Jump to content

Reforestation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A forest, six years after reforestation efforts inPanama.
Reforestation in progress: Direct-sowing of seed in a burned area (after awildfire) in theIdaho Panhandle National Forest,United States.

Reforestationis the practice of restoring previously existingforestsandwoodlandsthat have been destroyed or damaged. The prior forest destruction might have happened throughdeforestation,clearcuttingorwildfires.Three important purposes of reforestation programs are forharvesting of wood,forclimate change mitigation,and forecosystemandhabitatrestoration purposes. One method of reforestation is to establishtree plantations,also called plantation forests. They cover about 131 million ha worldwide, which is 3% of the global forest area and 45% of the total area of planted forests.[1]

Globally, planted forests increased from 4.1% to 7.0% of the total forest area between 1990 and 2015.[2]Plantation forests made up 280 million ha (hectare) in 2015, an increase of about 40 million ha in the previous ten years.[3]Of the planted forests worldwide, 18% of that area consists of exotic or introduced species while the rest consist of species native to the country where they are planted.[4]

There are limitations and challenges with reforestation projects, especially if they are in the form of tree plantations. Firstly, there can be competition with other land uses and displacement risk. Secondly, tree plantations are oftenmonocultureswhich comes with a set of disadvantages, for examplebiodiversity loss.Lastly, there is also the problem thatstored carbonis released at some point.

The effects of reforestation will be farther in the future than those ofproforestation(the conservation of intact forests).[5]Instead of planting entirely new areas, it might be better to reconnect forested areas and restore the edges of forest. This protects their mature core and makes them more resilient and longer-lasting.[6]It takes much longer − several decades − for thecarbon sequestrationbenefits of reforestation to become similar to those from mature trees intropical forests.Therefore, reducing deforestation is usually more beneficial for climate change mitigation than is reforestation.[7]

Many countries carry out reforestation programs. For example, in China, theThree Northern Protected Forest Development Program– informally known as the "Great Green Wall"– was launched in 1978 and scheduled to last until 2050. It aims to eventually plant nearly 90 million acres of new forest in a 2,800-mile stretch of northern China.[8]Such programs often blur the boundaries betweenreforestationandafforestation(the latter being the establishment of a forest in an area where there was no forest before).

Definition

[edit]

Reforestation according to theIPCCmeans the "conversion to forest of land that has previously contained forests but that has been converted to some other use".[9]: 1812 

According toFAOterminology, reforestation is defined as the re-establishment of forest through planting and/or deliberate seeding on land classified as forest.

Afforestationon the other hand means establishing new forest on lands that were not forest before (for example, abandoned agriculture).[10]It is the process of restoring and recreating areas ofwoodlandsorforeststhat may have existed long ago but weredeforestedor otherwise removed at some point in the past or lacked it naturally (for example, naturalgrasslands).

Purposes

[edit]

Harvesting of wood

[edit]

Reforestation is not only used for recovery of accidentally destroyed forests. In some countries, such asFinland,many of the forests aremanagedby the wood products andpulp and paper industry.In such an arrangement, like other crops, trees are planted to replace those that have been cut. The Finnish Forest Act from 1996 obliges the forest to be replanted afterfelling.[11]In such circumstances, the industry can cut the trees in a way to allow easier reforestation.

Reforestation, if severalindigenous speciesare used, can provide other benefits in addition to financial returns, includingrestoration of the soil,rejuvenation of local flora and fauna, and the capturing and sequestering of 38tonsofcarbon dioxideperhectareper year.[12]

Climate change mitigation

[edit]

There are four primary ways in which reforestation and reducingdeforestationcan increasecarbon sequestrationand thus help with climate change mitigation. First, by increasing the volume of existing forest. Second, by increasing the carbon density of existing forests at a stand and landscape scale.[13]Third, by expanding the use of forest products that will sustainably replace fossil-fuel emissions. Fourth, by reducing carbon emissions that are caused from deforestation and degradation.[14]

Proportion of carbon stock in forest carbon pools, 2020[15]

Forests are an important part of theglobal carbon cyclebecause trees and plants absorbcarbon dioxidethroughphotosynthesis.Therefore, they play an important role inclimate change mitigation.[16]: 37 By removing thegreenhouse gascarbon dioxide from the air, forests function as terrestrialcarbon sinks,meaning they store large amounts of carbon in the form of biomass, encompassing roots, stems, branches, and leaves. Throughout their lifespan, trees continue to sequester carbon, storing atmospheric CO2long-term.[17]Sustainable forest management,afforestation,reforestation are therefore important contributions to climate change mitigation.

An important consideration in such efforts is that forests can turn from sinks to carbon sources.[18][19][20]In 2019 forests took up a third less carbon than they did in the 1990s, due to higher temperatures,droughtsanddeforestation.The typical tropical forest may become a carbon source by the 2060s.[21]

Researchers have found that, in terms of environmental services, it is better to avoid deforestation than to allow for deforestation to subsequently reforest, as the former leads to irreversible effects in terms ofbiodiversity lossandsoil degradation.[22]Furthermore, the probability that legacy carbon will be released from soil is higher in younger boreal forest.[23]Global greenhouse gas emissions caused by damage to tropical rainforests may have been substantially underestimated until around 2019.[24]Additionally, the effects of afforestation and reforestation will be farther in the future than keeping existing forests intact.[25]It takes much longer − several decades − for the benefits for global warming to manifest to the same carbon sequestration benefits from mature trees in tropical forests and hence from limiting deforestation.[26]Therefore, scientists consider "the protection and recovery of carbon-rich and long-lived ecosystems, especially natural forests" to be "the major climatesolution".[27]

The planting of trees on marginal crop andpasturelands helps to incorporate carbon from atmosphericCO
2
intobiomass.[28][29]For this carbon sequestration process to succeed the carbon must not return to the atmosphere from biomass burning or rotting when the trees die.[30]To this end, land allotted to the trees must not be converted to other uses. Alternatively, the wood from them must itself be sequestered, e.g., viabiochar,bioenergy with carbon capture and storage,landfill or stored by use in construction.

Ecosystem restoration

[edit]
Site for forest restoration after degradation
land under deforestation and ready for restoration

Plantation forests are intensively managed, composed of one or two species, even-aged, planted with regular spacing, and established mainly for productive purposes. Other planted forests, which comprise 55 percent of all planted forests, are not intensively managed, and they may resemble natural forests at stand maturity. The purposes of other planted forests may includeecosystem restorationand the protection of soil and water values.[1]

Methods

[edit]

Forest plantations

[edit]

Plantation forests cover about 131 million ha, which is 3 percent of the global forest area and 45 percent of the total area of planted forests.[1]

Over 90% of the world's forests regenerate organically, and more than half are covered by forest management plans or equivalents.[31][32]

An image of a reforestation site in Praslin

Globally, planted forests increased from 4.1% to 7.0% of the total forest area between 1990 and 2015.[2]Plantation forests made up 280 million ha (hectare) in 2015, an increase of about 40 million ha in the previous ten years.[3]Of the planted forests worldwide, 18% of that planted area consists of exotic or introduced species while the rest consist of species native to the country where they are planted.[4]

Atree plantation, forest plantation,plantation forest, timber plantation or tree farm is a forest planted for high volume production of wood, usually by planting one type of tree as a monoculture forest. The termtree farmalso is used to refer totree nurseriesandChristmas tree farms.Plantation forestry can produce a high volume of wood in a short period of time. Plantations are grown by state forestry authorities (for example, theForestry Commissionin Britain) and/or the paper and wood industries and other private landowners (such asWeyerhaeuser,RayonierandSierra Pacific Industriesin the United States orAsia Pulp & Paperin Indonesia).Christmas treesare often grown on plantations, and in southern and southeastern Asia,teakplantations have recently replaced the natural forest. Industrial plantations are actively managed for the commercial production of forest products. Industrial plantations are usually large-scale. Individual blocks are usually even-aged and often consist of just one or two species. These species can be exotic or indigenous. The plants used for the plantation are often genetically altered for desired traits such as growth and resistance to pests and diseases in general and specific traits, for example in the case of timber species, volumic wood production and stem straightness.Forest genetic resourcesare the basis for genetic alteration. Selected individuals grown inseed orchardsare a good source for seeds to develop adequate planting material.

