March 21st is International Day of Forests. It’s a day for understanding and celebrating the many values that forests provide for humanity.
The United Nations says that “extensive research demonstrates that use of forests contributes to reducing stress and promoting more positive moods and feelings.” Also, “a visit to a forest environment lowers blood pressure and pulse rate, and reduces cortisol levels.”
“Conserving and sustainably using forests is one of the best ways of protecting our planet and ourselves. Healthy forests are vital for all aspects of a healthy planet, from livelihoods and nutrition to biodiversity and the environment, but they are under threat. It’s up to us to safeguard these precious natural resources” says the U.N.
https://www.un.org/en/observances/forests-and-trees-day
Long Lake Provincial Park is defined by the Nova Scotia government as a “natural environment park”. It has a diversity of forest types, including hardwood, softwood and mixed-forest. It is important that we continue to conserve the natural forest in Long Lake Provincial Park so that the many values that the forest provides will continue to be available for future generations.
While trees are a necessary part of a “forest”, there is more to a forest than the trees. The ferns next to the trail seen below are also part of the forest, as are the animals that live there. All of the life in the forest is part of the forest ecosystem. The parts are interdependent.
Foresters make inventories of the trees in a forest by interpreting aerial photographs. Errors are corrected by doing spot checks on the ground. A forester’s map of the area in the photograph above is shown below.
The trees around Witherod Lake provide value by being there. Their value would be lost if they were taken away. Several studies by forest economists have shown that the value of a living tree in a forest is greater than its market value as timber. One example of this, for the United States, is available from US Department of Agriculture at: https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/ja/ja_scarpa002.pdf.
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