
Tree planting is the process of
transplanting tree
seedling
A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (embry ...
s, generally for
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...
,
land reclamation
Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...
, or
landscaping purposes. It differs from the transplantation of larger
trees in
arboriculture and from the lower-cost but slower and less reliable distribution of tree
seed
In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...
s. Trees contribute to their environment over long periods of time by improving air quality, climate amelioration, conserving water, preserving soil, and supporting wildlife. During the process of photosynthesis, trees take in
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
and produce
oxygen.
In
silviculture
Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, as well as quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production.
The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests ...
, the activity is known as "
reforestation", or "
afforestation," depending on whether the area being planted has recently been forested or not. It involves planting seedlings over an area of land where the
forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
has been
harvested or
damaged by fire,
disease
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical condi ...
, or human activity. Trees are planted in many different parts of the world, and strategies may differ widely across nations and regions and among individual reforestation companies. Tree planting is grounded in
forest science and, if performed properly, can result in the successful regeneration of a deforested area. However a
planted forest rarely replicates the
biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
and complexity of a natural forest.
Because trees remove
carbon dioxide from the air as they grow, tree planting can be used to help
limit climate change.
Desert greening
Desert greening is the process of afforestation or revegetation of deserts for ecological restoration (biodiversity), sustainable farming and forestry, but also for reclamation of natural water systems and other ecological systems that support l ...
projects are also motivated by improved biodiversity and reclamation of natural water systems, as well as improved economic and social welfare due to an increased number of jobs in farming and forestry.
Types of trees planted

The type of tree planted may have great influence on the environmental outcomes. It is often much more profitable to outside interests to plant fast-growing species, such as eucalyptus, casuarina or
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae.
''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
(e.g., ''
Pinus radiata'' or ''
Pinus caribaea''), even though the environmental and biodiversity benefits of such
monoculture plantations are not comparable to native forest, and such offset projects are frequently objects of controversy.
To promote the growth of native ecosystems, many environmentalists advocate only indigenous trees be planted. A practical solution is to plant tough, fast-growing native tree species which begin rebuilding the land. Planting non-invasive trees that assist in the natural return of indigenous species is called "assisted natural regeneration." There are many such species that can be planted, of which about 12 are in widespread use in the US.
Alternatively,
farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR), involves farmers preserving trees (not replanting), and is considered to be a more cost-effective method of reforestation than regular tree planting.
Season of planting
Bareroot stock
The classical silvicultural literature unanimously advocates spring as the time to plant bareroot stock, with lifting and outplanting taking place while the trees are still apparently
dormant.
[Sutton, R.F. 1984. Plantation establishment in the boreal forest: glyphosate, hexazinone, and manual weed control. For. Chron. 60:282–287.] This view, in which spring planting is implicit, was epitomized by Toumey and Korstian (1942):
[Toumey, J. W. and Korstian, C.F. 1942. Seeding and planting in the forestry practice. Ed. 3. John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York.] "Almost without exception the most favourable time for ... planting is 2 weeks or more before buds
f the planting stockbegin their growth". Soil moisture conditions are generally favourable at the time when the growing season is about to begin, while dormant stock is less subject to mechanical injury and physiological shock.
[Stiell, W.M. 1976. White spruce: artificial regeneration in Canada. Dep. Environ., Can. For. Serv., Ottawa ON, Inf. Rep. FMR-X-85. 275 p.]
If the size of the planting program allows, there is little doubt that such scheduling would be advantageous in that it satisfies one, and commonly 2, of the factors essential for success: (1) the use of planting stock that is physiologically capable of responding to a growth environment at planting, and (2) planting when site factors favour tree survival and growth. The 3rd factor a good planting job, and although desirable in all plantings, is probably somewhat less critical in conventional spring plantings than at other times. If, however, a planting program cannot be completed in this way, there are other options: conventional fall planting with fresh-lifted stock; summer planting with fresh-lifted stock; and spring and summer planting with stored spring-lifted or fall-lifted stock.