Wood production on a tree plantation is generally higher than that of natural forests. While forests managed for wood production commonly yield between 1 and 3 cubic meters per hectare per year, plantations of fast-growing species commonly yield between 20 and 30 cubic meters or more per hectare annually; aGrand Firplantation inScotlandhas a growth rate of 34 cubic meters per hectare per year,[33]andMonterey Pineplantations in southernAustraliacan yield up to 40 cubic meters per hectare per year.[34]In 2000, while plantations accounted for 5% of global forest, it is estimated that they supplied about 35% of the world's roundwood.[35]

Using existing trees and roots

[edit]

Planting new trees often leads to up to 90% of seedlings failing. However, even in deforested areas, existing root systems often exist. Growth can be accelerated bypruningandcoppicingwhere a few branches of new shoots are cut and often used for charcoal, itself a major driver of deforestation. Since new seeds are not planted, it is cheaper. Additionally, they are much more likely to survive as their root systems already exist and can tap into groundwater during harsher seasons with no rain.[36]While this method has existed for centuries, it is now sometimes referred to asfarmer-managed natural regeneration[37]orassisted natural regeneration.[38][39]

Financial incentives

[edit]

Policies that promote reforestation for incentives in return have shown promising results of being an effective and motivative concept to re-plant globally on a mass scale.[40]

Some incentives for reforestation can be as simple as a financial compensation. A compensated reduction of deforestation approach has been proposed which would reward developing countries that disrupt any further act of deforestation: Countries that participate and take the option to reduce their emissions from deforestation during a committed period of time would receive financial compensation for the carbon dioxide emissions that they avoided.[41]: 875 To raise the payments, the host country would issue government bonds or negotiate some kind of loan with a financial institution that would want to take part in the compensation promised to the other country. The funds received by the country could be invested to help find alternatives to the extensive cutdown of forests. This whole process of cutting emissions would be voluntary, but once the country has agreed to lower their emissions they would be obligated to reduce their emissions. However, if a country was not able to meet their obligation, their target would get added to their next commitment period. The authors of these proposals see this as a solely government-to-government agreement; private entities would not participate in the compensation trades.[41]: 876 

Another emerging revenue source to fund reforestation projects deals with the sale of carbon sequestration credits, which can be sold to companies and individuals looking to compensate their carbon footprint. This approach allows for private landowners and farmers to gain a revenue from the reforestation of their lands, while simultaneously benefiting from improved soil health and increased productivity.[42]

Alongside past financial incentive strategies, reforestation tax benefits have been another way the government has encouraged companies to promote reforestation tactics through the promises of a tax break.[43]

As many landholders seek to earn carbon credits through sequestration, their participation also encourages biodiversity and providesecosystem servicesfor crops and livestock.[44]

Challenges

[edit]

There is often insufficient integration between the different purposes of reforestation, namely economic utilization, enhancement of biodiversity and carbon sequestration.[45]This can lead to a range of different challenges.

Competition with other land uses and displacement risk

[edit]

Reforestation can compete with other land uses, such as food production, livestock grazing, and living space, for further economic growth.[46][47]Reforestation can also divert large amounts of water from other activities.[48]A map created by theWorld Resources Institutein collaboration with theIUCNidentifies 2 billion hectares for potential forest restoration and is criticized for including 900 million hectares of grasslands.[49][50]An assessment of the pledges of governments for reforestation found that the sum of global pledges translates to a required land area of 1.2bn hectares, until 2060, which is equal to a tenth of the global land area und thus deemed unrealistic without a significant encroachment on non-forest areas.[51]Experts are calling for a better integration of social data, such as the dependence of livelihoods on specific land uses, into restoration efforts.[52]Possible solutions include the integration of other land uses into forests throughagroforestry,such as growing coffee plants under trees, reducing the delineation between forests and other land uses.[51]

A study found that almost 300 million people live on tropical forest restoration opportunity land in theGlobal South,constituting a large share of low-income countries' populations, and argues for prioritized inclusion of "local communities" in forest restoration projects.[53][54][55]

There are calls for a more selective approach to identifying reforestation areas, taking into account the possible displacement of customary land uses.[56]

Biodiversity loss

[edit]

Reforesting sometimes results in extensive canopy creation that prevents growth of diverse vegetation in the shadowed areas and generating soil conditions that hamper other types of vegetation. Trees used in some reforesting efforts (for example,Eucalyptus globulus) tend to extract large amounts of moisture from the soil, preventing the growth of other plants. TheEuropean Commissionfound that, in terms of environmental services, it is better to avoiddeforestationthan to allow for deforestation to subsequently reforest, as the former leads to irreversible effects in terms ofbiodiversity lossandsoil degradation.[57]

The effects reforestation has on biodiversity is not limited to just other forms of vegetation, it can affect all forms of living organisms all contained in the present ecosystem.[58]Due to the major role trees have on ecosystems it is important to better understand components like the ecosystem, waterways, and species present in areas that are being re-planted. Prior research helps limit the depletion of biodiversity which can hinder medicinal discoveries, and alter gene flow in organisms.[47]

A debated issue in managed reforestation is whether the succeeding forest will have the samebiodiversityas the original forest. If the forest is replaced with only one species of tree and all other vegetation is prevented from growing back, amonocultureforest similar to agricultural crops would be the result. However, most reforestation involves the planting of different selections of seedlings taken from the area, often of multiple species.[59][60]

Stored carbon being released

[edit]

There is also the risk that, through aforest fireorinsect outbreak,much of the stored carbon in a reforested area could make its way back to the atmosphere.[61]Furthermore, the probability that legacy carbon will be released from soil is higher in younger boreal forests.[62]An example of this can be seen in the peatlands in Central Africa, which house an abundance of carbon in the mud called peat. Much like the forest fire or insect outbreak which can harm tropical rainforests, money can also be seen an incentive to harm forests and be paid off to protect it.[63]The global greenhouse gas emissions caused by damage to tropical rainforests may be underestimated by a factor of six.[64]

Also the possible harvesting and utilization of wood from reforested areas, limits the permanence of carbon sequestered through reforestation. For example, it was found that nearly half of the pledges under theBonn Challengewere areas earmarked for commercial wood use.[65]

Additionally the effects of afforestation and reforestation will be farther in the future than those of proforestation (the conservation of intact forests).[5]It takes much longer − several decades − for the benefits for global warming to manifest to the samecarbon sequestrationbenefits from mature trees in tropical forests and hence from limiting deforestation.[7]

Some researchers note that instead of planting entirely new areas, reconnecting forested areas and restoring the edges of forest, to protect their mature core and make them more resilient and longer-lasting, should be prioritized.[6]

Implementation challenges

[edit]

There are some implementation challenges

  • Seed shortage: the Seed to Forest Alliance was founded in 2022 in response to a global seed shortage. It will promote the establishment of national seed banks, while focusing on the tropics and biodiversity hotspots.[66]
  • Seedling survival rate: a common challenge for reforestation is the low survival rate of seedlings. Planted trees often do not mature, for example due to difficult climatic conditions or insufficient care after planting.[51][67]

By country

[edit]

Asia

[edit]

China

[edit]

China has introduced theGreen Wall of Chinaproject, which aims to halt the expansion of theGobi desertthrough the planting of trees. There has been a 47-million-hectare increase in forest area in China since the 1970s.[68]The total number of trees amounted to be about 35 billion and 4.55% of China's land mass increased in forest coverage. The forest coverage was 12% two decades ago and now is 16.55%.[69]

China announced two large reforestation programs, the Natural Forest Protection Program and the Returning Farmland to Forest program, in late 1998.[70]: 183 The programs were piloted inSichuan,Shaanxi,andGansuin 1999.[70]: 183 They became widely implemented in 2000.[70]: 183 The Natural Forest Protection Program called for major reductions in timber harvest, forest conservation, and instituted logging bans in most of Sichuan,Yunnan,Guizhou,andTibet.[70]: 183 The program provided for alternative employment opportunities for former logging industry workers, including hiring them for reforestation work.[70]: 183 The Returning Farmland to Forest program paid farmers to plant trees on less productive farmland and provided them with a yearly subsidy for lost income.[70]: 183 In 2015 China announced a plan to plant 26 billion trees by the year 2025; that is, two trees for every Chinese citizen per year.[71]

Between 2013 and 2018, China planted 338,000 square kilometres of forests, at a cost of $82.88 billion.[72]By 2018, 21.7% of China's territory was covered by forests, a figure the government wants to increase to 26% by 2035. The total area of China is 9,596,961 square kilometres (seeChina), so 412,669 square kilometres more needs to be planted.[73]According to the government's plan, by 2050, 30% of China's territory should be covered by forests.[74]

In 2017, theSaihanbaAfforestation Community won the UNChampions of the EarthAward in the Inspiration and Action category for their successful reforestation efforts,[75]which began upon discovering the survival of a single tree.[76]

From 2016 to 2021, 3976 square kilometers of forests were planted in theTibet Autonomous Region,with plans for 20 million trees to be planted before 2023.[77]

In the years 2012–2022 China restored more than 70 million hectares (700,000 km2) of forests. China committed to plant and conserve 70 billion trees by the year 2030 as part of theTrillion Tree Campaign.[78]

