environment are not only from the loss of mature trees but also from the loss of protection against soil erosion and a huge loss of biodiversity, threatening the resiliency of the ecosystem.
Erosion and Loss of Biodiversity
Erosion alone impacts everything in a forest ecosystem, from fish habitat to carbon sequestration, which impacts carbon levels in the air and filtration and then affects the cleanliness of our water. Erosion is caused by the loss of biodiversity in the ecosystem.
There is less biodiversity because low undergrowth is destroyed to prioritize the trees planted for harvest. Low growth blocks sunlight from the seedlings and causes them to grow more slowly. Oftentimes, herbicides are used to kill off this growth.
"Herbicides are commonly used for site preparation before tree planting and sometimes later to control competing vegetation while seedlings gain height."
- Oregon Department of Forestry
So, what exactly is going on with Oregon’s forests, and how does it affect us?
Clear-Cutting in Oregon
Using a tool created to study the clear-cutting of tropical rainforests in the developing world, The Center for Sustainable Economy and Oregon Wild documented the loss of 522,000 acres of forest cover in Western Oregon over the last decade.
The study used satellite data from the World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Watch Program to analyze forest cover trends on public and private lands.
The analysis found that because the rate of clear-cutting on state and private lands has far exceeded forest cover gain from replanting, forest loss exceeded forest gain by 45%.
At this point, there are no signs that this rate of overcutting will abate anytime soon.
Deforestation, Oregon Style
The report “Deforestation, Oregon Style” covers the forest cover loss associated with converting natural, ecologically diverse forests into industrial tree plantations. It looks at the acreage of forest lost by logging roads, the failure of long-term protection from erosion and landslides, and the depletion of soil nutrients, leading to less carbon sequestration within the soil.
Though now more than ever, it is necessary to protect vulnerable fish habitats, big timber companies in Oregon are cutting into the natural forests responsible for maintaining cool temperatures in streams to fuel the export of raw logs to foreign buyers.
The destruction of natural forests is causing huge problems, leading to possibly catastrophic and irreversible problems in the future.
Salmon and Stream Temperatures
Last summer, Oregon experienced record-low snowpack and high temperatures, which decimated salmon runs and left hatcheries breeding fish with nowhere to go.
Salmon need clear, cool water in shaded streams to survive. If too much of the land is clear-cut, the temperatures in these streams get too warm for the salmon to survive.
The Department of Forestry’s analysis shows that current clear-cutting practices increased water temperature by 2.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
The CSE-Oregon Wild study also shows that over 40% of critical watersheds for salmon have been clear-cut in the past 15 years.
Four Key Drivers of Deforestation
Clear-cutting is not the only driving factor of deforestation in Oregon.
According to the report, rapid clear-cutting is just one of Oregon's four key drivers of deforestation.
These four factors range from weak logging laws to converting natural forests into tree plantations to soil loss; Oregon’s natural forests are in trouble.
Oregon’s Weak Logging Laws
Thousands of timber harvests occur in Oregon on vast corporate forests and small family-owned woodlots.
All are governed by the 288 rules of the Forest Practices Act. These rules dictate how many trees must be left alongside streams, monitor forest road construction, and direct foresters on when trees must be replanted, etc.
The question typically is whether the law is effective and if it’s even really followed by landowners and logging companies.
In 2011, the Oregon Legislature directed ODF to conduct an annual study of Forest Practices Act compliance, using an independent contractor to collect data from a sampling of forest owners.
The agency reviewed how well forestland owners and the timber industry complied with rules on harvesting trees, building and maintaining forest roads, and protecting water quality.
Other States
They found an overall compliance rate of 98% in 2017, the most recent year completed. The state calculates compliance rates for specific rules, ownership classes, and regions.
Compliance with the audit was voluntary.
Natural Forests to Tree Plantations
Another driver is the conversion of natural forests into industrial tree plantations, which are then clear-cut on short rotations.
At least 4 million acres of land in Oregon are covered with tree plantations at the expense of natural forests capable of providing a wide array of goods and services such as water filtration, carbon sequestration, and provision of fish and wildlife habitat.
Logging Roads
Logging roads are also taking their toll. Although no precise figures are available, the report estimates that another 100,000 to 150,000 acres of forests are lost to the logging road network on state and private lands.
Depletion of Soil
Yet another longer-term driver is the depletion of soils.
Soil loss from erosion and landslides on clearcut lands has been a significant issue for decades, as has the depletion of soil nutrients from repeated clear-cutting over too short a time period.
Depleting soil also means the layers of soil formed to trap carbon are washed away; the soil then releases all of the previously trapped carbon back into the atmosphere.
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If you need help, contact Urban Rewilding, and we can find a way to increase the biodiversity in your yard and create soil that sequesters carbon, a yard that produces food and creates habitat for native wildlife and pollinators.
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