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Added significantly more to the old-growth forests section and included a perspective on disturbance on forest ecosystems.
'''Forests''' are now considered to be collections of [[tree]]s as a whole, or large areas of trees. Tropical rainforest is found around the equatorial regions, and has perhaps the greatest number of kinds of life of any habitat, and a major role in taking in [[carbon dioxide]] and releasing [[oxygen]]. Temperate forests are also important.
'''Forests''' are now considered to be collections of [[tree]]s as a whole, or large areas of trees. Tropical rainforest is found around the equatorial regions, and has perhaps the greatest number of kinds of life of any habitat, and a major role in taking in [[carbon dioxide]] and releasing [[oxygen]]. Temperate forests are also important.
==Old Growth Forests==
==Old-Growth Forests and Disturbance==
In California, Indians burned old growth forest with such regularity that there is more old growth today than there was in 1850.<ref>[[Michael Crichton]], [http://www.crichton-official.com/speech-ourenvironmentalfuture.html The Case for Skepticism on Global Warming]</ref>
The definition of old growth forests varies from group to group. Scientists use it to mean a forest of at least 150 years old and is composed of large living and dead [[tree|trees]] that support a large diversity of other [[organism|organisms]] while [[environmentalists|environmental groups]] have interpreted it to mean forests with large trees and minimal to no human influence.<ref>Pacific Northwest Research Station. (2003). New findings about old-growth forests. ''Science Update'' 4: 1-12</ref> While being established [[ecosystems]], old growth forests are not immune to the effects of disturbance. On larger scales, old-growth forests are in a steady state, where the structure and composition of the forest can buffer the effects of a disturbance.<ref>Chambers, J. Q., Negron-Juarez, R. I., Marra, D. M., Di Vittorio, A., Tews, J., Roberts, D., Ribeiro, G. H., Trumbore, S. E., & Higuchi, N. (2013). The steady-state mosaic of disturbance and succession across an old-growth central Amazon Forest Landscape. ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'', ''110''(10), 3949–3954. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1202894110 </ref> Because of the resilience to severe disturbances, such as windstorms and fire, treefalls are the most notable instances of disturbances in mature forests. Gap dynamics occur where a surplus of light and space in the area where a mature tree fell facilitates the growth of young trees and understory sun plants. <ref>Keddy, P. A. (2017). 5: Disturbance. In ''Plant Ecology'' (2nd ed., pp. 162–209). essay, Cambridge University Press.</ref>
In [[California]], [[American Indian|Indians]] burned old-growth forest with such regularity that there are more old-growth forests today than there was in 1850.<ref>[[Michael Crichton]], [http://www.crichton-official.com/speech-ourenvironmentalfuture.html The Case for Skepticism on Global Warming]{{Dead link|date = May 2022}}</ref> Despite these burning efforts, the Indians in the area utilized [[fire]] to keep undergrowth and brush down so that they could support the growth of other [[plant|plants]] and the attraction of [[animal|animals]] used for [[food]].<ref>Sommer, L. (2020, August 24). ''To manage wildfire, California looks to what tribes have known all along''. NPR. Retrieved May 20, 2022, from https://www.npr.org/2020/08/24/899422710/to-manage-wildfire-california-looks-to-what-tribes-have-known-all-along</ref> It was after that [[controlled burns|fire suppression]] was implemented that it was seen that brush and dried materials built up, and combined with suppression, fires grew to become more severe in intensity, area, and duration.<ref>Voiland, A. (2021, September 13). ''What's behind California's surge of large fires?'' NASA. Retrieved May 20, 2022, from https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/148908/whats-behind-californias-surge-of-large-fires#:~:text=He%20is%20among%20several%20experts,along%20the%20edges%20of%20forests.</ref> Because of the more intense fires, legislation has been passed that encourages more frequent [[controlled burns|prescribed burns]].<ref>Smith, H. (2021, October 7). ''Newsom signs 'monumental' law paving way for more prescribed burns''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 20, 2022, from https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-10-07/newsom-signs-fire-law-paving-way-for-more-prescribed-burns</ref> Prescribed burns have been found to be more effective at reducing wildfire severity when compared to conventional methods, reducing tree mortality by up to 72% in some areas of California as brush is continually removed rather than being allowed to build up as fuel for larger fires.<ref>Harris, L. B., Drury, S. A., Farris, C. A., & Taylor, A. H. (2021). Prescribed fire and fire suppression operations influence wildfire severity under severe weather in Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, USA. ''International Journal of Wildland Fire'', ''30''(7), 536–551. https://doi.org/10.1071/wf20163 </ref> This demonstrates the importance of understanding the natural system during conservation. Not every area of the [[Earth]] was a idyllic mature forest prior to human influence. Natural disturbances were allowed to be carried out that reset and maintain certain [[ecosystem|ecosystems]] in a dynamic stasis, such as the more xeric [[environment|environments]] of California.
==History of the term==
==History of the term==