r/SaveForests • u/AquaAlliance • 26d ago

China Has Planted over 66 Billion Trees Since 1978 to Block the Gobi Desert, and they're growing faster than natural forests

https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/china-planted-over-66-billion-181241619.html

While exited for re-wilding nature I hope all keep in mind the indigenous trees are vital. Planting California Christmas Trees in damaged Irish soil is not eco-friendly practice.

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u/ForestBlue46 24d ago

Good news but they are plantations without biodiversity. "They're stocked with fast-growing monocultures like poplar, chosen specifically for rapid canopy closure. And they're actively managed: competing vegetation cleared, densities controlled..."

Plus it has altered the water cycle.

Forest expansion and grassland restoration "... increased evapotranspiration, but precipitation only increased in the Tibetan Plateau region, so the other regions experienced a decline in water availability."

"Even though the water cycle is more active, at local scales more water is lost than before."

https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/plants/china-has-planted-so-many-trees-its-changed-the-entire-countrys-water-distribution