Michigan Logging Company PRESS RELEASE Michigan Logging Company

A Forest Is an Ecosystem -Treat It Like One

Forest landowners make a huge mistake when they fail to maintain their woodland with regularly scheduled timber harvests every 7-10 years

Shelbyville, MI Jason Blauvelt, of Northland Timber and Logging has been working in the woods and forests in west Michigan since he was old enough to drive a skidder. He is now the owner of the family business his grandfather started in the 1950's. He was recently explaining the reason it is vital for landowners to regularly harvest the timber in their woods.

He asserted that "...a forest is an ecosystem, it is a place in nature with all of its living and non-living parts." Ecosystems are all around us.

Forests cover nearly a third of the land on earth. Some forests are made up of trees only 25 feet tall where others have trees ten times higher. Some forests have been destroyed by fire, indiscriminate logging companies and nearly all have been changed in some way by people.

But forests are still among the most valuable ecosystems on earth. They provide wood for building, making paper and many other uses. They provide nuts, fruit and other food for wildlife and humans. They protect water supplies and soil by soaking up water from rain and melting snow. They are homes for deer, squirrels, and many other animals.

Forest Canopies

As you look around and you may see that the plants grow in layers. The forest canopy is high above your head. It is made up of leafy crowns of the tallest trees. The canopy can be anywhere from 25 to 250 feet high depending on the kinds of trees in the forest and their ages.

The Understory

The understory is below the canopy. It is made up of young trees that will grow taller and types of trees that normally do not grow very high. Usually part of the understory is the canopy of the future. As the canopy trees die or are cut down, the young trees of the understory will replace them.

Beneath The Understory

Plant life grows beneath the understory. In some forests especially dense forests, there may be so little light that no plants can grow. In more open forests, plant life may be so abundant that it is hard to walk through.

Keeping the Forest Healthy

"Not allowing enough sunlight to find its way to the understory and the plant life that is beneath it, is unhealthy for the trees, plants and wildlife that lives within your forest. Large trees that are the tallest of the canopy choke out sunlight, water and nutrients for the ecosystem that live underneath it." Blauvelt pointed out.

Logging Companies like Northland that follow sustainable harvesting practices provide knowledgeable information for landowners on how to sustainably harvest their woodland in order to allow proper sunlight, water and nutrients to reach the forest floor.

By removing portions of the upper canopy through selectively harvesting, the understory will begin to flourish and allow smaller trees, plants and animals to thrive along with it.

Blauvelt went on to illustrate this with his story about raindrops, "Landowners Failing to maintain their forest, will notice that raindrops from even a moderate rain shower may not reach the soil. They are caught in the umbrella of the canopy.

"Only a few drops from a light shower may soak into the rotting leaves that carpet the ground and go no further in a woodland that is overgrown and needs forest management.

"In a properly managed woodland, many raindrops drip gently to the understory and then seep through to the layer of leaves and organic debris on the ground to naturally decompose and fertilize the forest floor."

Northland Timber & Logging is a michigan logging company that provides select cutting that is designed around the ideas and goals of the landowner while taking into consideration the health of the overall forest.