TheJane Goodall Institutelaunched the Million Tree Project in Kulun Qi,Inner Mongoliato plant one million trees.[79][80]China used 24 million hectares of new forest to offset 21% of Chinese fossil fuel emissions in 2000.[61]: 1456 

The Chinese government requiresmining companiesto restore the environment around exhausted mines by refilling excavated pits and planting crops or trees.[81]: 53 Many mining companies use these recovered mines forecotourismbusiness.[81]: 54–55 

Launched in 1978 and scheduled to last until 2050, the Three Northern Protected Forest Development Program – informally known as the "Great Green Wall"– aims to eventually plant nearly 90 million acres of new forest in a 2,800-mile stretch of northern China.[8]

Over 69.3 million hectares of forest were planted across China from 1999 to 2013. This large-scale reforestation contributed to China’s forests sequestering 1.11 ± 0.38 Gt carbon per yr over the period 2010 to 2016. This amounted to about 45 percent of the yearly greenhouse gas emissions during that period in China.[82]

India

[edit]

Jadav Payenghad received national awards for reforestation efforts, known as the "Molai forest".He planted 1400 hectares of forest on the bank of riverBrahmaputraalone.[83]There are active reforestation efforts throughout the country. In 2016, India had more than 50 million trees planted inUttar Pradeshand in 2017, more than 66 million trees planted inMadhya Pradesh.[84]In addition to this and individual efforts, there are startup companies, such as Afforest,[85]that are being created over the country working on reforestation.[86] Lots of plantation are being carried out in the Indian continent but the survivability is very poor especially for massive plantations, with less than 20% survivability rate. To improve the forest cover and to achieve the national mission of forest cover of 33%, there is a need to improve the methods of plantation. Rather than mass planting, there is a need to work on performance measurement & tracking of trees growth. Taking this into consideration, a non-profit organizationEk Kadam SansthaninJaipuris leading the development of a module of mass tracking for plantations. The pilot has been done successfully and the organization is hoping to implement nationwide by the end of 2021.[87]

Japan

[edit]

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery explain that about two-thirds of Japanese land is covered with forests,[88]and it was almost unchanged from 1966 to 2012.[89]Japan needs to reduce 26% of green house gas emission from 2013 by 2030 to accomplish Paris Agreement and is trying to reduce 2% of them by forestry.[90]

Mass environmental and human-body pollution along with relating deforestation, water pollution, smoke damage, and loss of soils caused bymining operations in Ashio,Tochigi became the first environmental social issue in Japan, efforts byShōzō Tanakahad grown to large campaigns against copper operation. This led to the creation of 'WataraseYusuichi Pond', to settle the pollution which is aRamsar site today.Reforestation was conducted as a part ofafforestationdue to inabilities of self-recovering by the natural land itself due to serioussoil pollutionand loss of woods consequence in loss of soils for plants to grow, thus needing artificial efforts involving introducing of healthy soils from outside. Starting from around 1897, about 50% of once bald mountains are now back to green.[91]

Pakistan

[edit]

TheBillion Tree Tsunamiwas launched in 2014 by planting 10 billion trees, by the provincialgovernment of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK)andImran Khan,as a response to the challenge of global warming. Pakistan's Billion Tree Tsunami restored 350,000 hectares of forests and degraded land to surpass itsBonn Challenge commitment.[92]

In 2018,Pakistan's prime ministerImran Khandeclared that the country will plant10 billion treesin the next five years.[93]

In 2020, the Pakistani government launched an initiative to hire 63,600 laborers to plant trees in the northern Punjab region, with indigenous species such asacacia,mulberryandmoringa.This initiative was meant to alleviate unemployment caused bylockdownsto mitigate the spread ofCOVID-19.[94][95]

Philippines

[edit]

In 2011, the Philippines established the National Greening Program as a priority program to help reduce poverty, promote food security, environmental stability, and biodiversity conservation, as well as enhance climate change mitigation and adaptation in the country. The program paved the way for the planting of almost 1.4 billion seedlings in about 1.66 million hectares nationwide during the 2011–2016 period. TheFood and Agriculture Organizationof theUnited Nationsranked the Philippines fifth among countries reporting the greatest annual forest area gain, which reached 240,000 hectares during the 2010–2015 period.[96][97]

Thailand

[edit]

Efforts are being made inThailandto restore the land after 800,000hectaresof forest have been destroyed in exchange forcash cropland to growmaize.[98]Agroforestryhas become part of the solution to fix the damage caused by deforestation. Agroforestry would affect the agriculture and atmosphere in Thailand in numerous ways. By planting a combination of different tree species, these trees are able to change the microclimatic conditions.[98]Nutrient cyclingalso occurs when trees are incorporated in the agricultural system.[98]It is also probable that thesoil erosionthat occurred as a result of deforestation can be mediated when these trees are planted.[98]

Europe

[edit]
A 15-year-old reforested plot of land

Armenia

[edit]

TheArmenia Tree Projectwas founded in 1994 to address environmental and economic concerns related toArmenia's dwindling forests. Since its founding, the organization has planted more than 6.5 million trees in communities throughout Armenia.[99]

My Forest Armeniawas founded in 2019 and has since planted 910,000 trees in Armenia.[100]

Iceland

[edit]

Prior to thedeforestation of Iceland in the Middle Ages,some 40% of the land was forested.[101]Today, the country is about 2% forested, with theIcelandic Forest Serviceaiming to increase that share to 10% through reforestation and natural regrowth.[102]

Ireland

[edit]

In 2019 the government ofIrelanddecided to plant 440 million trees by 2040. The decision is part of the government's plan to makeIrelandcarbon neutralby 2050 withrenewable energy,land use change andcarbon tax.[103]

Ireland is also driven to increase sustainable timber consumption while also adding more eco friendly work positions.[104]They also have taken efforts to limit the use of methane emissions by signing a pledge to draw back methane use by 30%.[105]

Germany

[edit]

By the 14th century, forests in heavily populated areas had been devastated by industry, many of which required wood for their activities.[106]Peter Stromer (1310–1388), lord of the Stromer trading and commercial company, was spurred by this shortage to "conduct forest culture experiments".[106]In 1368 he successfully sowed fir and pine seeds in the Nuremberg Reichswald, which over time ended the wood shortage and established the "triumph of the pine in the Nuremberg Reichswald" (at the expense of other deciduous trees).[106]The "doctrine of coniferous sowing" spread widely through forestry regulations and other writing at the time.[106]

Reforestation is required as part of the federal forest law. 31% of Germany is forested, according to the second forest inventory of 2001–2003. The size of the forest area in Germany increased between the first and the second forest inventory due to forestation of degeneratedbogsand agricultural areas.[107]

United Kingdom

[edit]

Since the 1980s, 8.5 million trees have been planted in the United Kingdom in an area of theMidlandsaround the villages ofMoiraandDonisthorpe,close to Leicester. The area is calledThe National Forest.[108]An even larger reforestation project, calledThe Northern Forest,is beginning in South Yorkshire. It aims to plant 50 million trees.[109]Despite this, the UK government has been criticized for not achieving its tree planting goals.[110][111]There have also been concerns of non-native tree planting disturbing the ecological integrity and processes of what would be a native habitat restoration.[112]

Middle East

[edit]

Israel

[edit]

Since 1948, large reforestation and afforestation projects were accomplished in Israel. 240 million trees have been planted. The carbon sequestration rate in these forests is similar to the European temperate forests.[113]

Israel and only one other country was documented to have a net increase of forestation in the 2000s. This type of progress could be attributed to the social practices that Israel incorporates into their society.[114][dubiousdiscuss]

Lebanon

[edit]

For thousands of years Lebanon was covered by forests; one particular species of interest,Cedrus libaniwas exceptionally valuable and was almost eliminated due to lumbering operations.[115]Many ancient cultures along the Mediterranean Sea harvested these trees including the Phoenicians who used cedar, pine and juniper for boat building, the Romans, who cut them down for lime-burning kilns, and the Ottomans, who used much of the remaining cedar forests of Lebanon as fuel in steam trains in the early 20th century.[116]Despite two millennia of deforestation, forests in Lebanon still cover 13.6% of the country, and other wooded lands represent 11%.[117]

Law No. 558, which was ratified by the Lebanese Parliament on April 19, 1996, aims to protect and expand existing forests, classifying all forests of cedar,fir,high juniper, evergreen cypress and other trees, whether diverse or homogeneous, whether state-owned or not as conserved forests.[118]

Since 2011 more than 600,000 trees, including cedars and other native species, have been planted throughout Lebanon as part of the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative, which aims to restore Lebanon's native forests.[119]Projects financed locally and by international charity are performing extensive reforestation of cedar being carried out in the Mediterranean region, particularly in Lebanon and Turkey, where over 50 million young cedars are being planted annually.

