Out with OLD growth, in with ecological continNEWity: new perspectives on forest conservation

Forest managers have a responsibility to identify and conserve ecologically exceptional forest stands. In North America, priority areas of old‐growth forest are often identified based primarily on the age of trees within the stand. However, delineating forests with high conservation value based solely on tree age is an oversimplification. Therefore, we propose a different view – that of forest continuity, a view that is more prevalent in Europe. We contend that forests that have been continuously wooded over time, whether old‐growth trees are present or not, have higher conservation value than areas that have old trees but that may not always have been forested. Identifying forests with high continuity requires a different index than tree age. We argue that the relative richness and abundance of lichens can be effective indicators of forest continuity, discuss how forest managers might operationalize this system, and explain why it might be a more ecologically relevant indicator of priority forest areas.