Quote:
Originally Posted by blender
I understand it, but my point is that the trees being planted are not harvestable for timber. Good timber trees take a century to grow in Canada's climate. They are not a substitute for old-growth timber. Old-growth timber is a non-renewable resource
From 1999 to 2007 I planted a million of those seedlings. I also brushed, spaced, pruned and fertilized a bunch of them, and let me tell you, a ten-year old replanted tree is a sorry-ass Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Mortality is high as well. I don't know the numbers but a healthy portion of those Billion trees are not alive today.
I also planted a hundred thousand or so in Australia. There's a place to grow trees for harvest! A Eucalyptus tree can be 30m tall in 20 years. I drove through pine plantations there and also in South Africa that were impressive. But here, it just isn't possible to create timber trees on a timeline that is economical.
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Something like a white pine can grow 50cm a year. Timbre companies replant with plans to harvest in 40 or so years, from what I recall. Done properly, it can be a sustainable industry on long scale harvest cycles.