12 things I learned in Bialowieza, Europe's most ancient forest

....and why we all need more wild bison in our lives

Aug 27, 2024

For some years I’ve wanted to experience what a truly old and wild forest looks, sounds and actually feels like. Bialowieza is the best example of a truly primeval old-growth forest in Europe, where you can witness - as we did - the truly awe inspiring site of a herd of wild bison grazing peacefully and then stampeding into the pre-dawn forest…..

A wild bison slowly walking away, probably unimpressed, definitely awesome (photo: me, of course)

Bialowieza is a wonderful place to experience, but also unexpected in so many ways. This is a big read, much longer than I normally write. But then ancient trees take a while to do things, so I hope this may be also worth the time…

Why old forests are so essential

Most of us appreciate the woods and forests around us, but the vast majority we walk through are commercially forested or managed. This management generally follows methods first developed in 19^th century Germany, where forests were viewed as a living machine.

For the past one hundred and fifty years, the overriding objective of forestry has been to reduce the random variables, grow monoculture plantations, and to maximise output. In the short term, this has supplied a plentiful, predictable and affordable supply of timber; in the long term, the true ecological impact of this approach becomes clear - disease, biodiversity collapse, fire risk, and production short falls. 1

In general, managed forests seem to function effectively for one or two generations of trees, but then productivity starts to wain and problems mount. Despite what the label on your printer paper says, it is extraordinarily hard to create a truly sustainable commercial forest, and the vast majority are nowhere near that.

Old growth forests are a rarity in Europe, making up only 3 per cent of all forested land2, yet they are unrivalled for their capacity to sustain biodiversity, and also to absorb atmospheric carbon. Unmanaged forests with multiple tree species have been shown to absorb up to 70 per cent more carbon than monoculture forests3. As unmanaged - or re-wilded - forests get older, underground mycelial, or funghi, networks slowly grow denser, enriching further the entire forest, and enabling even more carbon to be absorbed.

Bialowieza Strict Preserve (Photo: me again)

We (actually don’t) have the technology

We have absolutely no technologies that can in any way rival the carbon absorption capacity of old growth forests – and in reality, we almost certainly never will have. A recent report on carbon removal calculated that reforestation (mostly managed, not old growth) projects absorbed around 2 billion tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere in 2023, whereas carbon removal technologies, such as direct air capture (DAC), managed 40,000 tonnes ,and enhanced rock weathering managed 30,000 tonnes4, so entirely insignificant in planetary terms (even those numbers are questionable, to put it mildly – I’ll be looking deeper into the magical realist world of carbon removal technologies very soon).

In short, if we are ever to get out of this terrible planetary mess of ours, then massive world wide regeneration of truly old growth forests - and at a scale almost unimaginable to us now (but as it turns out, well understood by many older human cultures5) - will be an absolutely essential part of it.

And as the term “old growth” suggests, it’s going to be a very, very long term project. We’ll need to stop thinking in TikTok time, and start thinking in tree time.

The mighty Bialowieza

Bialowieza is unique, in its size, its age and its biodiversity. This is most visible in its population of large wild mammals, which in Europe have of course been almost entirely replaced by one moderately large mammal - us , and of course our livestock.

In Bialowieza there are small but thriving populations of wolves, lynx, and on the Belorussian side, even bears. And of course, a lot of Bison. (Well, actually not a huge number at all - about 900 on the Polish side, but, as they are enormous, there seem to be so much more of them).

Watching (unsuccessfully) for bison and other beasts on the meadows at the edge of the forest (Photo: me)

But the biodiversity is present in all forms of life, and many of its trees are centuries old.

In Bialowieza there is a wider preserved area, some of it with small villages, farms, and old meadows, and then a core “strict preserve”, where you can only enter with a guide, and follow a prescribed route around a small section, to leave the rest of the forest in well deserved peace. We went on a walk with our excellent guide Joao. Later we spent some time walking in other parts of the forest, and also tracking bison, listening for wolves and other beasts.

Here are 12 things I learned in Bialowieza:

1) An old growth forest is not as dense as you might think

I was assuming on old growth forest would be dark and thick with undergrowth, but it was actually the opposite; there are often large openings where old trees have fallen down, and much of the forest has a largely clear floor. Other areas are lightly covered, as ground vegetation finds itself in a highly competitive environment for light, water, and nutrients, and is of course easy pickings for hungy mammals and other life.

Most of the trees - for all species - have very few branches until the canopy, which starts at around 40 metres, leaving more space and light.

Gaps in the canopy let the light flood in (Photo: me)

2) 40 per cent of the forest is actually dead

After the lightness, the next thing you notice is that dead trees are everywhere, some upright, some down, in various states of decomposition – or maybe recomposition, as many are teaming with new life growing out of them. Dead biomass is absolutely essential to the eco-system of a forest; for flourishing biodiversity and for eco-system resilience. When you take wood and other matter out of the forest, which is of course the point of a commercial forest, you massively compromise its capacities to renew – that’s why a managed commercial forest can never be truly sustainable.