Conventional spring planting with fresh spring-lifted stock
In the context of regeneration silviculture, "spring", "summer", etc. lack precise meaning. Typically, the spring planting season begins as soon as lifting becomes possible in the
nursery, and ends with the completion of the program. At this time, planting stock is physiologically attuned to the oncoming growing season, and the outplant has the whole of that season in which to establish its root system before it is challenged by any frost heaving. In practice, ideals are seldom attained. That stock is normally
dormant when spring-planted is a widespread fallacy. Active growth is commonly obvious at the time of planting, but in any case the metabolic activity increases in planting stock before the tops give visible expression to this. The difficulty of obtaining, in quantity, spring-lifted stock in dormant condition increases with increasing continentality of climate. In many areas, the period of springlike weather is unreliable and often short. As well, the soil moisture advantage claimed for spring planting is also insecurely founded. Soils that are sandy or gravelly, and shallow soils of any texture are highly dependent on current weather due to their limited available water capacities. Nor will a plentiful supply of soil moisture benefit an outplant whose roots are enveloped in anaerobic and/or cold soil, and mortality of trees outplanted into soil colder than about 6 °C may be excessive.
[Sutton, R.F. 1968. Ecology of young white spruce (''Picea glauca'' oenchVoss). Ph.D. thesis, Cornell Univ., Ithaca NY, Univ. Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan MI, 68–11645. 500 p.][Sutton, R.F. 1969. Form and development of conifer root systems. Commonw. For. Bureau, Oxford, U.K., Tech. Communication No. 7. 131 p.]
The
spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...
s may be planted not only throughout the spring planting period provided that the period of most active shoot elongation is avoided, but virtually throughout the whole growing season, with little loss of performance other than some reduction in increment.
[Mullin, R.E. 1971. "Some effects of root dipping, root exposure and extended planting dates with white spruce." For. Chron. 47(2):90–93.]
Conventional fall planting with fresh-lifted stock
The fall planting season is generally considered to begin when nursery stock has hardened off and soil moisture reserves have been replenished by autumnal rain. It then continues until the planting program has been completed or is terminated by freeze-up or heavy snow. The advantages of fall planting were once considered "To outweigh those of spring so certainly" that in the National Forests of the Lake States almost all planting was done in the fall,
but in spite of some success, operational fall plantings in North America have tended to be less successful than operational spring plantings.
[LeBarron, R.K.; Fox, G.; Blythe, R.H. 1938. The effect of season of planting and other factors on early survival of forest plantations. J. For. 36:1211–1215.] On certain sites, a major disadvantage of fall planting is that the root systems of outplants have little time in which to become firmly anchored before being subjected to frost heaving. Such plants are also vulnerable to "winter browning", which may occur in the fall soon after planting, especially among stock having high shoot:root ratios.
[Rudolf, P.O. 1950. Cold soaking – a short-cut substitute for stratification? J. For. 48(1):31–32.] Relationships between dormancy progression and physiological condition, including root-growth capacity, are much less clear in the spruces than in the pines, but certainly there is good evidence
[Baldwin, H.I. 1938. Planting experiments in the northeast. J. For. 36:758–760.][Mullin, R.E. 1968. Comparisons between seedlings and transplants in fall and spring plantings. Ont. Dep. Lands For., Res. Div., Toronto ON, Res. Rep. 85. 40 p.][Sinclair, C.; Boyd, R.J. 1973. Survival comparisons of three fall and spring plantings of four coniferous species in northern Idaho. USDA, For. Serv., Intermount. For. Range Exp. Sta., Ogden UT, Res. Pap. INT-139. 20 p.][McClain, K.M. 1975. Continuous planting of seedling black spruce. p. 177–194 ''in'' Black Spruce Symp. Proc., Can. Dep. Environ., Can. For. Serv., Sault Ste. Marie ON, Symp. Proc. O-P-4.][McClain, K.M. 1979. A review on the possibility of extending the planting season. Ont. Min. Nat. Resour., Northern For. Res. Unit, Thunder Bay ON. 44 p.] that, in the absence of frost heaving, plantings of spruces can be just as successful in fall as in spring.
