Sustainable Logging And The Benefits It Can Offer
The business of logging can, on the surface, appear to be an industry of destruction, but sustainable logging provides some benefits to the land and its customers. When logging is managed correctly, the industry can help reduce overcrowding and encourage the growth of trees in some areas.
Responsible Logging
There was a time when logging companies were known for cutting offer hundreds of acres of land and leaving nothing but a barren landscape behind. This is no longer the practice of responsible logging companies, and in fact, most companies believe it is detrimental to log an area that way.
The logging industry has become one of the biggest industries to replant trees after cutting an area. New logging methods involve selective logging that no longer removes all the trees from a site.
Selective Logging
When a logging company moves onto a new tract of land, they will take the time to look at the trees there and determine what can be used and how to cut these trees best while leaving others undamaged. The idea to remove trees that are older and more likely to become damaged or unhealthy in a few years, but leave the healthy trees growing to be used later.
When this selective logging method is used right and new trees are planted to remove the old, the forest can thrive and still provide the wood needed for lumber and other products we use daily. In some cases, tracts of land with woodlands that are too dense can suffer from a lack of sunlight getting to plants on the ground, so gutting out the trees that are blocking the sun can make the land healthier and help vegetation thrive.
Replanting Lands
Replanting trees on lands that logging crews cut off is a significant part of the logging industries these days. Once an area is cut and cleaned up, the logging company or a contractor working for them will replant trees in the area and in amounts that will help the land thrive.
Often these trees are planted by dropping them from a helicopter in a grid pattern that will allow each tree the space it needs to establish itself, growing tall and strong. The logging company may plant the area with the intention of cutting some of the trees in the future. Still, once the new trees are ready, they can use selective cutting and replanting to keep the forest healthy and allow the demand for wood to be met for generations to come.
Some sustainable land tracts used by smaller logging operations provide wood for industries like cabinet making and have already provided wood for several generations. When appropriately managed, logging can provide resources and benefit the forests for years to come.
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