A hiker called attention to a common forestry practice taking over trails in Maine that left residents a little stumped.
In a write-up for Bangor Daily News, Aislinn Sarnacki noted the baffling number of trees that were sawed off a few feet above the ground during a hike around the Wildlands in Orland, Maine. Some residents in the area were unhappy with the appearance of the tree stumps.
"Downright dangerous!" one commenter said. "You could put an eye out with one of those!"
"Why don't they just leave the woods alone?" another wrote. "The woods don't need human intervention, trees have survived longer than we have."
The forestry method that caused the backlash is called high-stumping, which aims to rid areas of "diseased canker-filled beech trees." According to Landon Fake, the land trust's executive director, the forestry method is necessary.
Fake said the tree stumps will continue to send nutrients up tree trunks, but the tree dies without sending sprouts everywhere and allows other species to grow.
Beech trees produce a nut crop that many species rely on, per Bangor Daily News. However, beech bark disease is a threat to nut production. Now, foresters are trying to stop food loss and promote forest biodiversity with white oak and American chestnut trees.
"All in all, it's been the biggest challenge I've ever had to face as a forester," Wildlands Forester Roger Greene told the publication.
Biodiversity helps maintain functioning ecosystems, which promotes a healthy economy, according to the World Health Organization. However, the WHO reported that about 1 million species are at risk of extinction due to increasing biodiversity loss.
According to the UN Environment Programme, the planet's biodiversity depends on the world's forests. Forests cover nearly one third of the global land area and contain about 60,000 different tree species. Safeguarding forests is essential for a sustainable future.
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