Summer planting with fresh-lifted stock
Conceptually and logistically, the simplest way of extending the conventional planting season is to extend lifting and planting of fresh stock through summer until the planting program has been competed. Summer planting has also been successful in a number of research studies with white spruce, e.g., Crossley 1956;
[Crossley, D.I. 1956. The possibility of continuous planting of white spruce throughout the frost-free period. Can. Dep. Northern Affairs National Resour., For. Branch, For. Res. Div., Ottawa ON, Tech. Note 32. 31 p.] Ackerman and Johnson 1962; Decie 1962 cited by Revel and Coates 1976;
[Revel, J.; Coates, H. 1976. Planting white spruce throughout the growing season on high site areas in the Sub-Boreal Forest Region of B.C. B.C. For. Serv., Res. Div., Victoria BC, Rep. E.P.668. 37 p.] Burgar and Lyon 1968;
[Burgar, R.J.; Lyon, N.F. 1968. Survival and growth of stored and unstored white spruce planted through the frost-free period. Ont. Dep. Lands Forests, Toronto ON, Res. Rep. 84. 37 p.] Mullin 1971,
1974;
[Mullin, R.E. 1974. Some planting effects still significant after 20 years. For. Chron. 50:191–193.] Revel and Coates 1976.
Success depends on minimizing stresses to planting stock at all stages from lifting through planting and on planting when site conditions are conducive to survival and growth.
Spring and summer planting with stored stock
Refrigerated storage of planting stock has been developed largely with the aim of overcoming problems experienced in using flushed planting stock. Storage provides a means of holding stock for use when fresh stock is either unavailable or at a stage of development that renders it unsuitable for planting. It also offers possibilities of manipulating the physiological condition of the stock. However, there are problems associated with storage, e.g., mold, cold injury, desiccation, and depletion of food reserves. The rate of deterioration depends very much on the physiological condition of the planting stock at the time of lifting, as well as on the storage environment and duration of storage.
[Mullin, R.E. 1978. "Tests of frozen spring storage for white spruce and red pine planting stock." USDA, For. Serv., Tree Plant. Notes 29(4):26–29.]
Mullin and Forcier (1976)
[Mullin, R.E.; Forcier, L. 1976. Effect of lifting and planting dates on survival and growth of spring stored nursery stock. Ont. Min, Nat. Resour., For. Res. Branch, Toronto ON, For. Res. Notes 3. 4 p.] and Mullin and Reffle (1980)
[Mullin, R.E.; Reffle, R.J. 1980. Effects of dates of lifting and planting on success of frozen spring storage at Swastika Nursery. Ont. Min, Nat. Resour., Toronto ON, Nursery Notes 66. 5 p.] examined the effects of spring-lifting date and planting date on several species, including 3+0 white spruce after frozen storage, with fresh-lifted controls planted on each planting date for comparison. In all plantings, the earliest (2 May) lifting gave highest average second-year survival in all species. In another study, Mullin (1978)
found that outplantings of frozen-stored 3+0 white spruce were consistently successful to the end of July only with the earliest-lifted (25 April) stock. Sutton (1982)
[Sutton, R.F. 1982. "Plantation establishment in the boreal forest: planting season extension." Can. Dep. Environ., Can. For. Serv., Sault Ste. Marie ON, Inf. Rep. O-X-344. 129 p.] also used 3+0 white spruce in outplanting every 2 weeks from the end of June through the growing season in 3 successive years on a variety of sites in northern Ontario. Despite variation in planting stock, poor storage environments and adverse weather, 4th-year results showed a consistent pattern of reasonable survival and growth rates among trees planted through July, with a rapid decline in performance of trees planted thereafter. Overwinter storage of stock has also been employed. It has the advantage of lifting stock at the end of the growing season when physiological processes are invoking natural dormancy.
[Mullin, R.E.; Parker, J.D. 1976. "Provisional guidelines for fall lifting for frozen overwinter storage of nursery stock." For. Chron. 52(1):22–25.]
Natural refrigerated overwinter storage has been used in root cellars and snow caches. Using natural refrigeration in root cellar storage, Jorgensen and Stanek (1962)
[Jorgensen, E.; Stanek, W.K.L. 1962. "Overwinter storage of coniferous seedlings as a means of preventing late frost damage." For. Chron. 38(2):192–202.] kept 3+0 and 2+2 white spruce in dormant condition for 6 months without apparent detriment to performance after outplanting. Moreover, the stock was highly resistant to spring frost damage. Natural cold storage for overwintering 3+0 and 2+2 white spruce was also used by Mullin (1966).
