The remaining 1 percent is all we have left. What is known is that old trees, even dead ones, nurture life in thousands of forms. When the dead trees topple, young plants spring to life in the sunny spaces they open. Bacteria, lichens and mosses attack the fallen logs. The decaying wood returns nutrients to the soil.
Termites eat away at the rot.
Woodpeckers and black bears feed on the termites. Raccoons den in old hollow trees. The high forest canopy protects cool, clean watersheds. Threatened northern flying squirrels prefer the western mountains' old-growth fir and spruce forests. The U.S. Forest Service is taking note of the complexity and importance of old growth.