Forest Health Walk, Stop 3

Plant Diversity

We will now look at the importance of plant diversity to a forest’s health.

Take a look at the plants around you.  If it is summertime, you can see the trees and shrubs have leaves with different shapes. In winter, note the different bark patterns on trees.

These differences indicate that the plants are different species. For example, in front of you is a towering black oak tree. To your right is a red maple tree.

A forest with numerous plants of many different species is considered to be a diverse forest. A diverse forest provides high-quality habitat for wildlife, because it offers many types of food in the forms of seeds, berries, flowers, and foliage. 

Most caterpillar species eat the foliage of only a small number of plant species. Therefore, a forest needs many types of plants in order to support numerous species of caterpillars. Birds and other animals rely on caterpillars as their food, especially to feed their young. So, more caterpillars in a forest also means more birds and other critters.

A forest with plant diversity is also more resilient to threats like pest outbreaks. Most pests attack a small number of species. If a forest has only one or two species of trees, it could be wiped out by a pest infestation. A diverse forest that has additional species that the pest doesn’t attack will still have healthy, unaffected plants after an outbreak. 

Plant diversity will also lessen the effects of climate change on a forest, because some tree species will tolerate warming temperatures better than others. Overall, diversity increases resilience to change over time.

Continue along the yellow trail, staying straight, to Stop 4.