Small, isolated woodlots are more costly to manage for harvest than larger forests. Forest loss, and the increased fragmentation of what's left, is a trend expected to continue. That growth will require 1.7 million new homes, which will consume another 636,000 acres of agricultural and forest land, even as more timber will be needed to build the houses. The Bay Program has a goal of planting 2,010 miles of streamside forests by 2010. Keeping larger, intact woodlands is important, he said, because they protect large areas of open land where falling rain recharges the groundwater.
Headwater forests protect the water quality of streams which supply drinking water.
As forests are replaced, the amount of nutrients will gradually rise. Fragmentation can begin in ways that hardly seem noticeable. Any dogs and cats running wild around the cabin add to the problem for local wildlife. If you start looking in the mountains, or anywhere near the water, you find the second home comes into play. It is the same impact as urban sprawl, even though it may not be in an urban area.