In Bialowieza, nothing’s ever really dead (Photo:me)

3) The forest has its own cooler and moister micro-climate

This is an affect you have probably noticed in other forests, but it’s far more noticeable here. Temperatures are several degrees cooler than on open ground, and on a hot, day sunny day, altogether more pleasant. Old growth forest are water traps; they draw moisture in and ensure pools, streams and bogs keep their moisture even in the hottest weather.

4) That means old growth forests have very little risk of suffering major wild fire

This is a really critical point; because of the retained moisture in the soil and the vegetation, the spatial distribution of different tree species - and the lack of human activity in and around it, fire is actually not a huge concern, at least in the protected zone of Bialowieza.

To be clear, fire does happen here too sometimes; it’s an integral part of the natural cycle in temperate forests. But these fires tend to be contained to specific patches of trees, and also shortlived, allowing new clusters of species to grow.

As global temperatures rise, the tree and other species will most likely change, but as long as the natural water systems around Bialowieza remain (and that’s a big if…), the moisture in the forest will be retained – and any fires will be contained.

5) Bialowieza only exists because Animists lived there

The humans in and around Bialowieza were mostly Animist right up until the 15^th century. Like other Animist cultures, and notably many indigenous cultures today, people in Bialowieza venerated the spiritual and supernatural energies of all life in the forest, rather than any disembodied god. The forest was sacred, and these people saw themselves as an integral and equal part of that sacred ecosystem.

It was this Animist culture that remained long after Christian kingdoms conquered the areas surrounding it, and it was this culture that protected the forest from christianity - and from commercialism. Eventually, however, the forest was siezed by a powerful Polish-Lithuanian monarch in the 15^th Century, who then decreed it a royal hunting ground. Many of the forest’s ewe trees were felled and shipped to England to supply their famed long bow men.

Even today you can see rings of centuries old sacred oaks – where ancient rituals to the forest were held.

6) Is there actually a line between wild and non-wild?

The bison in Bialowieza are truly magnificent, but although they were first worshipped, and then protected from the 15^th century, they were eventually wiped out in the First World War by (presumably starving) German troops.

Non-indigenous Bison from herds further east in Russia and the Steppe were re-introduced slowly in the 20th century, and their progress has been monitored and managed ever since. While they are generally left alone, supplementary hay is left for them in winter.

A bison at the village gates…..or fence. (photo:me)

And leaving a forest alone takes a lot of work - it really isn’t easy to do. In the strict preserve and elsewhere along designated pathways evidence of cut trees was all around – mostly for safety reasons. There is constant pressure on the woods and lands of the park, and the surrounding bio-systems have also to be strictly monitored and protected to ensure those in the reserve remain intact.

Successful old growth forests are actually a delicate and respectful dance between humans and the more-than-human world.

We have the assumption and aspiration that we should leave things to nature – but actually we can’t, we are always to some degree inescapably involved. And its time we embraced that.

Viewing infrastructure in the meadows surronding the forest at sunset (Photo:me)

7) Bialowieza has a huge amount of variation in trees and vegetation

Of course I was expecting many different species of trees, plants, fungi – and we definitely found those. But it was striking how different areas of the forest had very different concentrations of species – and changed the overall form and shape of the forest. There are clusters of craggy hornbeam oaks in one area, and then they fall away to areas of spindly spruce. Some areas were dry, yet other patches were clearly marshlike. From one step to the next it felt like experiencing a different aspect of an all-encompassing multi-dimensional being.

Bialowiesa is a great place for fungi, like these Dead Man's Fingers (Photos: Me)

8) The forest is surprisingly quiet

I was expecting a cacophony of noise, like the Amazon forest, but it was largely quiet; occasional bird calls - we saw one owl swooping past us, the odd woodpecker. There are many rare bird species in Bialowieza, but they keep a low profile. Most of the mammals are generally nocturnal, finding the summer heat bothersome. Overall it’s a peaceful place.

9) Every human needs really big beasts around them

Watching a bison lumber up in the gloomy pre-dawn light is a truly awesome sight. They stay in the forest most of the day to keep cool, but come out to surrounding meadows for a pre-dawn feed and sleep.

Bison herd… pre (mini) stampede (Photo: me)

With night vision glasses we were lucky enough to see a herd on the edge of the forest – who let us come close before stampeding away. Seeing such enormous powerful – but essentially peaceful - creatures, is wonderful to behold. We saw plenty of dear - and a racoon dog (no racoons yet, Joao, our guide said, but they’re on their way). A couple of times we heard the piercing howl of a wolf cracking the dawn sky.

There’s a raccoon dog in there somewhere. Obviously. (Photo:me)

In most psychology research, awe in nature is an absolutely essential element of our wellbeing6 (I imagine the animists arrived at a similar conclusion some centuries earlier - but with far smaller research budgets). We have lost so much of that, and it is very much our loss.

