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Spirit of Ma'at: "Tree and Plant Connections" — Vol 3, No 1 with Ruth Nogueron by Julia Griffin
Julia: How did you develop your interest in frontier forests? What made you decide to work for the World Research Institute? Ruth: I became a biologist because I was fascinated by the interconnectivity of life and the way in which plants, animals, physical features, and the climate all work together. I found a deep beauty in the natural relationship of the parts of the Earth. The more I have learned, the more I keep on finding that here is no action we can take that will not affect all of the parts of the whole. Everything is connected. Because of my interest in this interconnectedness, I always wanted to work for an environmental agency and make a contribution through my understanding of nature. And now, at WRI, I am doing that. Julia: Would you please begin by explaining exactly what a frontier forest is? Ruth: A frontier forest is distinguished from a fragmented forest — one that has been altered by human infrastructure elements, like the building of roads, houses, and cities, and logging. There tends not to be diversity in a fragmented forest. For example, an original forest might have been replaced with only one kind of tree, like pine trees, to become a fragmented forest. Frontier forests, on the other hand, have a variety of trees. Our description of frontier forests is related to the degree of natural or original forest and whether the forest is large enough to support certain ecosystems and biodiversity. A frontier forest is one that can sustain itself through time despite natural disasters. Julia: Are you referring to fire when you speak of natural disasters? Ruth: Yes, fire is a natural disaster that is actually beneficial to a forest. It cleans away the undergrowth and debris. It changes the forest floor. Seedlings and some of the trees die, and some of the weaker animals also may die. Fire triggers the release of seeds from some tree species such as jack pine, lodgepole pine, Bishop pine, and sand pine. Some seeds actually need fire to grow. Old wood and disease are wiped out by fire. So fire cleanses the forest naturally, and then the forest regenerates. Regeneration plays a significant role in terms of the ecosystem. There is a true balance between the forces of life and death in a frontier forest. Julia: Since North America is your area of expertise, could you give a few examples of the wildlife and trees in this region? Ruth: In the temperate rainforests of Alaska, British Columbia, and the Pacific Northwest, there are some of the largest and most long-lived trees in the world. These include the Sitka spruce, western hemlock, western red cedar, Pacific silver fir, and Englemann spruce. These large tracts of forest also provide habitat for far-ranging species like wolves, wood buffalo, and elk. Julia: You're speaking about conservation value with these species as well? Ruth: Yes. Large patches of natural forest provide sufficient area for natural ecological processes that shape the forest ecosystem. These processes cannot be sustained in smaller areas. Large tracts of forest serve as a reservoir for successful colonization of smaller patches of habitat that couldn't be maintained over a long period of time without the larger forest. Julia: WRI lists one of its main reasons for protecting the frontier forest as the spiritual benefit that forests provide. Your website says, "People need to know that remote and wild places remain on our crowded planet." What impact do you see the forest having on the human soul? Can you comment on this? Ruth: Art and poetry affect the soul through their intense beauty, and we value them for that. The forests and trees are beautiful, too, and they give us a sense of peace and solitude. They inspire our creative side, bringing about a meditative state. Forests are mysterious and lovely. They inspire our sense of wonder. I also see forests as a way to connect with the Earth. There are indigenous peoples, native peoples, whose spirituality is based on their life in the forest and their connection with nature. Their worship revolves around inter-relationships of plants and animals and the cycles of the forest. When we wipe out the places where these people live and worship, we are destroying cultural diversity. We are destroying part of our spiritual identity as a whole. Julia: When you speak of this, I think of the Druids (see also The Trees Speak). Their language was based on signs and an alphabet [Ogham] related to the trees. They must have found the forest to be magical. Do you have similar feelings? Ruth: Yes, there is a magic in the spirituality of the indigenous peoples I am speaking of. We are losing this magical perspective when the spiritual identity of these cultures is lost. Julia: There are several different types of forest. Can you describe them briefly and tell about some of benefits or their status as frontier forests? Ruth: Temperate rainforests, tropical forests, and boreal forests are the three major types of forests. Temperate rainforest occur in latitudes from 32 to 60 degrees north in a narrow band between ocean and coastal mountain. Temperate forests are the most heavily fragmented. Because of their favorable climate and rich soil, factors conducive to agriculture, only three to five percent of remaining frontier forest is temperate. Tropical rainforests are located in South America, Africa, Central America, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Tropical rainforests have the greatest diversity of species. Tropical forests cover only seven percent of the Earth's land surface, but they contain over fifty percent of all known species of plants and animals in the world. At least twenty-five percent of all modern drugs come from the tropical rainforests, and fifty million indigenous people live in them and depend directly upon them.[1] Boreal forests represent the largest biome in the world. Flora consists mostly of cold-tolerant evergreen conifers like pine, fir, and spruce. More than half of the frontier forest remaining is boreal, because boreal forests have long winters and poor soil, so that until wood demand increased there was little incentive to exploit them. Boreal forests are found in Canada, Russia, Scandinavia, and Northern Scotland. Julia: Let's talk about some of the physical benefits of forests. What comes to mind when you think of this? Ruth: Frontier forests provide ecosystem goods and services. They provide life support systems essential to humans and other species: maintenance of water quality, storage of carbon (which otherwise contributes to global climate change), and regulation of rainfall patterns. Large sections of natural forest provide protection for habitat. And they are valuable for their natural heritage and the opportunities they provide in terms of recreation and the experience of the wilderness. Of course, forests also are a natural resource. In many countries, the timber industry relies heavily on the harvesting of forests to satisfy demands for