The Lebanon Reforestation Initiative has been working with tree nurseries throughout Lebanon since 2012 to grow stronger seedlings with higher survival rates.[120]

Turkey

[edit]

Of the country's 78 million hectares of land in total, theMinistry of Agriculture and Forestryaims to increaseTurkey's forest coverto 30% by 2023.[121]

Four thousand years ago,Anatoliawas 60% to 70% forested.[122]Although theflora of Turkeyremains more biodiverse than many European countries, deforestation occurred during both prehistoric[123]and historic times, including theRoman[124]andOttoman[125]periods.

Since the first forest code of 1937, the official government definition of 'forest' has varied.[126]According to the current definition, 21 million hectares are forested, an increase of about 1 million hectares over the past thirty years, but only about half is 'productive'.[127]However, according to the United NationsFood and Agriculture Organizationdefinition of forest,[128]about 12 million hectares was forested in 2015,[129]about 15% of the land surface.[needs update]

The amount ofgreenhouse gas emissions by Turkeyremoved by forests is very uncertain.[130]: 489 As of 2019,however, a new assessment is being made with the help of satellites and new soil measurements and better information should be available by 2020.[130]According to theWorld Resources Institute"Atlas of Forest Landscape Restoration Opportunities", 50 million hectares are potential forest land, a similar area to the ancient Anatolian forest mentioned above.[131]This could help limitclimate change in Turkey.To help preserve thebiodiversity of Turkey,more sustainable forestry has been suggested.[122]Improvedrangeland managementis also needed.[132]

National Forestation Day is on 11 November but, according to the agriculture and forestrytrade union,although volunteers planted a record number of trees in 2019, most had died by 2020 in part due to lack of rainfall.[133]

North America

[edit]

Canada

[edit]
A 21-year-old plantation ofred pinein southernOntario

Natural Resources Canada (The Department of Natural Resources) states that the national forest cover was decreased by 0.34% from 1990 to 2015, and Canada has the lowest deforestation rate in the world.[134]The forest industry is one of the main industries in Canada, which contributes about 7% of Canadian economy,[135]and about 9% of the forests on Earth are in Canada.[136]Therefore, Canada has many policies and laws to commit to sustainable forest management. For example, 94% of Canadian forests are public land, and the government obligates planting trees after harvesting to public forests.[137]

United States

[edit]
Forest regrowth inMount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest,Washington state, US

It is the stated goal of theUnited States Forest Service(USFS) to manage forest resources sustainably. This includes reforestation after timber harvest, among other programs.[138]

United States Department of Agriculture(USDA) data shows that forest occupied about 46% of total U.S. land in 1630 (when European settlers began to arrive in large numbers), but had decreased to 34% by 1910. After 1910, forest area has remained almost constant although the U.S. population has increased substantially.[139]In the late 19th century, the USFS was established in part to address the concern of natural disasters due to deforestation, and new reforestation programs and federal laws such as the Knutson-Vandenberg Act (1930) were implemented. The USFS states that human-directed reforestation is required to support natural regeneration and the agency engages in ongoing research into effective ways to restore forests.[140]

As for the year 2020, the U.S. planted 2.5 billion trees per year. At the beginning of the year 2020, a bill that will increase the number to 3.3 billion, was proposed by theRepublican Party,after PresidentDonald Trumpjoined theTrillion Tree Campaign.[141]

Latin America

[edit]
Tropical tree nursery at Planeta Verde Reforestación S.A.'s plantation inVichada Department,Colombia

Bolivia

[edit]

Training in reforestation for young people inBoliviahas been provided byOxfam Intermón.[142]

Costa Rica

[edit]

Through reforestation and environmental conservation, Costa Rica doubled its forest cover in 30 years.[143]

Costa Rica has a long-standing commitment to the environment. The country is now one of the leaders ofsustainability,biodiversity,and other protections. It wants to be completely fossil fuel free by 2050.[144]The country has generated all of its electric power from renewable sources for three years as of 2019. It has committed to be carbon-free and plastic-free by 2021.[145]

As of 2019, half of the country's land surface is covered with forests. They absorb a huge amount ofcarbon dioxide,combating climate change.[146]

In the 1940s, more than 75% of the country was covered in mostly tropical rainforests and other indigenous woodlands. Between the 1940s and 1980s, extensive, uncontrolledloggingled to severe deforestation. By 1983, only 26% of the country had forest cover. Realizing the devastation, policymakers took a stand. Through a continued environmental focus they were able to turn things around to the point that today forest cover has increased to 52%, two times more than 1983 levels.

An honorable world leader forecotourismand conservation, Costa Rica has pioneered the development of payments forenvironmental services.Costa Rica's extensive system of environmental protection has been encouraging conservation and reforestation of the land by providing grants for environmental services. The system is not just advanced for its time but is also unparalleled in the world. It received great international attention.

Costa Rica doubled its forest cover in 30 years using its system of grants and other payments forenvironmental services,including compensation for landowners. One of the main programs established in Costa Rica was the Forest Promotion Certificate in 1979 and is funded by international donations and nationwide taxes.[147][148]The initiative is helping to protect the forests in the country, and is now helped pass both the Forest Law in 1986 and FONAFIFO in 1990 which insures the continuity of the conservation programs.[147]

Costa Rica's ambitious reforestation initiatives have transformed the landscape, fostering biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and sustainable land management practices.[149]

Peru

[edit]

Approximately 59% of Peru is covered by forest.[150]A history of political turmoil and the government's inability to enforce environmental regulations has led to the degradation of the forest and environment in Peru. A military coup in 1968 caused a loss of economic mobility in theTalararegion and sparked a boom inillegal loggingdue to the lack of alternative economic opportunities.[151]Illegal mining and logging operations are responsible for a great deal of Peru's deforestation and environmental damage.[152]The Peruvian government has not been able to enforce an environmentally conscious mining formalization plan to protect the Amazon forest in theMadre de Diosregion. The 1980s were known in Peru as the "lost decade" due to a nationwide internal conflict and severe economic crisis almost destroying the country and resulting in the state losing control over several regions.[152]Many areas in Peru, including Madre de Dios, had no state presence until the government initiated a movement to 'conquer and populate the Amazon,' with the hopes of minimizing illegal and informal mining operations that had expanded in the region and were polluting the Amazonian rivers and the destroying of its forests.[152]

Reforestation initiatives have expanded in the country since. In Peru, reforestation is essential to preserving the livelihoods of rural communities because much of the population relies on the forest in some way.[153]Deforestation also disproportionally affects indigenous communities in Peru, which is why reforestation efforts are essential for the protection of many communities' livelihoods.

Sub-Saharan Africa

[edit]

One plan in this region, calledGreat Green Wall (Africa),involves planting a nine-mile width of trees on the Southern Border of theSahara Desertfor stopping its expansion to the south.[154]However, this is more of anafforestationproject than a reforestation one.

In 2019,Ethiopiabegun a massive tree planting campaign "Green Legacy" with a target to plant 4 billion trees in one year. In one day only, over 350 million trees were planted.[155]

Nigeria

[edit]
Forest nursery located in the compound of theFederal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta
Reforestation in Nigeriaemploys both natural and artificial methods. Reforestation involves the deliberate planting oftreesand restoring forested areas that have been depleted or destroyed. It involves a planned restocking of the forest to ensure sustainable supply of timber and otherforest products.[156][157]Reforestation, in essence, involves replenishing forests to guarantee a consistent and sustainable supply of timber and various other forest resources. This objective can be accomplished through either natural regeneration techniques or artificial regeneration methods.[156]Both of these approaches have been utilized in the reforestation efforts within Nigeria's forests.[156]At the initiation of the reforestation program in Nigeria, the natural regeneration approach was chosen for two primary reasons.[156]Firstly, it aimed to preserve the rainforest in its original state by allowing it to regenerate naturally from the existing seed bank in the soil. Secondly, and of significant importance, this method was selected due to budgetary constraints, as there were insufficient funds available to establish plantations through direct means.[156]

