Today there is great interest in ancient, “old-growth” forests. New England, surprisingly, still has some small fragments of such old forests, although they represent less than 1% of its original, pre-settlement forest.
A high percentage of central New England land is cloaked in second-growth forest that is recovering from the massive land clearing of former agricultural years. A significant amount of such second-growth, which is at most 150 or so years old, should be set aside to eventually become old-growth once again, allowing it to regain greater biodiversity, an improved gene pool, and therefore enhanced resilience and adaptability (not to mention natural beauty).
In this one-hour film, we will learn how to recognize some of the visual characteristics of our remnant, northeastern old-growth forests, with scenes from several of our most beautiful examples. Environmental scientist Margery Winters explains “morticulture”, the role that dead, hollow, and fallen trees play in forest ecology. Ed Faison, Senior Ecologist at Highstead, discusses Nature-managed vs actively-managed forests. And atmospheric physicist Anastassia Makarieva introduces us to the "Biotic Pump" theory, which describes how forests bring fresh water to themselves (and us!); it also accounts for the little-known but vastly significant role that old forests play in stabilizing the Earth's climate, by moderating temperatures, storms, and droughts.
Reception starts at 6pm with the film following shortly after at 6:30pm.