[seadan83]

"save the trees" is probably better re-labelled as "save the old growth trees". Would you agree?

Would you consider tree farms as ecologically sound? (I'll note those are intentionally over-planted, homogeneous, and burn like crazy)

Which key facts caused you to change your mind?

[greenie_beans]

> "save the trees" is probably better re-labelled as "save the old growth trees". Would you agree?

yes, we should most certainly protect old growth stands. they are very rare in the forests that i'm familiar with in the US east, and maintaining that ecology overrides any economic benefit gained from cutting the trees, imo. i'm in no way advocating for cutting down old growth stands, my comment was more in response to how we manage the forests that came after we cut the old growth.

> Would you consider tree farms as ecologically sound? (I'll note those are intentionally over-planted, homogeneous, and burn like crazy)

this depends on how the forest is managed. monocultures are bad and diversity is good (though a lot of stands have predominant species, naturally), forests need disturbances (whether through thinning or fire or naturally), etc. but a diverse forest can still be in rough shape. i'm getting at the edge of my knowledge fwiw.

> Which key facts caused you to change your mind?

i bought forest land and learned as much as i could about forest management, so there is too much information to list. i can share books if you're genuinely curious.

[seadan83]

A sincere and big thank you for the response! The extra context and nuance are really useful to have.

My reading list is already kinda long, I think that spares you from having to dig out any references :)

My curiosity is perhaps most of what would interest a thru-hiker. I always want to learn more about how forests work, things like "bears would live here" - "these types of edible plants would grow here". If there are any books along those lines that jump to your mind - I would be very interested to add those to my reading list.

Thank you again for your responses!

[greenie_beans]

it depends on where you hike? "southeast medicinal plants" by coreypine shane would give you a lot of applicable information for the entire AT. i read "bear attacks" by stephen herrero last year before a backcountry trip in glacier national park and the information made me feel a lot more comfortable.

[seadan83]

Thank you for the info. I'm picking up "bear attacks" now :)

I'm in/around the Pac Northwest