[Mullin, R.E. 1966. "Overwinter storage of baled nursery stock in northern Ontario." Commonw. For. Rev. 45(3):224–230.] Unlike Jorgensen and Stanek's (1962)
stock, which was raised 550 km to the south of where it was planted, Mullin's stock was raised in a nursery at about the same latitude as the planting site; the stock experienced inside-bale temperatures down to -15 °C in mid-winter, but still showed first- and second-year survival rates of 85.9% and 65.9%, respectively, compared with 91.4% and 76.2%, respectively, for fresh-lifted stock. However, Mullin's stored stock was much more damaged by spring frost than was fresh-lifted stock and it "showed a reduction in vigour as measured in terms of survival, susceptibility to damage and growth".
Role in climate change mitigation
By country
Australia
Australian forests have been heavily affected since European colonisation, and some attempts have been made to restore native habitats, both by government and individuals.
Greening Australia is a national
Non profit set up to run the "National Tree Program" initiated by the Federal Government in 1982.
There is a strong volunteer movement for conservation in Australia through Landcare and other networks. National Tree Day is organised annually by
Planet Ark in the last week in July, encouraging the public to plant 1 million native trees per year. Growing trees for Timber industries is a long-term project. It may take many years for a tree to mature to an age and size that is appropriate for the Timber to be used by industry. Some trees are many hundreds of years old.
Many state governments run their own "Million Tree" programs each year to encourage community involvement.
Trees for Life (
Brooklyn Park) is an excellent example of a community organisation having a sustainable impact.
Bangladesh
45,000 tree saplings will be planted on rural roads in Bangladesh. Legal agreements will ensure that 60% tree wealth created will belong to the poorest families (45 km × 15 = 675 families). Local government and PEP each receive 20% tree wealth. 45 poor rural women & 3 local social workers will be employed for 3 years to nurture the young saplings, receiving a monthly salary. With only 8% of the desired 25% land under tree coverage, the project will improve environment.
Canada
Most tree planting in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
is carried out by private reforestation companies.
Tree-planting is typically
piece work and tree prices can vary widely depending on the difficulty of the terrain and on the winning contract's bid price. As a result, there is a saying among planters: "There is no bad land, only bad contracts." 4 months of hard work can yield enough to live on for an entire year, but conditions are harsh.
Tree planting crews often do not permanently reside in the areas where they work, thus much planting is based out of
motel
A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the Parking lot, parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central Lobby (room), lo ...
s or bush camps. Bush camp accommodations usually consist of a mess tent, cook shack, dry goods tent,
first aid tent, freshly dug
outhouses, and a shower tent or trailer. Planters are responsible for bringing either a tent or car to sleep in. A camp also contains camp cooks and support staff.
The average British Columbian planter plants 1,600 trees per day,
but it is not uncommon for experienced planters to plant up to 4,000 trees per day while working in the interior.
These numbers are higher in central and eastern Canada, where the terrain is generally faster, however the price per tree is slightly lower as a result. Average daily totals of 2,500 are common, with experienced planters planting upwards of 5,000 trees a day. Numbers as high as 7,500 a day have been recorded.
Quite often, tree planting contractors will deduct some of the cost associated with the operation of the contract directly from the tree planter's daily earned wages. These imposed fees typically vary from $10 to $30 per day, and are referred to as "camp costs".
Once inflation is factored in, real tree planter earnings have declined for many years in Canada. This has adversely affected the sector's ability to attract and retain workers.
Based on statistics for British Columbia, the average tree planter: lifts a cumulative weight of over , bends more than 200 times per hour, drives the shovel into the ground more than 200 times per hour and travels over with a heavy load, every day of the entire season. The reforestation industry has an average annual injury rate of approximately 22 claims per 100 workers, per year. It is often difficult and sometimes dangerous.
Germany
Tree planting is widely practiced in Germany.
United Kingdom
Planting in the UK is commonly referred to as ''restocking'', when it takes place on land that has recently been
harvested. When occurring on previously unforested land it is known as ''new planting''.Under the British system, in order to acquire the necessary permissions to clearcut, the landowner must agree a management plan with the
Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England.
