Huh, I had noticed much the opposite. Second growth forests that have been left untouched for 20 or more years are complete snarls. Young trees are more likely

Huh, I had noticed much the opposite. Second growth forests that have been left untouched for 20 or more years are complete snarls. Young trees are more likely to fall down in a storm, and the open canopy lets in enough sun that you get all kinds of dense undergrowth amid the fallen trees. But the PNW old growth forests have such a dark tree canopy that not much other than moss and ferns grow below. The 1000+ year old trees rarely fall down, so you don't have as much fallen logs, either. It's a pretty incredible experience to walk through a mossy forest of giants like that.