UniSC Forest Research Institute’s Post

Rangeland afforestation is not a natural climate solution! 5 misconceptions: - Conflation between reforestation & afforestation - Overestimation of carbon sequestration potential - Insufficient recognition of rangeland ecosystem services - Potential for adverse ecological outcomes - Neocolonial tendencies of afforestation programs Briske et al., Frontiers in Ecology & the Environment https://lnkd.in/dC3j_Jn8

Abandoned farmlands are a reality of our landscapes but we mostly see it really go just two ways: claimed by agroindustry or re-claimed by nature? First one tends to further erode them, leading to more soil and biodiversity loss. On the other hand, when human manufactured landscapes like farmland are re-claimed by nature, in lack of a good stewardship and rewilding plan (also done by humans) these lands tend to overgrow with invasive species filling in an ecological niche, leaving little space for biodiversity. So why not go for a third option, why not steward them through agroecology? ALPA - Land for Life was set up to take stewardship of abandoned farmlands and enhance biodiversity while producing food on it. There is a whole European Access to Land Network rapidly growing, safeguarding and regenerating thousands of hectares of farmlands already through this approach.

Brooke Williams, James Watson, Jonathan Rhodes, and past CBCSers Hawthorne Beyer, Renato Crouzeilles and Anazélia Tedesco have published a paper in the journal Nature in collaboration with Conservation International titled “Global potential for natural regeneration in deforested tropical regions”. Their new research shows that natural forest regeneration in tropical regions – without costly interventions – can restore over 215 million hectares of forest, an area larger than Mexico. The world has committed to ambitious forest restoration targets, such as Target 2 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. In some locations, these can only be achieved through cost-effective forest restoration techniques. The dataset that they have released, which shows the potential for natural forest regeneration (between a value of 0–1) across tropical Earth at a 30m resolution, informs on where the natural forest regeneration can be leveraged to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges. Read the paper here:

The dangers of tree planting in savannah and grasslands has been emphasized by scientists in several articles but I wonder if the message is getting through to the people making decisions. The false allure of planting trees as an easy solution to climate change is just too great. The Global Biodiversity Standard (https://lnkd.in/dki2V4_d) is an attempt to address the challenge of tree planting programmes that may be causing harm to the world’s ecosystems. It is intended to provide assurance that tree planting, habitat restoration and agroforestry practices are protecting, restoring, and enhancing biodiversity. This is a great initiative and the next challenge is to ensure that the standards are adopted and applied by governments, corporates and funding agencies

Let us all be clear on this: afforestation is NOT restoration. It is almost always either the economically-driven efforts of commercial timber interests, and/or the well-meaning but ecologically-ill-judged effort to plant trees where they have not recently occured in geological time and thus cannot likely survive. And it is causing the destruction of grasslands, wetlands, montane ecosystems and others. As well as, of course, the wastage of millions$$ and major effort that must better be spent strategically restoring ecosystems that also contribute massively to biodiversity, carbon, ecosystem function/service, and social goals. https://lnkd.in/gbiRpUPN. "The research found that 52% of tree-planting projects in Africa are occurring in savannahs, with almost 60% using non-native tree species, which also brings the risk of introducing invasive species." Part of this is attributable to misclassification of remote sensing data - but also to an alarming ecological illiteracy and failure to look at land use histories and climate data. Nicola Stevens Guy Midgley Delphine Dubray Midori Paxton FAO Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Anthony Leiserowitz UNEP-WCMC

urgh... one of my pet peeves... stop planting trees where they don't belong. Especially alien trees!! Grasslands and open savannas are valuable and necessary parts of the world's rangelands. This study really highlights how far we need to still go in bringing ecology and economy into functional alignment if we are truly going to achieve nature-positive outcomes.

Trees and plants in general are not just static features in the landscape, much like animals they have unique interactions and impacts on their respective natural endemic ranges. What a lot of aforestation does would be akin to introducing grizzly bears as a predator into Africa if the native predator lion population should disappear. Same but not same, and so the impacts and interactions are also not the same.

A New Conservation Approach: Protecting Ecosystems to Save Vulnerable Species 🌍 As biodiversity loss accelerates, scientists are calling for a broader approach to species conservation. This strategy shifts focus from single-species preservation to protecting entire ecosystems. The goal? Build more resilient environments to prevent extinctions and safeguard biodiversity. This innovative thinking is essential for ensuring the survival of our planet’s most vulnerable species. 🔗 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dTB8ZWtp #Conservation #Biodiversity #Sustainability #EcosystemRestoration #WildlifeConservation

THIS COULD HAVE BIG IMPLICATIONS FOR CORAL REEFS: More than half of all mangrove ecosystems at risk of collapse by 2050, first global assessment finds More than half of the world’s mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse, according to the first global mangrove assessment for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Ecosystems. Read full story here: https://lnkd.in/ebAAMhJN #mangroves #coralreefs #habitatloss #habitatdegradation #coastalecology #coastalhabitats #marinebiology #marineecology #iucn #sustainability

The findings of a new study demonstrate the carbon sequestration and storage potential of ‘rewilding habitats’, also known as process-led nature restoration projects, in lowland Britain. https://lnkd.in/epbBb_Zj