Quote from: Dune on August 05, 2018, 01:48:06 AM
They do here, or did I misunderstand you?
FYI, that's a logging forest (there's no natural groving). It's planted to be clear cut. With trees as close as possible. They only care about the trunk. In a natural setting you may see two coming from the same spot growing side by side from a double embryonic seed, but it's rare two seeds would germinate so close considering the rate of germination and sun required.
It's like the Black Forest scenes in WWII movies, not the same Black Forest. Been clear cut and reseeded.
In a natural forest there would be other trees filling gaps (especially new growth deciduous), as no single species would win out in a natural setting. Not even in the Red Wood forest.
The branches should be dying more from just canopy density. Here's a old new growth (forest was deforested in turn of the century and replanted for logging) shot from around the 1940s in the Black Forest, these Pines have lower branches except the insides facing each other. They're just a lot hardier branches.
I'm not positive but the forest services may actually cut snag branches off so they can navigate with logging equipment and survey when the forest is ready easily like they do keeping brush vegetation out.
Update: I asked my uncle about the snag branches who is in the forest service and he confirms they do cut low hanging branches, he also noted that managed logging forests won't have deciduous trees and brush, which are the new-growth protectors from wind and storms for slow growing old growth forests.