From industrial expansion to resource extraction, human activities have had an extreme impact on the environment. One of the major ones is deforestation, or the loss of trees (human-driven or natural). For many years, the rise of the human population has come at the expense of over 10 million hectares of forests - that is almost the size of the entire nation of Greece. While most people would turn their heads to reforestation, there are more options, such as afforestation.
So what exactly is afforestation? In simple words, Afforestation is when you plant trees in an area that hasn’t had them in a long time. Each year since 2000, forests are estimated to have extracted around 2 billion tons of carbon, which is helping to slow climate change. There are projects going around the world, such as the Green Great Wall in Africa, which is the world’s largest afforestation project. Going from Senegal in the west till Djibouti in the east, it uses afforestation to improve the lives of the people and reduce the desertification of the land. Similarly, in Iceland, the vikings had cut down many trees. Now Iceland is planning to add Afforestation to their land management projects to improve the health of their ecosystems. An example of this is the Dragon’s Nest Project, which uses afforestation to restore degraded grazing land into the magnificent forest it once was. There are places where they combine afforestation with reforestation, making their project far more successful.
So we know what afforestation is, but why do we use it? As mentioned previously, forests remove billions of tons of carbon dioxide. The ultimate goal is to help mitigate climate change. Afforestation has many other goals though, such as soil quality. Soil is able to hold 3 times as much carbon as much as the atmosphere, which means they also help slow down climate change. Over time, forests can improve topsoil. Nitrogen is fixed with higher rates in afforested areas, which have reduced acidity in acid soils and alkalinity in alkaline soil. When trees are planted, the soil is less likely to erode during natural disasters, and wreak havoc in the communities nearby. There is a project type called the shelterbelt, which is typically in an arid, or semiarid environment. The purpose of this project is to shelter farms and crops, which also helps soil erosion. For example, in China, there was an afforestation project done specifically to reduce dust storms. Of course, this isn’t the only example. There are projects that have been already done, or are currently going on, and they all are affecting our environment in a positive way. Now, how do all those projects work? Well there are 3 ways that people implement afforestation, Natural Regeneration, Commercial Plantations, and Agroforestry. Let’s take a closer look at those.
Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) is where the local people intervene to help nature by taking down any barriers that threaten the growth of the vegetation. Obviously, they can’t just start planting trees. They have to calculate how their actions will affect the environment. ANR doesn’t work for every landscape. For example, it works well in a place that isn’t highly degraded.
Commercial Plantations are created in order to produce a specific product, like timber or paper pulp. While these are still capable of holding carbon, the forest will eventually be harvested. Depending on what was planted, the carbon might be released again. There are instances when natural forests are cleared just to make way for these plantations.
Agroforestry is when you plant vegetation for the purpose of crop production, such as cacao, avocados, mangoes, nuts, and many more. The amount of carbon that each site holds depends on what type of crop it is. This type of afforestation helps provide a food source for the local people in the area. The product can be leveraged to increase the carbon capacity of an already established agricultural site.
In conclusion, Afforestation is a crucial tool for combating deforestation and reducing the negative effects of climate change. The three different types of afforestation— Aided Natural Regeneration, Commercial Plantations, and Agroforestry—all contribute to increasing the amount of forested land on the planet. Each type of afforestation has its own unique advantages and disadvantages, but all of them have the potential to change our world for the better. With that, I send you the task of planting at least 2 trees this month. Those 2 trees will be doing wonders that may not be seen to us, but trust me they will be seen by the future.
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