Organizations and programs

[edit]
  • Ecosiais a non-profit organization based in Berlin, Germany, that has planted over 100 million trees worldwide as of July 2020.
  • Trees for the Futurehas assisted more than 170,000 families, in 6,800 villages of Asia, Africa and the Americas, to plant over 35 million trees.[158]
  • Ecologi is an organization that offers its members ways to support climate change solutions. This includes offsetting their carbon emissions and tree planting. So far over 50 million trees have been planted through Ecologi, as well a more than 2.2 million tonnes of CO2e reduced.[159]
  • Wangari Maathai,2004Nobel Peace Prizerecipient, founded theGreen Belt Movementwhich planted over 47 million trees to restore the Kenyan environment.[160]
  • Team Treeswas a 2019 fundraiser with an initiative to plant 20 million trees. The initiative was started by AmericanYouTubersMrBeastandMark Rober,and was mostly supported by YouTubers. TheArbor Day Foundationwill work with its local partners around the world to plant one tree for each dollar they raise.[161]
  • Trees For Life(Brooklyn Park) is a state based organization, which was established back in 1981 and delivers conservation, revegetation and community training programs. It now has thousands of active supporters[162]and energizes activity within communities.[163]
  • Many companies are trying to achievecarbon offsetsbynature-based solutionslike reforestation, including mangrove forests and soil restoration. Among them areMicrosoftandEni.Increasing the forest cover of Earth by 25% will offset the human emissions in the last 20 years. In any case it will be necessary to pull from the atmosphere the CO2that already have been emitted. However, this can work only if the companies will stop new emissions and stop deforestation.[164]
  • The 2020World Economic Forum,held in Davos, announced the creation of theTrillion Tree Campaign,which is an initiative aiming to plant 1 trillion trees across the globe. The implementation can have big environmental and societal benefits but needs to be tailored to local conditions.[165]
  • Theforest landscape restoration strategyseeks to rehabilitate landscapes and repair marginal and degraded areas in order to generate productive forest landscapes that are resilient and long-term. It aims to guarantee that diverse ecological and land-use functions are restored, safeguarded, and preserved over time.[31][166]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abc"Global Forest Resource Assessment 2020".www.fao.org.Retrieved20 September2020.
  2. ^abPayn, Tim; Carnus, Jean-Michel; Freer-Smith, Peter; Kimberley, Mark; Kollert, Walter; Liu, Shirong; Orazio, Christophe; Rodriguez, Luiz; Silva, Luis Neves; Wingfield, Michael J. (2015)."Changes in planted forests and future global implications".Forest Ecology and Management.352:57–67.Bibcode:2015ForEM.352...57P.doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2015.06.021.ISSN0378-1127.
  3. ^abFAO, ed. (2016).Global forest resources assessment 2015: how are the world's forests changing?.Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.ISBN978-92-5-109283-5.
  4. ^abEnnos, Richard; Cottrell, Joan; Hall, Jeanette; O'Brien, David (2019)."Is the introduction of novel exotic forest tree species a rational response to rapid environmental change? – A British perspective".Forest Ecology and Management.432:718–728.Bibcode:2019ForEM.432..718E.doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2018.10.018.hdl:20.500.11820/725af6fe-4ef8-4345-8f06-634eb59414ff.ISSN0378-1127.
  5. ^ab"Why Keeping Mature Forests Intact Is Key to the Climate Fight".Yale E360.Retrieved28 September2020.
  6. ^abMackey, Brendan; Dooley, Kate (6 August 2019)."Want to beat climate change? Protect our natural forests".The Conversation.Retrieved28 September2020.
  7. ^ab"Would a Large-scale Reforestation Effort Help Counter the Global Warming Impacts of Deforestation?".Union of Concerned Scientists.1 September 2012.Retrieved28 September2020.
  8. ^abLuoma, Jon."China's Reforestation Programs: Big Success or Just an Illusion?".YaleEnvironment360.the Yale School of the Environment.Retrieved23 October2022.
  9. ^IPCC, 2022:Annex I: Glossary[van Diemen, R., J.B.R. Matthews, V. Möller, J.S. Fuglestvedt, V. Masson-Delmotte, C. Méndez, A. Reisinger, S. Semenov (eds)]. In IPCC, 2022:Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change[P.R. Shukla, J. Skea, R. Slade, A. Al Khourdajie, R. van Diemen, D. McCollum, M. Pathak, S. Some, P. Vyas, R. Fradera, M. Belkacemi, A. Hasija, G. Lisboa, S. Luz, J. Malley, (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA. doi: 10.1017/9781009157926.020
  10. ^Terms and definitions – FRA 2020(PDF).Rome: FAO. 2018.Archived(PDF)from the original on 9 August 2019.
  11. ^"Oikeudet ja velvollisuudet"[Rights and responsibilities] (in Finnish). Metsäkeskus (Forest Center).Retrieved7 July2020.
  12. ^Henkel, Marlon (22 February 2015).21st Century Homestead: Sustainable Agriculture III: Agricultural Practices.Lulu.com. p. 126.ISBN978-1-312-93975-2.
  13. ^Thomas, Paul W.; Jump, Alistair S. (21 March 2023)."Edible fungi crops through mycoforestry, potential for carbon negative food production and mitigation of food and forestry conflicts".Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.120(12): e2220079120.Bibcode:2023PNAS..12020079T.doi:10.1073/pnas.2220079120.ISSN0027-8424.PMC10041105.PMID36913576.
  14. ^Canadell JG, Raupach MR (2008). "Managing Forests for Climate Change".Science.320(5882): 1456–7.Bibcode:2008Sci...320.1456C.CiteSeerX10.1.1.573.5230.doi:10.1126/science.1155458.PMID18556550.S2CID35218793.
  15. ^Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020.FAO. 2020.doi:10.4060/ca8753en.ISBN978-92-5-132581-0.S2CID130116768.
  16. ^IPCC (2022)Summary for policy makersinClimate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA
  17. ^Sedjo, R., & Sohngen, B. (2012). Carbon sequestration in forests and soils. Annu. Rev. Resour. Econ., 4(1), 127-144.
  18. ^Baccini, A.; Walker, W.; Carvalho, L.; Farina, M.; Sulla-Menashe, D.; Houghton, R. A. (October 2017)."Tropical forests are a net carbon source based on aboveground measurements of gain and loss".Science.358(6360): 230–234.Bibcode:2017Sci...358..230B.doi:10.1126/science.aam5962.ISSN0036-8075.PMID28971966.
  19. ^Spawn, Seth A.; Sullivan, Clare C.; Lark, Tyler J.; Gibbs, Holly K. (6 April 2020)."Harmonized global maps of above and belowground biomass carbon density in the year 2010".Scientific Data.7(1): 112.Bibcode:2020NatSD...7..112S.doi:10.1038/s41597-020-0444-4.ISSN2052-4463.PMC7136222.PMID32249772.
  20. ^Carolyn Gramling (28 September 2017)."Tropical forests have flipped from sponges to sources of carbon dioxide; A closer look at the world's trees reveals a loss of density in the tropics".Sciencenews.org.358(6360): 230–234.Bibcode:2017Sci...358..230B.doi:10.1126/science.aam5962.PMID28971966.Retrieved6 October2017.
  21. ^Harvey, Fiona(4 March 2020)."Tropical forests losing their ability to absorb carbon, study finds".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved5 March2020.
  22. ^"Press corner".European Commission – European Commission.Retrieved28 September2020.
  23. ^Walker, Xanthe J.; Baltzer, Jennifer L.; Cumming, Steven G.; Day, Nicola J.; Ebert, Christopher; Goetz, Scott; Johnstone, Jill F.; Potter, Stefano; Rogers, Brendan M.; Schuur, Edward A. G.; Turetsky, Merritt R.;Mack, Michelle C.(August 2019)."Increasing wildfires threaten historic carbon sink of boreal forest soils".Nature.572(7770): 520–523.Bibcode:2019Natur.572..520W.doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1474-y.ISSN1476-4687.PMID31435055.S2CID201124728.Retrieved28 September2020.
  24. ^"Climate emissions from tropical forest damage 'underestimated by a factor of six'".The Guardian.31 October 2019.Retrieved28 September2020.
  25. ^"Why Keeping Mature Forests Intact Is Key to the Climate Fight".Yale E360.Retrieved28 September2020.
  26. ^"Would a Large-scale Reforestation Effort Help Counter the Global Warming Impacts of Deforestation?".Union of Concerned Scientists.1 September 2012.Retrieved28 September2020.