There is something deeply grounding about having animals around that are far bigger and more powerful than you are - it’s high time we were cut down to size.

Bison are certainly inconvenient to have around for the locals – they are no respecters of crops or flower beds – but they could live in many opne and sparsely populated areas in Europe, and they really should.

10) Bialowieza might be a wilderness, but it also at the mercy of all-too-human geopolitics

Being a protected forest doesn’t protect the forest from being on a geopolitical faultline – it’s immediately apparent that Bialowieza Forest is a heavily militarised zone, army and border guards are everywhere. That is because it has become a route for refugees crossing over from Belarus – into Poland and the promised land of Schengen.

Because of this, and the political situation inside Belarus, as well as the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, there is now a fence across the protected zone to stop refugees. This barrier, inevitably, exacts a huge human cost, and of course it also massively disrupts the forest ecosystem. The fence was apparently built with small animal holes for when the situation improves, but currently they are all blocked up.

If we are to reimagine large expanses of forests, then we’ll need to reassess our tendencies to border off territory; if we are to have surviving – and maybe even thriving - ecosystems and human communities, then we’ll need to keep all migration routes open for all beings.

11) Reaching “old growth” only takes 150 years

Considering the density and complexity of the forest ecosystem, 150 years is an incredibly short time to see the full diversity of a wild forest emerge. To be sure, would be an immense investment of our time and land.

But can you think of anything better to do with our time? And isn’t it time we didn’t just rush things for once?

12) What do forests actually want, and shouldn’t we want the same?

What’s the ultimate goal of the forest? Of course it’s an absurd question, the forest just is. But what are we aiming for if we nurture an old-growth forest?

That’s actually quite straightforward: maximum diversity and ecological complexity. The more different species and types, the better to build resilience, and hopefully to reach a state of ecological “homeostasis”, that is where the forest itself becomes a self-sustaining self-regulating “holobiont”, a thriving superorganism.

And what could be a better, more inspiring goal than that that?

Old growth forests - the ultimate climate technology

Old growth forests are for much of the planet, its true “natural” state. Sadly, humans, especially those in Europe, have been fighting against that natural state for probably the last 7,000 years. Much of Europe was already 30 per cent deforested 3,500 years ago by neolithic farmers. We’ve been at it ever since.

As we all know, we are witnessing an unprecented bio-diversity collapse; restoring rich and diverse eco-systems, like this forest, is of course the only way we have to reverse that.

For the pressing matter of addressing atmospheric carbon, the role of forests is currently contested.

In what are called the voluntary carbon markets, where carbon credits and offsets are traded, the view on forests is generally ambivalent. On the one hand, they see the certifiable – and thereby marketable - value of trees as carbon stores. Trees in this context offer valuable “eco-system services”. And indeed, this forms a huge part, if not the overhwelming majority, of carbon markets.

But the carbon markets and climate tech industry are also dismissive; growing trees is far too slow, it takes too much land, and it doesn’t “sequester” carbon fully – that is guarantee the carbon is stored underground for hundreds of thousands of years.

All of that is absolutely true; the carbon in a forest is still part of the natural cycle, in any forest some of that carbon (and also far more impactful methane) will re-enter the atmosphere as dead tress decompose – or more catastrophically, through wildfire.

And of course that’s for managed reforestation schemes; growing natural old growth forests is not usually an option, the timescales required simply don’t compute in carbon markets.

Eco-system services? Wouldn’t things work a lot better if we just got with the programme and served our eco-systems?

Sooner or later – hopefully sooner - we’ll just have to come to terms with the stark fact we have no technological way of “removing” carbon from the air.

None.

Really. None.

The best thing we can possibly do is create conditions where as much carbon dioxide as possible is to some degree managed by natural cycles – in forests and other eco-systems.

And any way, even if there was an option for mechanical carbon removal (in case you missed it, there isn’t) – what would you prefer us all to do? Would you want us to build literally tens of thousands of vast concrete and steel industrial plants sucking carbon out of the sky?

Or would you want to grow immensely vast stretches of deep, rich forest, further than you could ever see, bursting with life from every trunk, log, and ditch?

When getting to grips with the climate crisis, for many people, degrowth is the only way they can see to meaningfully address it. I can relate to that.

But degrowth puts off many people, at least partially because by getting rid of growth – well, what do we have instead? Actually, I can relate to that too.

Well in place of degrowth, why can’t we have regrowth? If we absolutely have to measure success, instead of gross domestic product, maybe we can instead obsess over our numbers of wild bison? And wolves? And fungi varieties?

As the Bialowieza Animists worked out, forests are actually what all life’s all about…and really ought to be what ours are all about too.

I hope you liked my holiday report; there are an awful lot of good reasons, it turns out, not to go south these days.

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