The Forestry Commission was previously also respons ...
(the regulatory body for all things forestry) which must include proposals for the re-establishment of tree cover on the land. Planting contractors will be engaged by the landowner/management company, a contract drawn up and work will typically take place from November to April when most of the transplants are
dormant.
Planting is part of the rotational nature of much British
plantation
Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
forestry. Productive tree crops are planted and subsequently clearcut. Some form of soil
cultivation may take place and the ground is then restocked. Where the production of timber is a management priority, a prescribed
stocking density must be achieved. For
conifer
Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...
ous species this will be a minimum of 2500 stems per hectare at year 5 (from planting). Planting at this density has been shown to favour the development of straighter knot-free
logs.
Planters are normally paid under
piece work terms and an experienced worker will plant around 1600 trees a day under most conditions.
India
Tree Plantation drives combat many environmental issues like deforestation, erosion of soil,
desertification in semi-arid areas, global warming and hence enhancing the beauty and balance of the environment. Trees absorb harmful gases and emit oxygen resulting in an increase in oxygen supply.
On average, a single tree emits 260 pounds of oxygen annually. Similarly, a fully-grown tree is sufficient for 18 human beings in one acre of land in one year stressing the importance of tree plantation for mankind.
Aniruddha's Academy of Disaster Management in
Mumbai, India carries out numerous projects to plant trees on a huge scale. The foundation trains volunteer on this subject at
Govidyapeetham (Cattle Conservation Institute) in the city of Karjat in Maharashtra, India. The trained volunteers then plant saplings, trees in groups on available land. Local government authorities also provide vacant plots, land on highways sides and on the hills for tree plantation.
Ek Kadam Sansthan of
Jaipur, India is involved in many plantation projects including ''one tree my duty to plant trees on the earth''. The Ek Kadam plant trees and hand them over to the individual at the village, who meets beneficiary criteria like they are financially challenged, physically challenged etc. After handing over the process Sansthan pays them 100 INR per tree for watering and safety from grazing cattle. Hence by this process Ek Kadam sansthan want to ensure 100% survivability of planted trees. Many volunteers are added to this campaign. The trained volunteers help Ek Kadam Sansthan to plant saplings, and managing all processes. Ek Kadam Sansthan not taking any support from government agencies. The management committee is regularised and managed by retired bureaucrats to ensure transparency in funds and performance measures.
Ek Kadam Sansthan's campaign ''One Tree My Duty'' is working with technology-enabled tree plantation work.
Iran
In early 2020s
Iran had a program for planting trees.
Israel
: ''See:
Jewish National Fund#Afforestation;
List of forests in Israel.''
Tree-planting is an ancient
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
tradition. The
Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
ic rabbi
Yohanan ben Zakai used to say that if a person planting a tree heard that the Messiah had arrived, he should finish planting before going to greet him. Due to massive afforestation efforts, this fact echoed in diverse campaigns. Israeli forests are the product of a major afforestation campaign by the
Jewish National Fund (JNF).
The largest planted forest in Israel is
Yatir Forest, located on the southern slopes of
Mount Hebron, on the edge of the
Negev Desert. It covers an area of 30,000
dunam
A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...
s (30 square kilometers). It is named after the ancient
Levite city within its territory,
Yatir, as written in the
Torah
The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
: "And unto the children of Aaron the priest they gave
Hebron
Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...
with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Libnah with its suburbs, and Jattir with its suburbs, and
Eshtemoa with its suburbs" (
Book of Joshua 21:13–14). In 2006, the JNF signed a 49-year lease agreement with the State of Israel which gives it control over 30,000 hectares of Negev land for the development of forests.
[Professor Alon Tal, The Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion University of the Nege]
"NATIONAL REPORT OF ISRAEL, Years 2003–2005, TO THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION (UNCCD)"
; State of Israel, July 2006 Research on
climate change
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
is being carried out in Yatir Forest.
Studies of the
Weizmann Institute of Science
The Weizmann Institute of Science ( ''Machon Weizmann LeMada'') is a Public university, public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, fourteen years before the State of Israel was founded. Unlike other List of Israeli uni ...
, in collaboration with the
Desert Research Institute at
Sde Boker, have shown that the trees function as a trap for carbon in the air.
