luzon

Deforestation is one of the major causes of climate change and restoring and enhancing forests is a major activity around the world as a way to mitigate its effects. There are high-profile initiatives to plant millions of trees, but these projects are often ill-conceived and poorly managed.

One of the most dramatic failures was the planting of over a million mangrove seedlings on the Filipino island of Luzon back in 2012. A study 8 years later found that fewer than 2 percent of the trees had survived. The rest died or were washed away.

The causes of failure in tree planting programs include planting of trees that become vulnerable to disease, competing demands for land, changing climate, planting in areas not previously forested, and a lack of aftercare including watering seedlings.

A multinational study recently published in Nature has found that forests could regrow naturally on more than 800,000 square miles of land around the tropics without the need for planting trees by hand. This is an area larger than Mexico.

The researchers mapped areas where forests would be likely to regrow – areas where soils are healthy and where there is already forest nearby to supply seeds. In some places, lands are so degraded that it is necessary to plant trees by hand, but this is costly and prone to failure. Forests that regrow naturally tend to fare better and make better habitats for wildlife.

The effect of regrown forests on the climate would be very substantial. If these forests were allowed to grow for three decades, they would absorb enough carbon to offset 50 years of emissions by Australia, the home of the lead researcher of the study.

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Tropical Forests Could Regrow Naturally on Area the Size of Mexico

Photo, posted February 16, 2018, courtesy of Jason Houston / USAID via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

There are initiatives around the world to plant millions of trees as a way to fight climate change. Unfortunately, scientists have observed that many of these projects are ill-conceived and poorly managed. Some have failed to grow any forests at all.

One such project was an attempt to plant a million mangrove seedlings in coastal mud on the Filipino island of Luzon in 2012. Ten years later, less than 2% of the trees have survived. The other 98% have died or have washed away. The problem was that the site of the project was ecologically unsuited to mangroves because it is too waterlogged and there is no oxygen available except in a few sheltered spots.

In 2019, the Turkish government managed the planting of 11 million trees in 2,000 sites across the country. A later survey found that 90% had died, although the government denies that assertion.

Many other projects have also had dismal results. The causes of failure vary but include planting single species of trees that become vulnerable to disease, competing demands for land, changing climate, planting in areas not previously forested, and lack of ongoing care for the saplings including watering them.

Nobody is opposed to mass tree planting. There is no anti-tree lobby. But tree planting is sometimes a form of greenwashing. It is great for public relations but unless it is done properly with appropriate planning, it can be a waste of effort and money. The result can be a phantom forest that does nothing for the climate.

Forest planting can work if the social and environmental conditions are right, and if planting is followed by long-term monitoring and care of the trees.

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Web Links

Phantom Forests: Why Ambitious Tree Planting Projects Are Failing

Photo, posted April 20, 2016, courtesy of the U.S. Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John Benson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio