Reforestation Essay ⋆ Environment Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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Refores tat ion refers to the re-emergence of forest vegetation (secondary growth) following clearing of old growth (primary) forest. Reforestation is thus the opposite of deforestation, which involves the removal of forest cover. Reforestation differs from afforestation, which involves tree planting in areas not previously forested. Reforestation is also different from but related to forest restoration, which involves recovery of forest ecosystem functions and is the opposite of forest degradation.

Reforestation is of ecological and social value. Ecologically, forest regrowth provides habitat for many species, including those adapted to disturbed forest ecosystems. Reforestation also protects soils from erosion that can damage stream networks and river chemistry. On the global scale, reforestation sequesters atmospheric carbon in plant biomass, reducing carbon dioxide levels that contribute to climate change. Socially, reforestation is of value because it ensures the supply of timber, a renewable resource that has numerous applications. Reforestation also slows the movement of water during rains that could otherwise result in flooding, thus avoiding property damage and loss of life.

Historically, forests have declined in extent over time, because deforestation exceeded reforestation. While there are many types of forests, and consequently many definitions of what counts as “forest,” there are many estimates of forest cover over time for many parts of the world. According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), there are about 4 billion hectares of forests worldwide. The FAO’s 2005 Global Forest Resources Assessment indicates that during 2000-2005, approximately 13 million hectares of forest were cleared, but the net change in forest cover was a decline of 7.3 million hectares. This implies that approximately 5.7 million hectares were reforested. During 2000-2005, forest cover declined in the Americas, Africa, and Oceania, but rose in Europe and Asia. Forest decline is particularly high in South America and Africa, both of which lost roughly 4 million hectares per year. A notable change from the 1990s to the new millennium is China’s forest planting program. China declared it has planted 24 million hectares with trees as of 2005, and this accounts for the switch from net forest decline in Asia of 800,000 hectares per year during 1990-2000 to a net rise of 1 million hectares per year during 2000-2005.

There are many explanations offered to account for reforestation. Several human decisions can result in reforestation. Some decisions allow “passive” reforestation, as when land managers decide to fallow land (i.e., allow previously productive land to rest), or when they abandon land. In both cases, whatever species of vegetation are present (or arrive via dispersal by animals, wind or rain) grow naturally. Other decisions involve “active” reforestation as via decisions to consciously plant and manage the growth of specific tree species, as in tree plantations. Whereas passive reforestation often involves hardship for land users, it may result in more biodiverse forests, while active reforestation may bring greater economic benefits though homogeneous tree stands.

Decisions by land managers to reforest are greatly influenced by the broader context consisting of social institutions and the biophysical environment. If land prices fall in areas of agricultural production, or if urban wages rise relative to rural incomes, land abandonment and rural-urban migration may result, with the consequence that agricultural land may revert to forest. Since 1800, Europe has experienced roughly a doubling in forest area as many countries there experienced industrialization, urbanization, agricultural intensification (increased agricultural productivity per hectare, which reduces demand for cleared land), and other processes associated with “modernization.” It is less clear that modernization necessarily results in reforestation, particularly in developing countries, where forest decline continues alongside industrialization, urbanization, and agricultural intensification. This can in part be explained by domestic and international demand for forest and agricultural products from developing countries, as well as by the distinct biophysical environment in many tropical countries, where unsustainable land use practices may degrade fragile soils and prevent forest recovery.

Many other large-scale social factors also influence reforestation, such as cultural support for reforestation programs due to identification with forest landscapes, especially for their recreational value. National policies have historically been important in many European countries, which sought to address fuel wood scarcity in the 19th century via reforestation programs. International environmental agreements are also significant, notably the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (i.e., the Kyoto Protocol), which identifies reforestation as a means of offsetting carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels.

Bibliography:

Marcy Trent, The Aes Corporation: The Guatemala Reforestation Project (World Resources Institute, 1992);
X. Wang, S. He, and X. Li, The Long-term Effects of Fire Suppression and Reforestation on a Forest Landscape in Northeastern China After a Catastrophic Wildfire (Elsevier, 2006);
Fred R. Weber, Reforestation in Arid Lands, 2nd ed. (Vita Publications, 1986).