timber, pulp, and wood. Julia: I've read that forests contain fifty to ninety percent of all terrestrial species. Is this true? Can you comment on the biological wealth that forests provide? Ruth: You're referring to forests in general with that statistic, not just frontier forests. However, in addition to biodiversity, there is an inter-relatedness between the flora and fauna that is measurable. Certain species of plants and animals are indicators of whether or not a forest is large enough to be self-sustaining. Some examples of indicator, or "umbrella," animal species are wolverines, caribou, and the spotted owl. These species range very widely, so if there is enough space for them to do that, we know that the smaller species also are supported. If a forest is not large enough to support a few specific species, then there is not enough biodiversity to support the original gene pool. For instance, if a plant variety were eradicated through deforestation, and you had some seeds and replanted it, you would still have the plant — but you wouldn't have the original gene pool that grew naturally in the forest. Julia: Could you speak about oxygen production as a function of the frontier forest? Ruth: Frontier forests produce an enormous amount of air, acting in a sense as our planet's "green lungs." The trees absorb CO2, which we all know is the main climate-altering gas in the atmosphere, and they produce oxygen. And the moisture and oxygen emitted by trees act as cooling agents. They lessen the greenhouse effect and reduce pollution. So as deforestation continues, the planet becomes dirtier and more polluted. On the other hand, if the forests regenerate, then we will have more and cleaner air. Julia: And this relates to the carbon cycle? Ruth: Yes. Carbon cycles among three reservoirs: the atmosphere, the terrestrial biosphere, and the oceans. Through photosynthesis, forests absorb carbon from the atmosphere and store it in plant tissue. This storage of carbon in plant tissue is called "carbon sequestration." Although large amounts of carbon are exchanged between the forest, soil, and atmosphere, a large quantity is present in the leaves, woody tissue, roots, and soil nutrients. This is known as the "carbon store." Carbon sequestration and the carbon store slow the rate of accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and mitigate global warming. The world's forests store about 830 billion tons of carbon. Forests store more carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem and are a natural defense against climate change. Deforestation releases the stored carbon in the trees and accounts for a quarter of the carbon dioxide from human activity.[2] Julia: I know that the forests regulate water flow and act as watersheds. How would you describe this process? Ruth: Trees soak up and hold a tremendous amount of water from season to season. Not only do they hold the water, but through their vegetative cover they contribute moisture to the soil. Without vegetative cover, nutrients are lost from the soil. Water runs off faster without forests, contributing to dry soil and reduced yields in agriculture. Lack of trees in an area also contributes to wind erosion. Sometimes there is no soil left at all after deforestation — only rock. Cloud forests are a forest type unique to mountain terrain — in North America they are found in the Pacific Northwest — and they have a special function called "water capture." The vegetation structure and density allow the forest to "strip" water from the heavy moisture in the air and increase the normal water availability. Julia: Forests also prevent erosion. Can you tell me about that? Ruth: Because trees and heavy vegetation hold water, they keep the soil moist. Take away the trees, and the soil can turn into dust or rock, as the top layer is washed or blown away. So forest root systems prevent erosion by keeping soils in place. And humus is created from forest litter, twigs, leaves, and bark. The rich humus nourishes plants and sub-soil life and binds soil particles, while acting as a natural sponge that stores water. Trees hold agricultural terraces in place, provide windbreaks for crops, and maintain sand dunes. The rate of soil loss, according to a West Bank study, is ten times higher in forest lands where slash-and-burn cultivation has taken place than it is in undisturbed forests.[3] Julia: How much of the frontier forest in North America is threatened and how much remains? Ruth: Fifty years ago, fifty percent of the Earth was covered in frontier forest. Now it's only twenty-two percent. And statistics from the National Forest Service indicate that eighty-five percent of the remaining forest in North American is threatened, seventy-seven percent in Mexico, and twenty-one percent in Canada. Only seven percent of all of the forest land in North America has been determined to be "old growth" — that's a term that varies, but in general refers to trees over a hundred years old. Julia: What are some of the specific causes of deforestation? Ruth: Population increase is the single greatest cause. Illegal forestation is another factor, and there are others, but population is probably the most important. The huge increase of the human population has created a need for development. Not only is the forest cleared for human dwellings, but population expansion automatically requires an increase in agriculture and in domestic animals. So the forest is cleared for crops and animals. Julia: What can be done and what can we do to help? Ruth: We can change certain land use, and we can change how we practice land use. You can allow development in certain forest areas, and you can harvest a certain amount of trees — but only if these things are done carefully. There is a difference between not touching the forests at all and touching them in a way that is sustainable, so that an ecologically viable core of the forest is protected. Stewardship means keeping a sustainable balance. You also can reclaim forest land. Frontier forests will regenerate. This is happening today in the northeastern United States and in England, where forests had previously been destroyed. If you leave a large forest alone, it will reclaim the area and regenerate. As we've said, this regenerative ability is a determining characteristic of a frontier forest. But the forest ecosystem has a much slower timeline than our own. The forest life cycle is older and longer, so regeneration can take a long time. The general public can adopt a strategy of choosing products, like paper, from providers that utilize sustainable operations. Simply choosing the right label helps. All of our actions, from recycling to cutting timber, have an effect. Even very small actions, if they are made by many people, can have a huge impact. There also are many, many environmental protective agencies that one can choose to support. By supporting the organizations that protect the forests, and buying sustainable products, we can help to save and regenerate the frontier forest.
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