Shade provided by trees planted in the desert also reduces evaporation of the sparse rainfall.
Yatir Forest is a part of the
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
project
FluxNet, a global network of micrometeorological tower sites used to measure the exchanges of
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
,
water vapor
Water vapor, water vapour, or aqueous vapor is the gaseous phase of Properties of water, water. It is one Phase (matter), state of water within the hydrosphere. Water vapor can be produced from the evaporation or boiling of liquid water or from th ...
, and energy between terrestrial ecosystem and
atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
. The
Arava Institute for Environmental Studies conducts research that focuses on crops such as dates and grapes grown in the vicinity of Yatir forest. The research is part of a project aimed at introducing new crops into arid and saline zones.
The JNF has been criticized for planting non-native pine trees which are unsuited to the climate, rather than local species such as olive trees. Others say that JNF deserves credit for this decision, and the forests would not have survived otherwise. According to JNF statistics, six out of every 10 saplings planted at a JNF site in Jerusalem do not survive, although the survival rate for planting sites outside Jerusalem is much higher – close to 95 percent.
New Zealand
Kaingaroa Forest in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
is the second largest planted forest in the southern hemisphere after the Sabie/Graskop area in South Africa. It is one of the many plantation forests planted since European settlement. The
Monterey Pine (''Pinus radiata'') is commonly used for plantations since a fast-growing cultivar suitable for a wide range of conditions has been developed.
Government agencies, environmental organisations and private trusts carry out tree planting for
conservation and
climate change mitigation. While some work is carried out by private enterprise, there are also planting days organised for volunteers.
Landcare Research use planted forests for their EBEX21 system for greenhouse gas emissions mitigations.
South Africa
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
's forests have been a heavily depleted mostly due to agriculture, traditional farming and urbanisation in the coastal regions. Various organizations are working on increasing the forest cover in parts of the country. Currently there is less than 0.5% forest cover in South Africa. Wildlands Conservation Trust and Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA) are some of the oldest NGOs working to plant trees throughout South Africa—both established in the early 1990s. Greenpop is a national
Social Enterprise established in 2010 which focusses on tree planting in sustainable
urban greening and
forest restoration in
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...
. There is a strong volunteer movement for conservation in South Africa. National Tree Day or
Arbor Day
Arbor Day (or Arbour Day in some countries) is a Secularity, secular day of observance in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant trees. Today, many countries observe such a holiday. Though usually observed in the spring, the date v ...
is organised annually in September, and has gone on to become national Arbor Month.
The largest planted forest in the Southern Hemisphere is located in the Sabie/Graskop area in South Africa and covers approximately 6,000 km
2.
United States
Hand planting is the most widely practiced planting method in the United States. Hand planting is possible on most terrain, in most soil conditions, and around obstacles. Equipment for hand planting is inexpensive, but hand planting is labor-intensive resulting in costs that are generally 20% to 50% greater than those of machine planting. Hand planting is an attractive option for landowners and conservation organizations planting small acreages; especially if volunteer labor is available. Seedling survival rates will vary based on planters' experience levels. In the U.S., common hand planting tools include dibbles, mattocks, augers, and hoedads that are paired with a hip or shoulder harness style planting bag.
Machine planting is another common planting method in the United States. Equipment and transportation costs are such that machine planting is generally used for larger acreages where reduced labor cost and high planting productivity are desired. Machine planting is generally restricted to reasonably level terrain with good soil and limited obstacles. While machine planting is most often associated with plantation silviculture in the Southeast and Upper Midwest, it has been used in
ecological restoration. Machine planting was used for forest restoration on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula following a large scale Spruce Bark Beetle outbreak in the 1990s.
Trees for the Future and
Plant With Purpose are non-profit organizations based in the U.S. that plant trees in developing countries to improve land management. Other organizations that plant trees in the United States include:
*
American Forests
* Planting Shade: Student run non-profit based in Virginia Beach. Gives citizens the resources to plant trees in their own backyard and other residential areas.
*
Arbor Day Foundation
*
Nature Conservancy
* Plant-it 2020
*
USDA Forest Service "Plant-A-Tree" program in which a person can donate to plant trees in the National Forests.
