Yeah I was surprised to learn as well that a lot of trees grown for lumber only live for 15-30 years depending on the species. At some point it just won’t grow as fast anymore and it’s better to cut it down and replace it with a new tree that can grow fast again. Some might take longer, but that increases the price a lot, so the demand for those is shorter.
The average lifespan of trees is also relatively short in relation to their maximum age. A tree takes up a lot of room, not just in terms of size, but also in terms of access to the sunlight and nutrients. So the big trees we see are the survivors, for each of those probably at least 100 smaller trees didn’t make it. Trees can also easily die due to disease, infestations or other mishaps. Some trees like elm could live a very long life, but depending on the region usually don’t make it past 100 because the chance they get a disease or fungus that kills them within that time.
Yeah I was surprised to learn as well that a lot of trees grown for lumber only live for 15-30 years depending on the species. At some point it just won’t grow as fast anymore and it’s better to cut it down and replace it with a new tree that can grow fast again. Some might take longer, but that increases the price a lot, so the demand for those is shorter.
The average lifespan of trees is also relatively short in relation to their maximum age. A tree takes up a lot of room, not just in terms of size, but also in terms of access to the sunlight and nutrients. So the big trees we see are the survivors, for each of those probably at least 100 smaller trees didn’t make it. Trees can also easily die due to disease, infestations or other mishaps. Some trees like elm could live a very long life, but depending on the region usually don’t make it past 100 because the chance they get a disease or fungus that kills them within that time.
My favorite clip about old-growth forests explains how there are trees of all ages in a proper forest.
Very sad we don’t have many of those any more :(