  27. ^"Planting trees is no substitute for natural forests".phys.org.Retrieved2 May2021.
  28. ^McDermott, Matthew (22 August 2008)."Can Aerial Reforestation Help Slow Climate Change? Discovery Project Earth Examines Re-Engineering the Planet's Possibilities".TreeHugger.Archivedfrom the original on 30 March 2010.Retrieved9 May2010.
  29. ^Lefebvre, David; Williams, Adrian G.; Kirk, Guy J. D.; Paul; Burgess, J.; Meersmans, Jeroen; Silman, Miles R.; Román-Dañobeytia, Francisco; Farfan, Jhon; Smith, Pete (7 October 2021)."Assessing the carbon capture potential of a reforestation project".Scientific Reports.11(1): 19907.Bibcode:2021NatSR..1119907L.doi:10.1038/s41598-021-99395-6.ISSN2045-2322.PMC8497602.PMID34620924.
  30. ^Gorte, Ross W. (2009).Carbon Sequestration in Forests(PDF)(RL31432 ed.). Congressional Research Service.Archived(PDF)from the original on 14 November 2022.Retrieved9 January2023.
  31. ^abBank, European Investment (8 December 2022).Forests at the heart of sustainable development: Investing in forests to meet biodiversity and climate goals.European Investment Bank.ISBN978-92-861-5403-4.
  32. ^Martin."Forests, desertification and biodiversity".United Nations Sustainable Development.Retrieved30 January2023.
  33. ^Aldhous, J. R.; Low, A. J. (1974).The potential of Western hemlock, Western red cedar, Grand fir and Noblefir in Britain(PDF)(Report). London: H.M. Stationery Office.
  34. ^Everard, J.E.; Fourt, D.F. (1974). "Monterey Pine and Bishop Pine as plantation trees in southern Britain".Quarterly Journal of Forestry.68(2).Royal Forestry Society:111–125.
  35. ^"Forest loss".United Nations System-wide Earthwatch.United Nations Environment Programme. Archived fromthe originalon 6 January 2010.Retrieved27 October2011.
  36. ^Archived atGhostarchiveand theWayback Machine:"Africa's underground forest".DW News. 27 May 2019.Retrieved31 July2020.
  37. ^"In Semi-Arid Africa, Farmers Are Transforming the" Underground Forest "Into Life-Giving Trees".11 February 2020.Retrieved31 July2020.
  38. ^"What is assisted natural regeneration and where does it work?".World Economic Forum.15 July 2021.Retrieved26 October2023.
  39. ^Chazdon, Robin; Calixto, Bruno; Oliveira, Mariana; Messinger, Jared; Alves, Julio; Calmon, Miguel; Anderson, Will (March 2022)."The Benefits and Power of Assisted Natural Regeneration".{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  40. ^Ruseva, Tatyana B.; Evans, Tom P.; Fischer, Burnell C. (15 May 2015)."Can incentives make a difference? Assessing the effects of policy tools for encouraging tree-planting on private lands".Journal of Environmental Management.155:162–170.Bibcode:2015JEnvM.155..162R.doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.03.026.ISSN0301-4797.PMID25819571.
  41. ^abStreck, C.; S.M. Scholz (2006). "The role of forests in global climate change: whence we come and where we go".International Affairs.82(5): 861–879.doi:10.1111/j.1468-2346.2006.00575.x.
  42. ^Shabman, Leonard; Zepp, Laura; Wainger, Lisa; King, Dennis (2002)."Incentives for reforestation of agricultural land: What will a market for carbon sequestration credits contribute?".American Journal of Alternative Agriculture.17(3): 116–124.doi:10.1079/AJAA200213.ISSN0889-1893.JSTOR44503226.
  43. ^Shutterstock, Credit (4 February 2020)."What Are Reforestation Tax Benefits?".My Land Plan.Retrieved14 May2022.
  44. ^Andres, Samantha (20 September 2022)."Defining Biodiverse Reforestation: Why It Matters for Climate Change Mitigation and Biodiversity".Plants, People, Planet.5:27–38.doi:10.1002/ppp3.10329.hdl:20.500.11820/fa87acb7-8982-43d9-bf03-ab700dd168d8.S2CID252418294.
  45. ^Martin, Meredith P.; Woodbury, David J.; Doroski, Danica A.; Nagele, Eliot; Storace, Michael; Cook-Patton, Susan C.; Pasternack, Rachel; Ashton, Mark S. (1 September 2021)."People plant trees for utility more often than for biodiversity or carbon".Biological Conservation.261:109224.Bibcode:2021BCons.26109224M.doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109224.ISSN0006-3207.
  46. ^Smith, Pete; Gregory, Peter J.; van Vuuren, Detlef; Obersteiner, Michael; Havlík, Petr; Rounsevell, Mark; Woods, Jeremy; Stehfest, Elke; Bellarby, Jessica (27 September 2010)."Competition for land".Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.365(1554): 2941–2957.doi:10.1098/rstb.2010.0127.PMC2935113.PMID20713395.
  47. ^abCunningham, S. C.; Mac Nally, R.; Baker, P. J.; Cavagnaro, T. R.; Beringer, J.; Thomson, J. R.; Thompson, R. M. (1 July 2015)."Balancing the environmental benefits of reforestation in agricultural regions".Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics.17(4): 301–317.Bibcode:2015PPEES..17..301C.doi:10.1016/j.ppees.2015.06.001.hdl:2440/95479.ISSN1433-8319.
  48. ^Belluscio, Ana (7 November 2009)."Planting trees can shift water flow".Nature.doi:10.1038/news.2009.1057.ISSN1476-4687.
  49. ^Bond, William J.; Stevens, Nicola; Midgley, Guy F.; Lehmann, Caroline E.R. (November 2019)."The Trouble with Trees: Afforestation Plans for Africa".Trends in Ecology & Evolution.34(11): 963–965.Bibcode:2019TEcoE..34..963B.doi:10.1016/j.tree.2019.08.003.hdl:20.500.11820/ad569ac5-dc12-4420-9517-d8f310ede95e.PMID31515117.S2CID202568025.
  50. ^Dasgupta, Shreya (1 June 2021)."Many Tree-Planting Campaigns Are Based on Flawed Science".The Wire Science.Retrieved12 June2021.
  51. ^abcFinancial Times (21 September 2023)."The illusion of saving the planet with a trillion trees".subs.ft.com.Retrieved21 October2023.
  52. ^Schultz, Bill; Brockington, Dan; Coleman, Eric A; Djenontin, Ida; Fischer, Harry W; Fleischman, Forrest; Kashwan, Prakash; Marquardt, Kristina; Pfeifer, Marion; Pritchard, Rose; Ramprasad, Vijay (1 November 2022)."Recognizing the equity implications of restoration priority maps".Environmental Research Letters.17(11): 114019.Bibcode:2022ERL....17k4019S.doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac9918.ISSN1748-9326.S2CID253157136.
  53. ^"Global forest restoration and the importance of empowering local communities".phys.org.Retrieved5 September2020.
  54. ^"300 million world over can have their forests restored: study".The Hindu.25 August 2020.Retrieved5 September2020.
  55. ^Erbaugh, J. T.; Pradhan, N.; Adams, J.; Oldekop, J. A.; Agrawal, A.; Brockington, D.; Pritchard, R.; Chhatre, A. (24 August 2020)."Global forest restoration and the importance of prioritizing local communities".Nature Ecology & Evolution.4(11): 1472–1476.Bibcode:2020NatEE...4.1472E.doi:10.1038/s41559-020-01282-2.ISSN2397-334X.PMID32839542.S2CID221285189.Retrieved5 September2020.
  56. ^Malkamäki, Arttu; D’Amato, Dalia; Hogarth, Nicholas J.; Kanninen, Markku; Pirard, Romain; Toppinen, Anne; Zhou, Wen (July 2019)."Corrigendum of" A systematic review of the socio-economic impacts of large-scale tree plantations, worldwide "[Glob. Environ. Change 53 (2018) 90–103]".Global Environmental Change.57:101931.Bibcode:2019GEC....5701931M.doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.101931.ISSN0959-3780.S2CID197773639.
  57. ^"Press corner".European Commission – European Commission.Retrieved28 September2020.
  58. ^Aerts, Raf; Honnay, Olivier (24 November 2011)."Forest restoration, biodiversity and ecosystem functioning".BMC Ecology.11(1): 29.Bibcode:2011BMCE...11...29A.doi:10.1186/1472-6785-11-29.ISSN1472-6785.PMC3234175.PMID22115365.
  59. ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 11 November 2014.Retrieved27 March2013.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  60. ^Goosem, Stephen P; Tucker, Nigel I. J.; Wet Tropics Management Authority, (issuing body.) (2013),Repairing the rainforest(2 ed.), Wet Tropics Management Authority; [Tarzali, Queensland]: Biotropica Australia,ISBN978-1-921591-66-2
  61. ^abCanadell, J.G.; M.R. Raupach (13 June 2008)."Managing Forests for Climate Change"(PDF).Science.320(5882): 1456–1457.Bibcode:2008Sci...320.1456C.CiteSeerX10.1.1.573.5230.doi:10.1126/science.1155458.PMID18556550.S2CID35218793.
  62. ^Walker, Xanthe J.; Baltzer, Jennifer L.; Cumming, Steven G.; Day, Nicola J.; Ebert, Christopher; Goetz, Scott; Johnstone, Jill F.; Potter, Stefano; Rogers, Brendan M.; Schuur, Edward A. G.; Turetsky, Merritt R.;Mack, Michelle C.(August 2019)."Increasing wildfires threaten historic carbon sink of boreal forest soils".Nature.572(7770): 520–523.Bibcode:2019Natur.572..520W.doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1474-y.ISSN1476-4687.PMID31435055.S2CID201124728.Retrieved28 September2020.
  63. ^Maclean, Ruth (22 February 2022)."What Do the Protectors of Congo's Peatlands Get in Return?".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved16 May2022.
  64. ^"Climate emissions from tropical forest damage 'underestimated by a factor of six'".The Guardian.31 October 2019.Retrieved28 September2020.
  65. ^Lewis, Simon L.; Wheeler, Charlotte E.; Mitchard, Edward T. A.; Koch, Alexander (April 2019)."Restoring natural forests is the best way to remove atmospheric carbon".Nature.568(7750): 25–28.Bibcode:2019Natur.568...25L.doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01026-8.PMID30940972.S2CID91190309.
  66. ^"New Alliance Launched to Tackle Global Seed Shortage and Scale Reforestation".www.businesswire.com.21 September 2022.Retrieved21 October2023.
  67. ^Banin, Lindsay F.; Raine, Elizabeth H.; Rowland, Lucy M.; Chazdon, Robin L.; Smith, Stuart W.; Rahman, Nur Estya Binte; Butler, Adam; Philipson, Christopher; Applegate, Grahame G.; Axelsson, E. Petter; Budiharta, Sugeng; Chua, Siew Chin; Cutler, Mark E. J.; Elliott, Stephen; Gemita, Elva (January 2023)."The road to recovery: a synthesis of outcomes from ecosystem restoration in tropical and sub-tropical Asian forests".Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.378(1867).doi:10.1098/rstb.2021.0090.ISSN0962-8436.PMC9661948.PMID36373930.
  68. ^James Owen,"World's Forests Rebounding, Study Suggests".National Geographic News,13 November 2006.
  69. ^Gittings, John (20 March 2001)."Battling China's Deforestation".The Guardian.
  70. ^abcdefHarrell, Stevan (2023).An Ecological History of Modern China.Seattle:University of Washington Press.ISBN9780295751719.
  71. ^"China to plant 26 billion trees over next decade – People's Daily Online".Archived fromthe originalon 2 April 2015.Retrieved12 March2015.
  72. ^Breyer, Melissa (11 January 2018)."China is planting 16.3 million acres of forest this year".Treehugger. Archived fromthe originalon 7 September 2018.Retrieved7 September2018.
  73. ^Chow, Lorraine."China to Plant New Forests the Size of Ireland This Year".Ecowatch.Retrieved7 September2018.
  74. ^Li, Weida."China to increase forest coverage to 23 percent by 2020".GBTimes. Archived fromthe originalon 26 December 2018.Retrieved26 December2018.
  75. ^"A story of human bravery and beauty lost and regained".Champions of the Earth. Archived fromthe originalon 19 July 2019.Retrieved25 July2019.
  76. ^"China Focus: From a single tree to a forest – Saihanba's story".Xinhuanet.com. Archived fromthe originalon 28 July 2019.Retrieved15 August2019.
  77. ^"China directs efforts to protecting ecological environment".The Pyongyang Times.Archived fromthe originalon 27 January 2022.Retrieved30 January2021.
  78. ^"China will aim to plant and conserve 70 billion trees by 2030 as part of the global tree movement".World Economic Forum.Retrieved3 June2022.
  79. ^"Shanghai Roots & Shoots –".jgi-shanghai.org.Archived fromthe originalon 24 February 2017.Retrieved1 October2019.
  80. ^"Million Tree Project:: Home".mtpchina.org.
  81. ^abZhan, Jing Vivian (2022).China's Contained Resource Curse: How Minerals Shape State-Capital-Labor Relations.Cambridge, United Kingdom:Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-1-009-04898-9.
  82. ^Zhang, Xianghua; Busch, Jonah; Huang, Yingli; Fleskens, Luuk; Qin, Huiyan; Qiao, Zhenhua (2023)."Cost of mitigating climate change through reforestation in China".Frontiers in Forests and Global Change.6.Bibcode:2023FrFGC...629216Z.doi:10.3389/ffgc.2023.1229216.ISSN2624-893X.
  83. ^Kannadasan, Akila (21 March 2019)."Meet Jadav Payeng, India's Forest Man, who created 550 hectares of forest single-handedly".The Hindu.ISSN0971-751X.Retrieved30 November2020.
  84. ^"Record 66 million trees planted in 12 hours in India".ABC News.4 July 2017.
  85. ^"About Us | Afforestt".www.afforestt.com.Retrieved30 November2020.
  86. ^"The Man Who Has Created 33 Forests in India – He Can Make One in Your Backyard Too!".11 July 2014.[permanent dead link]
  87. ^""One Tree My Duty"".www.ekkadam.org.Ek Kadam.
  88. ^"Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan"(PDF).Forestry Agency, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 12 July 2018.Retrieved7 September2018.
  89. ^"Change in Forest Cover (2016)"(PDF).The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery, Forestry Agency. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 8 September 2018.Retrieved7 September2018.
  90. ^"Promotion of International Efforts (2016)"(PDF).The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 8 September 2018.Retrieved7 September2018.
  91. ^"Nhật quang túc vĩ thể nghiệm thực thụ án nội".Archived fromthe originalon 2 February 2016.Retrieved29 January2016.
  92. ^"Pakistan's Billion Tree Tsunami restores 350,000 hectares of forests and degraded land to surpass Bonn Challenge commitment".IUCN.11 August 2017.
  93. ^Chow, Lorraine (30 July 2018)."Pakistan's Next Prime Minister Wants to Plant 10 Billion Trees".Ecowatch.Retrieved7 September2018.
  94. ^"Pakistan's virus-idled workers hired to plant trees".www.aljazeera.com.Retrieved2 May2020.
  95. ^"COVID-19: Pakistan's 'green stimulus' scheme is a win-win for the environment and the unemployed".World Economic Forum.30 April 2020.Retrieved2 May2020.
  96. ^"PH reforestation program sees steady growth in 2017".Philippine News Agency.2 January 2018. Archived fromthe originalon 11 November 2020.Retrieved24 December2020.
  97. ^Galvez, Manny (21 February 2016)."Philippines 5th out of 234 countries on forest gain".The Philippine Star.Archived fromthe originalon 19 September 2018.Retrieved12 January2021.
  98. ^abcd"Halting Deforestation, an Agroforestry Approach".WWF-SCP.25 September 2020.Retrieved29 April2022.
  99. ^Aram Arkun (3 October 2014)."Armenian Tree Project Celebrates 20th Anniversary".The Armenian Mirror-Spectator.
  100. ^"583,513 Trees Planted in Fall 2023: A Record-Breaking Achievement!".My Forest Armenia.Retrieved15 January2024.
  101. ^"Iceland is replanting its forests 1,000 years after vikings razed them".6 April 2018.
  102. ^"Spades, saplings and sheep: Iceland battles to restore long-lost forests".Skógræktin.
  103. ^Rosane, Olivia (3 September 2019)."Ireland to Plant 440 Million Trees in 20 Years to Fight Climate Change".Ecowatch.Retrieved9 September2019.
  104. ^"Ireland's planning to make its Emerald Isle even greener".World Economic Forum.6 September 2019.Retrieved16 May2022.
  105. ^Glasgow, Denis Staunton."Cop26: Ireland to sign global pledge for 30% cut in methane emissions".The Irish Times.Retrieved16 May2022.
  106. ^abcdStubenrauch, Jessica; Ekardt, Felix; Hagemann, Katharina; Garske, Beatrice (2022).Forest Governance Overcoming Trade-Offs between Land-Use Pressures, Climate and Biodiversity Protection.Switzerland: Springer. p. 63.doi:10.1007/978-3-030-99184-5.ISBN978-3-030-99183-8.S2CID248302731.Retrieved15 June2022.
  107. ^"Grußwort – Bundeswaldinventur".bundeswaldinventur.de.
  108. ^"How millions of trees brought a broken landscape back to life".The Guardian.6 August 2016.Retrieved30 January2021.
  109. ^"The Northern Forest".Woodland Trust.Retrieved30 January2021.
  110. ^"Reality Check: Are millions of trees being planted?".BBC News.26 October 2017.Retrieved30 January2021.
  111. ^"Tree-planting in England falls 71% short of government target".The Guardian.13 June 2019.Retrieved30 January2021.
  112. ^"Disappointing planting figures in England still far below Government target".Woodland Trust.Archived fromthe originalon 26 January 2021.Retrieved30 January2021.
  113. ^Brand, David; Moshe, Itzhak; Shaler, Moshe; Zuk, Aviram; Riov, Dr Joseph (2011).Forestry for People(PDF).UN. pp. 273–280. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 30 September 2018.Retrieved30 September2018.
