Why Tree Planting Campaigns Don’t Work

Mossy Earth is a fantastic organization that does responsible tree planting

Not only multispecies is needed but also multi-age planting. This ensures not only greater species diversity (vegetation), but also successional growth. This expedites the forest succession, creates understory habitat for wildlife, and also promotes resilience (e.g., pests).

Check out what Pennsylvania has done with their forests. By 1900 99% of trees in PA had been clear-cut. The hills looked dead and bare with barely any wildlife. After over 100 years of intense forest management with many wide ranging implementations the forests of Pennsylvania have returned, at least in areas where population density remains small. It will take decades if not centuries to fix the mistakes of the past. Keep your head up

The Kings Canyon National Park Service in California has started a 3-year massive replanting project of Giant Sequoias in groves that burned heavily 2 years ago, including in wilderness areas. The sites that were burned most intensively have regrown thousands of new Giant Sequoia seedlings naturally, but still, the NP Service moves forward with its plan. They will also plant 30% non Sequoias that are attractive for the logging industry. Independent Biologists have visited the groves and protested against these projects, to no avail so far. You can bring a story on that!

Whenever I saw a flashy "planting trees" widget on some random website, I was always skeptical about it... honestly this is even worse than I expected. Thank you for the informative video.

I had known tree plantings often were a waste of time, effort and money and that they often were harmful but didn't know the extent of it all until I watched a Mossy Earth video about the subject around a year or two ago. Mossy Earth has some projects that involve tree planting and it gives me hope to see that they follow what the experts they work with say, they work with local groups and people and they are always guided by whatever science says about what they are attempting. I love the way they work as they are passionate but won't let the passion and eagerness to help stand in the way of current scientific knowledge and best practices. They document everything and are transparent every step of the way no matter if something goes wrong or there is a setback. Being open with your projects, plans and where the money goes ought to be the norm, but sadly not.

The Miyawaki method - according to my understanding, and vastly simplified, involves planting a forest as an ecosystem - that is, planting trees and other species as a plant community. It is apparently quite successful in the small "mini-forest" applications for which it was developed - perhaps ti would be workable also on a large scale. And there are a great many permaculture projects using many of the same principles.

I remember as a child fruit trees all over my neighborhood and to me they were friends that had food, insects and housed birds.There are few neighbors like this anymore in the U.S perhaps not clear cutting land and throwing up the suburbs with lots of concrete can help. We don't live with trees like we used to. Trees are great they provide shade and a place to hang a swing. Commercial farming treats trees like a industry. We have other options for building materials yet constant plant only to cut them which says a lot about our relationship with the planet.

When I bought my house in an urban area in 1993, it had a large front & rear yard. The backyard is 40 ft. by 100 ft,..very large for an urban neighborhood. I replaced all the grass/lawn in the rear with trees (grown from saplings) ever greens, bamboo, & pampas grasses. My backyard looks today, like a sliver of "the garden of Eden". Except now my neighbors, complain all the time that my leaves fall into their tree-less yards. I have caught them damaging my trees, coming into my property to cut down the limbs that hang into their property. None of neighbors even live in these homes, they are all rental properties. Their renters don't care one way or the other. My yard attracts wild birds, small critters, & is a safe haven for roaming lost cats. Because of rampant over-building in my city, deer are now invading both the urban areas and the suburban ones. In August, a 3 point Buck, was lounging in my flower beds. A first for me. I was elated to see him,.....he was startled, and left upon my gentle coaxing.

Wait, the people orchestrating tree-planting initiatives never think to get tree experts involved? Experts who could have told them things like, plant native trees! Or they just ignored the experts, took everyone's money and squandered it? Seems to me these failed initiatives aren't failed, they functioned exactly as their creators intended

We can’t forget about our prairie/grassland ecosystems!

I just planted almost 300 native trees, I believe 15 different species of trees and high bush plants. Also collected and hands spread wildflower seeds and , maybe 2,000 or 3,000 altogether. Every tree got a shelter and stake. We also cleared any invasive plants and carefully took out dead trees while leaving enough dead wood on the ground. Took my husband and I probably 5 months to do like one or two acres out of our 24. It was so much work and it will continue to be so much work for years. We will probably do another acre in a couple years and hope the seedlings become seed trees and help keep our once logged forest, healthy for years to come. Fingers crossed. Just sharing my experience because it's not easy when you live in pennsylvania and there's almost zero old growth forest.

Good to see this. Social psychology has a lot to do with it. In the aftermath of a major pine related wildfire in my community, so many people wanted to 'help' by planting pine seedlings. There was so much other work that needed to be done - especially with erosion control. But - I saw that so many volunteer groups only wanted to do the planting of seedlings. Why? They wanted the "feel good" experience. In the following years, the seedlings had less than a 2% survival rate. And we had major damage to roads and a dam due to erosion. People also made major efforts to remove the burnt dead trees because they didn't want to see them. Seeing them made people feel bad. In contrast, the areas that were left alone re-grew much more rapidly and with more diversity.

Planting trees in soil that lacks nutrients and minerals and biological activity isn't going to work. When I plant a tree I dig an extra big hole and add soil amendments that give the tree the stuff it needs to get established. The right soil conditions for the species of tree or plant is important, some want wetter soil and some want to be pretty dry. So the soil composition is important. It's a lot more complicated than just digging a little hole and putting a tree in it. They need water if nature doesn't provide it. They need other plants growing up and dying and rotting around the roots. They need mycelium (fungus) networks that make relationships with the tree roots and they help each other. And they need worms and other critters in the soil to break down nutrients.

I love the PBS Terra content. The segments are a good length to introduce an important idea, engagingly presented, and with enough information to do further research if the topic interests me. I also love that people from different backgrounds, genders, and ethnic origins are the well-spoken and well-informed presenters. No offense to older white guys, but we've heard a lot from you over the past century. Nice to realize that all people can be and are studying the earth and trying to save it from destruction.

Very interesting and informative. I learned a lot. Thank you.

This was excellent. Factual. Honest. Described as important but not an “existential crisis.” Not judgmental. No moralizing. No easy answers.

Thank you for sharing this information.

Trees for the Future uses the forest garden approach, which makes priorities of getting locals involved in planting a mix of trees and plants which will benefit the community

My wife and I purchased 1381m2 of steeply sloped land in a subdivision adjacent to a private reserve, cut down 41 established trees to clear our house build, then spent 8 years trying to revitalize this land and give us a native garden. Most of our furniture and garden mulch came from those trees, we now have lizards, bugs, beetles, birds, and plenty of native wildlife on our small (but not suburban) plot of land. Despite planting dozens of trees, only a few Blackwoods, 3 Huon Pines, and a dozen cheap and cheerful species have thrived (Coppertips, Limelights, Wattles). It is really hard to put back what you cheaply take. $0.02 from Tasmania.