"In the 1970s, researchers started using the term “old growth” to describe complex, biodiverse forests at least 150 years old".........."Environmentalists prefer using the term to describe forests with large, old trees undisturbed by human impact"............. "Under the environmentalist’s characterization, much more forest would qualify as old growth"........ "The tension between these two definitions remains unresolved"

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What is an 'old-growth' forest?

What’s so good about ‘old growth’ anyway?

Old growth forests are like a giant bank account of carbon – they store an enormous amount of carbon in their trunks, and allow even more to be stored in forest soil. Although scientists long had thought old trees can no longer absorb carbon, recent studies suggest they continue to capture large amounts into old age.

Carbon in the atmosphere is one of the main causes of climate change, so preventing carbon emissions is more important than ever. Despite that, old growth forests continue to disappear globally – victims of land clearing for industrial agriculture and logging.