What is Afforestation?

Afforestation Explained

From industrial agriculture to land conversion and resource extraction, human activities have long had an intense impact on our planet. One of those impacts is deforestation — or, the human-driven and natural loss of trees. For centuries, the rise of human populations and more industrialized ways of life, has come at the cost of the majestic primary forests that once blanketed our global land area. 

The rate of deforestation is declining, but we still lost forests at a whopping 10 million hectares per year between 2015-2020. And while reforestation is our bread and butter, there are other methods that can help, including afforestation. Every planting area has its own unique set of pressures, including historic land use, community needs, terrain, and more. And in some areas, a combination of reforestation and afforestation may provide the nuanced solution that will increase the likelihood of long-term success.

Some nations, like China, and international projects, like the Great Green Wall, are using afforestation to improve the lives of people and reduce the desertification of their land. In Iceland, trees were cut down many centuries ago by the Vikings. Now, Iceland is exploring ways to incorporate afforestation projects into their land management to improve the health of their ecosystems — including our Dragons Nest project, which employs afforestation to restore degraded former grazing land that, long ago, was a majestic forest.

Afforestation Vs. Reforestation

Unlike reforestation, afforestation is the planting of trees where forests never existed before — or have not existed for centuries. Whereas reforestation helps restore damaged forests, afforestation is the process of planting completely new forests where there was no forest cover at all. These forests can create new habitats for wildlife, provide jobs and economic benefits to local communities, and increase the planet's capacity to absorb carbon dioxide.

There Are 3 Types of Afforestation

There are three types of afforestation: natural regeneration, commercial plantations, and agroforestry. Deciding what, how and where to plant is an important part of the process, as the needs of the local environment and populace need to be considered carefully.