* Our City Forest
TreeFolksempowers central Texans to build stronger communities through planting and caring for trees. Since 1989, TreeFolks has planted over 1.5 million trees in parks, neighborhoods, and natural areas throughout central Texas.
History
Trees have been selectively planted by mankind for thousands of years the world over to provide food, shelter, timber, and other tree products as well as for ornamental and ceremonial purposes. The first woody species planted was probably
olive
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...
in southeast Europe in 4000BC. There are also many biblical references to tree planting, such as in the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
record of
Abraham planting a
tamarisk to commemorate the treaty of
Beersheba (Gen. 21:33).
[Evans J. 2009. "The history of tree planting and planted forests." ''Planted Forests: Uses, Impacts and Sustainability''. Published jointly by FAO and CAB International, pp. 5–22. 781845935641.pdf (slu.se)/ref>
The concept of planting multiple trees together on a large scale to replenish material supplies first developed in Europe during the ]Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, and gradually gave rise to forestry plantations. The earliest records of conifer plantations come from Nuremberg
Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
in 1368, although the planting of trees on a large scale may have taken place as early as the 13th century in this region to reafforest exploited areas.
As Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
humans assumed a more settled way of life, and with the technological development of agriculture and consequent growth of civilization, more trees would need to be felled and gathered as a source of timber and other forest products and to make way for cultivation of crops. Given the finiteness of tree products in the absence of sufficient replanting, it was realized that clearance of forest and woodland must be controlled, and forests had to be managed and conserved for the natural resources they provided as demand grew. In England for example, this is evident from early laws that were passed in 1457 to encourage tree planting. However, despite these laws, persistent destruction of woodlands since the Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
period had by the seventeenth century led to a so-called "timber famine". Because of this shortfall, timber was at a premium and thus became very expensive, which was especially problematic for shipbuilding and naval enterprises. Following an appeal by the Navy Board to the Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
for a solution, one member of the Society, John Evelyn, wrote and published his seminal 1664 work '' Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-Trees and the Propagation of Timber''. This conveyed a successful plea for reafforestation by persuading landowners to plant millions of trees on their private estates to make good the severe shortage of timber and repair the "wooden walls" of England.
In the tropics, there is a long history of planting teak for timber, dating back to the 15th century in Java
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
. The demand for sustainable teak for general construction and shipbuilding purposes intensified with the arrival of the Portuguese in the 15th century and the Dutch in the 17th century. The teak growing industry thereafter became controlled and monopolized by the Dutch East India Company.
In North America, tree planting on the western prairies was practiced by immigrants from the east during the 19th century. This was to satisfy the demand for wood and other tree products as well as to establish shelterbelts for agriculture, since naturally growing trees were very scarce on the Great Plains
The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...
.[Droze WH. 1977. ''Trees, Prairies, and People: A History of Tree Planting in the Plains States'' (Vol. 10). Texas Woman's University.]
See also
* Agroforestry
* Arbor Day
Arbor Day (or Arbour Day in some countries) is a Secularity, secular day of observance in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant trees. Today, many countries observe such a holiday. Though usually observed in the spring, the date v ...
* Arboretum
* Billion Tree Campaign
* Ecosia
* Farmer-managed natural regeneration
* Forest restoration
* Great Green Wall (Africa)
* Hoedad (tool)
* Hoedads Reforestation Cooperative
* Johnny Appleseed
Johnny Appleseed (born John Chapman; September 26, 1774March 18, 1845) was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced trees grown with apple seeds (as opposed to trees grown with grafting) to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, I ...
* Lists of trees
* Mattock
* Million Tree Initiative
* Multipurpose tree
Multipurpose trees or multifunctional trees are trees that are deliberately grown and managed for more than one output. They may supply food in the form of fruit, nuts, or leaves that can be used as a vegetable; while at the same time supplyi ...
* Planet Ark
* Plant-for-the-Planet
* Pottiputki
* Propagation of Christmas trees
* Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation
* Tree care
* Tree planting bar
* Trillion Tree Campaign
* Tu Bishvat
* Tubestock
* Urban forest
* Urban forestry
* Urban reforestation
References
External links
Nursery , https://nursery.id
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tree Planting
Forestry occupations
Forest management
Reforestation
Habitat management equipment and methods
Trees