What are Old Growth Forests?

Old Growth Forests are rare ecosystems that have unique characteristics due to their advanced age. The ancient trees in these forests have a distinct bark structure and large winding limbs due to undergoing over a century of windstorms. With moss growing on tree roots and native understory plants, these habitats support a large variety of organisms, from mammals to fungi. Even dead trees play a crucial role in the health and wellness of this environment by providing homes to native animals and nutrients to the soil. Rhode Island’s forests start exhibiting old growth characteristics around 100 years old and continue developing more of these characteristics as they age.

Why are Old Growth Forests important?

These undisturbed natural forests have an immense variety of native plant and animal species, store more carbon than other forests, are more resistant to wildfire, prevent flooding, and have a rich underground mycorrhizal network, which protects the forest. Old Growth Trees are more resilient to weather disturbances and insect infestations, and they keep out invasive plant species. They also soak up more water and keep the soil compacted, protecting water quality and preventing erosion.

What is the history of Old Growth Forests in Rhode Island?

400 years ago, up to 90% of Rhode Island’s landscape was dominated by Old Growth forests. These forests, containing a wide variety of plant and animal species, contained massive ancient trees that today would seem alien to us. This paradise was destroyed following European settlement when over 99% of these primeval forests were clearcut for agriculture and commercial logging.

Around the mid-1800’s, abandoned farm fields allowed for our native forests to grow back, creating our “Second Growth Forests.” Some of these new forests, which currently have remained unlogged for 100+ years, started to develop old growth characteristics, including massive ancient trees and a wide variety of plant and animal species. These emerging Old Growth Forests have the potential to become primary Old Growth Forests like Rhode Island’s landscape before European settlement. This will only happen if we leave some of our forests alone.

Where are Rhode Island’s Old Growth Forests?

As of 2025, most of Rhode Island’s forests have not been mapped for old growth. Our Old Growth Forests tend to be small in size and in hard to reach areas like gorges, swamps, and the edges of rivers and streams. Old Growth Forests that we do know exist in Rhode Island include the Oakland Forest and Lawton Valley Forest, both in Portsmouth. Known pockets of Old Growth Forest can also be found in Warwick, Cranston, North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Johnston, East Greenwich, West Greenwich, and Tiverton. There are likely many more in other unmapped areas of Rhode Island. One of the aims of the Old Growth Forest Protection Act is to create a comprehensive statewide map of all Old Growth Forests in the state.

What’s threatening our Old Growth Forests?

One of the greatest threats to Rhode Island’s Old Growth Forests is destructive logging, also called “active forest management.” This not to be confused with “passive forest management,” which promotes minimal human interference. Active forest management currently uses archaic logging practices such as indiscriminate clearcutting, which removes most or all trees in a forest, resulting in damage to the ecosystem. Other threats include solar development, land development, and road construction.

While climate change is a real global threat, studies have found that Old Growth Forests are less susceptible to the negative impacts and effects of global temperature rise compared to younger forests. The same is true for tree diseases due to the protection of mycorrhizal networks in the undisturbed soils of Old Growth Forests.