Reforestation

This article is about natural or intentional restocking of former forests and woodlands. For the establishment of a forest in an area where there was no forest before, see Afforestation. For reforestation and afforestation together, see Forest management.

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

Reforestation is the practice of restoring previously existing forests and woodlands that have been destroyed or damaged. The prior forest destruction might have happened through deforestation, clearcutting or wildfires. Three important purposes of reforestation programs are for harvesting of wood, for climate change mitigation, and for ecosystem and habitat restoration purposes. One method of reforestation is to establish tree 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 often monocultures which comes with a set of disadvantages, for example biodiversity loss. Lastly, there is also the problem that stored carbon is released at some point.

The effects of reforestation will be farther in the future than those of proforestation (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 the carbon sequestration benefits of reforestation to become similar to those from mature trees in tropical 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, the Three 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 between reforestation and afforestation (the latter being the establishment of a forest in an area where there was no forest before).

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  4. ^ Ennos, 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. ISSN 0378-1127.
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