Forests and How We Can Protect Them

“Forests and How We Can Protect Them”

Wood is essential to human life; it provides structure to our houses and paper for our education. Most wood we use does come from forests, learning about these forests can help us better understand how the wood we use is grown, processed, and how its harvest affects the environment. There are three types of forests; natural forests, semi-natural forests, and plantation forests. Each of these have their benefits and drawbacks that determine their efficiency, the basic explanations of these forests can be seen in the following image (Lesson 8).

Short rotation cropping is another huge part of forest harvesting as it is an efficient way to grow genetically superior trees and harvest them. What separates this method from the others is that these trees are grown to produce and other energy sources. The sustainability of short rotation crops is much higher in comparison but can be hard to maintain due to a variety of factors (Zalesny). 

Plantation forests are also a very important part of the forest discussion as they have their pros and cons as well. There are alot of arguments from both sides but the most important ones are about the biodiversity and preservation of these forests. Since these forests usually use monoculture meaning one single species of tree they are susceptible to destruction from pests and diseases since all trees will succumb to these factors. But some argue for the sake of plantations as that land is used for trees to preserve forests and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (Forest Plantation on the Engeseth-Rinde Site). Both sides of the argument are important to understand as this can apply to many things we learn about environmental preservation. There is always good and bad in our efforts.

Forests clearly play a vital role in many of the things we use today. While trees are renewable they take a long time to grow as well as a lot of space and resources. Forests makeup ⅓ of the land in the United States (Lesson 9) and there's a lot that we can do to preserve this land to keep using it in the future. Forests face many issues such as pests, disease, and over harvesting but there are plans implemented to counteract these negative situations. 

As consumers we can recycle our products that we use by reading labels and learning about Environmental Certification. There are three types of certifications: Types I, II, and III. Type I means that a third party has overlooked and certified said product. Type II means the organization has labeled themselves with the certification. Type III is based on the LCA and is given through an Environmental Product Declaration (Lesson 12). Here are some eco labels to look out for which show certification meaning that we know these brands and products have taken into account how they effort the environment.

As consumers there is a lot we can do with this information such as learning about these labels and buy products that are certified by Forest Certification Programs. Examples of these programs include Forest Stewardship Council, Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and American Tree Farm System. Keeping an eye out for organizations can help you make better decisions in your consumption! 

Resources

Environmental Studies 399, https://pages.stolaf.edu/es399-engesethrinde17/forest-plantation/. 

“How Consumers Can Keep Forests Thriving.” Good Nature Travel Blog | Stories Are Made on Adventures, 5 Oct. 2022, https://www.nathab.com/blog/how-consumers-can-keep-forests-thriving/. 

Lesson 8 Woody Biomass Production, BBE 1002, UMN

Lesson 9 Forest Trends, BBE 1002, UMN

Lesson 12 Environmental Certification, BBE 1002, UMN

“Publication Search.” US Forest Service Research and Development, https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch.