A report last year by Science News examined one global project aimed at restoring 865 million acres by 2030. Still another problem occurs when tree planters attempt to replace native forestlands with profitable plantations. Planting trees in snow-covered regions, for example, can increase the absorption of solar radiation, potentially leading to increased warming. ![]() Another, arguably bigger one is planting trees where they would not naturally occur, threatening biodiversity and water supplies. The insufficient care and feeding of newly planted trees is just one problem. But less than three months later, up to 90 percent of the 11 million saplings were dead, planted at the wrong time with insufficient rainfall to support them. In 2020, for example, the Guardian reported on a government-backed initiative in Turkey that set a Guinness World Record for planting more than 300,000 saplings in a single hour. The media is rife with stories about tree-planting initiatives gone wrong. So, what’s the problem with planting trees? Nothing, if it’s the right tree in the right place using sound science, and if it’s not merely planted but nurtured over time.īut that’s often not what happens in real life, particularly with massive tree-planting initiatives sponsored by companies, governments, nonprofits and tech billionaires. Boosting seedling production will require expanding tree nurseries, increasing the industry’s workforce, increasing seed collection and storage capacity, and improving pre- and post-planting practices, according to Joe Fargione, science director at The Nature Conservancy. The industry is growing so quickly, in fact, that there’s a shortage of seedlings in some places, including the United States, where tree nurseries will need to double production to supply an additional 1.7 billion seedlings annually to meet demand. That’s about 5 million trees a day, 7,000 every minute. The same studies estimated that 158 million trees are replanted each month globally. Nearly 2 billion trees are planted each year, according to statistics compiled from different sources, including the U.N. Tree planting is a booming industry, spurred in part by campaigns by governments around the world as well as by scores of multinationals, from Amazon to Zurich Insurance. Countless companies have embraced reforestation (replanting areas where trees once stood) and afforestation (planting trees in places they hadn’t generally existed) as evergreen issues that simultaneously address public relations, employee engagement and net-zero strategies while creating jobs in local communities.īut as climate risks rise in awareness and severity, it may be time to rethink how these programs are designed and implemented. The growing understanding of the science behind tree planting is putting some corporate tree-planting programs out on a limb. The compelling idea that we can plant our way out of the climate crisis is being countered by concerns that, done poorly, planting trees actually could exacerbate the problem.ĭespite the various trillion-tree initiatives taking root around the world, the benefits of tree-planting programs are increasingly being questioned. But despite the feel-good appeal of planting a tree as a planet-positive act, and the various trillion-tree initiatives taking root around the world, the benefits of tree-planting programs are increasingly being questioned. Food and Agriculture Organization, on International Day of Forests, "countries are encouraged to undertake local, national and international efforts to organize activities involving forests and trees, such as tree-planting campaigns."Ī healthy tree is a ready kind of negative emissions technology that many researchers see as the first line of defense against climate risks. ![]() To my knowledge, there’s no anti-tree-planting lobby.Īccording to the U.N. Who doesn’t love forests, trees and all the critters therein? Who isn’t aware that trees and forests are one of the major ways the planet absorbs carbon dioxide, making planting trees a go-to tactic for mitigating the climate crisis? Regardless whether you were aware of it (I wasn’t until recently), International Day of Forests seems a walk in the park. ![]() General Assembly first proclaimed March 21 as the date in 2012. It’s a relatively recent addition to the commemorative calendar: The U.N. Today is International Day of Forests, a United Nations-proclaimed event that aims to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of forests of all types. Reprinted from GreenBuzz, a free weekly newsletter.
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