  114. ^"Reforesting Israel, Restoring Israel".AllCreation.org.22 February 2018.Retrieved16 May2022.
  115. ^"Forest and landscape restoration in Lebanon".Britannica.Archived fromthe originalon 17 March 2018.Retrieved25 May2018.
  116. ^"Lebanon National Forest Program 2015–2025, Ministry of Agriculture"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 26 May 2018.Retrieved25 May2018.
  117. ^"Forest and landscape restoration in Lebanon".FAO. 29 April 2016.Retrieved24 May2018.
  118. ^"Lebanese Forest Conservation Law".Jabal Rihan. 24 July 1996. Archived fromthe originalon 26 May 2018.Retrieved25 May2018.
  119. ^"Restoring Lebanon's cedar forests".Share America. 10 January 2017.Retrieved24 May2018.
  120. ^"Sowing Seeds Today for a Better Tomorrow".Lebanon Reforestation. Archived fromthe originalon 26 May 2018.Retrieved25 May2018.
  121. ^"Turkey goes greener with new afforestation campaign".Daily Sabah.21 March 2018.
  122. ^abColak and Rotherham (2006)."A Review of the Forest Vegetation of Turkey: Its Status Past and Present and Its Future Conservation"(PDF).Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy.106 B (3): 343–354.doi:10.3318/BIOE.2006.106.3.343.S2CID46955795.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 14 September 2018.
  123. ^Willcox, G. H. (1974). "A History of Deforestation as Indicated by Charcoal Analysis of Four Sites in Eastern Anatolia".Anatolian Studies.24:117–133.doi:10.2307/3642603.JSTOR3642603.S2CID131664221.
  124. ^Hughes, J.D. (2010). "Ancient Deforestation Revisited".Journal of the History of Biology.44(1): 43–57.doi:10.1007/s10739-010-9247-3.PMID20669043.S2CID24975334.
  125. ^"Conference Review:" Environmental History of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey ", University of Hamburg, 27-28 October 2017".H Net.
  126. ^Lund, H. Gyde (2014)."What Is a Forest? Definitions Do Make a Difference an Example from Turkey".Avrasya Terim Dergisi.2(1): 1–8. Archived fromthe originalon 14 September 2018.Retrieved14 September2018.
  127. ^"Turkey Forests".General Directorate of Forestry.Archived fromthe originalon 14 September 2018.Retrieved14 September2018.
  128. ^"Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015: Country Report: Turkey"(PDF).FAO.
  129. ^"Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015 Desk Reference"(PDF).FAO.
  130. ^abTurkish Greenhouse Gas Inventory report (2019),zip file
  131. ^"Atlas of Forest Landscape Restoration Opportunities".World Resources Institute.Retrieved14 September2018.
  132. ^Gökbulak, Ferhat; Erdoğan, Betül Uygur; Yıldırım, Hasan Tezcan; Özçelik, Mehmet S. (20 July 2018)."Causes of land degradation and rehabilitation efforts of rangelands in Turkey".Forestist.68(2): 106–113.[permanent dead link]
  133. ^Kent, Sami (30 January 2020)."Most of 11m trees planted in Turkish project 'may be dead'".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved30 January2020.
  134. ^"Indicator: Forest area".Natural Resources Canada.Government of Canada. August 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 3 August 2016.Retrieved7 September2018.
  135. ^"How does the forest industry contribute to the economy?".Natural Resources Canada.Government of Canada. 26 August 2014.Retrieved7 September2018.
  136. ^"Sustainable forest management in Canada".Natural Resources Canada.Government of Canada. 16 April 2013.Retrieved7 September2018.
  137. ^"Deforestation in Canada: Key myths and facts".Natural Resources Canada.Government of Canada. 27 June 2013.Retrieved7 September2018.
  138. ^"Forest Service Chief testifies before Senate appropriations committee on 2013 agency budget".US Forest Service. 18 April 2012.Retrieved29 April2012.
  139. ^"U.S. Forest Resource Facts and Historical Trends"(PDF).United States Department of Agriculture. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 19 December 2018.Retrieved7 September2018.
  140. ^"Reforestation Overview".U.S. Forest Service.Retrieved7 September2018.
  141. ^Frazin, Rachel; Beitsch, Rebecca (2 February 2020)."GOP bill will seek to commit US to planting 3.3 billion trees annually".The Hill.Retrieved3 March2020.
  142. ^Oxfam UK,Voices,Spring/Summer 2024, p. 12
  143. ^"Costa Rica has doubled its tropical rainforests in just a few decades. Here's how".World Economic Forum.13 June 2019.Retrieved6 May2020.
  144. ^Andrea D. Steffen (4 June 2019)."Costa Rica Doubled Its Forest Cover In Just 30 Years!".Intelligent Living.Retrieved26 February2022.
  145. ^Dey, Subhashish; Sreenivasulu, Anduri; Veerendra, G. T. N.; Rao, K. Venkateswara; Babu, P. S. S. Anjaneya (1 September 2022)."Renewable energy present status and future potentials in India: An overview".Innovation and Green Development.1(1): 100006.Bibcode:2022InnGD...100006D.doi:10.1016/j.igd.2022.100006.ISSN2949-7531.S2CID253649681.
  146. ^"Forests and Climate Change".MIT Climate Portal.Retrieved19 October2023.
  147. ^abPancel, Laslo (2016), Pancel, Laslo; Köhl, Michael (eds.),"Reforestation Incentives Systems for Tree Plantations in the Tropics∗",Tropical Forestry Handbook,Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 1531–1547,doi:10.1007/978-3-642-54601-3_123,ISBN978-3-642-54601-3,retrieved14 May2022
  148. ^Steffen, Andrea D. (4 June 2019)."Costa Rica Doubled Its Forest Cover In Just 30 Years!".Intelligent Living.Retrieved18 June2019.
  149. ^Pancel, Laslo (2016), Pancel, Laslo; Köhl, Michael (eds.),"Reforestation Incentives Systems for Tree Plantations in the Tropics∗",Tropical Forestry Handbook,Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 1531–1547,doi:10.1007/978-3-642-54601-3_123,ISBN978-3-642-54601-3,retrieved14 August2023
  150. ^Vizzuality."Peru Deforestation Rates & Statistics | GFW".www.globalforestwatch.org.Archived fromthe originalon 10 March 2018.Retrieved13 May2022.
  151. ^"Engineering For People Design Brief".EcoSwell.August 2020.
  152. ^abcDamonte, Gerardo H. (2016)."The" Blind "State: Government Quest for Formalization and Conflict with Small-Scale Miners in the Peruvian Amazon: The" Blind "State".Antipode.48(4): 956–976.doi:10.1111/anti.12230.
  153. ^VonZabern, Karl (2018)."From Protests to Policy: How the Institutionalization of Indigenous Movements Affects Environmental Policy Related to Resource Extraction in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia".Carolina Digital Repository.[permanent dead link]
  154. ^Mohammed, Omar (22 December 2015)."African countries are building a" Great Green Wall "to beat back the Sahara desert".Quartz Africa.
  155. ^Davidson, Jordan (30 July 2019)."Ethiopia Plants Record-Breaking 350 Million Trees".Ecowatch.Retrieved28 August2019.
  156. ^abcdeAkpan-ebe, Isidore Nelson (2017)."Reforestation in Nigeria: History, current practice and future perspectives".Reforesta.3(3): 105–115.doi:10.21750/REFOR.3.09.33.ISSN2466-4367.This article incorporates text available under theCC BY 4.0license.
  157. ^Ngounou, Boris (15 September 2021)."NIGERIA: Kano State launches a one million tree reforestation campaign | Afrik 21".Afrik 21.Retrieved17 September2023.
  158. ^"Trees for the Future".Archived fromthe originalon 13 June 2010.
  159. ^"Ecologi Public Impact and Operations Ledger".Google Docs.
  160. ^"The Green Belt Movement".www.greenbeltmovement.org.
  161. ^Williams, David (30 October 2019)."YouTube star MrBeast wants to plant 20 million trees. Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, and more are helping him do it".CNN.Retrieved6 May2020.
  162. ^"Trees For Life".26 July 2021. Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2021.Retrieved26 July2021.
  163. ^"From Little Things Big Things Grow".The Southern Cross.19 July 2021.Retrieved26 July2021.
  164. ^Hook, Leslie (28 July 2020)."Business turns to nature to fight climate change".Financial Times. Archived fromthe originalon 10 December 2022.Retrieved28 July2020.
  165. ^"Tree-planting programs can do more harm than good".Environment.26 April 2019. Archived fromthe originalon 27 April 2019.Retrieved4 July2020.
  166. ^"The Role of Planted Forests in Forest Landscape Restoration"(PDF).