What is Afforestation?

Afforestation is the process of planting trees, or sowing seeds, in a barren land devoid of any trees to create a forest. The term should not be confused with reforestation, which is the process of specifically planting native trees into a forest that has decreasing numbers of trees. While reforestation is increasing the number of trees of an existing forest, afforestation is the creation of a new forest.

Our Earth has been constantly trying to cope with the way in which human beings use natural resources, clear forest lands, cut trees, and contaminate the air, land, and water. Industrial revolution, population bursts, and pollution create permanent damage to the earth, and the result is global warming and climate change. In such situations,something that can help extend the life of the planet and its living organisms is the increase of natural resources and decrease of exploitation of these resources. By planting trees and creating forests, many of the commercial needs of human beings are fulfilled, while not destroying what is left of the planet. Afforestation is, therefore, a practice that has been propagated by government and non-government agencies of many countries as a way to stop over-exploitation of nature.

Importance

The importance is immense in today's scenario because it is mainly done for commercial purposes. In a natural forest or woodland, the trees are heterogeneous. Owing to the sensitivity to over usage and slow growths, these forests cannot be used continuously for commercial purposes like wood products. The process of planting trees in empty lands helps promote the fast propagation of specific types of trees for the wood industry. With the increasing demand for wood fuels and building materials, this process helps to meet these demands without cutting down the natural forests. Deforestation can lead to the depletion of trees in water catchments and riverside zones. Afforestation ensures trees and plants that hold the soil in these sensitive areas remain protected. Many countries have introduced the practice of planting trees along with agricultural crops in croplands. The benefits of this practice, which is called agroforestry, are:

It provides a supply of timber, fruit, and fodder for cattle apart from crop production It prevents soil erosion It enables better retention of water It shields crops from excessive wind and sun damage

In terms of the environmental benefits, planting trees is always beneficial whether it takes place in a barren land or is used as a method to regenerate a depleted forest. Trees help check atmospheric carbon dioxide; large scale afforestation can curb the problems caused due to burning of fossil fuels, industrialization and so forth.

Current Efforts

In the central hardwood forest region of the US, increasing numbers of land owners are converting crop land marginally into a forest. This is being done to decrease the pressure on the use of existing hardwood species of the forest like black cherry, black walnut, and northern red oak. In South Africa, about 0.5 percent of land is covered with indigenous forests, and 1.1 percent by forests formed by Total Commercial Afforestation (TCA) and containing trees like pine, gum trees, black wattle, and so forth. This has helped provide wood to be used for charcoal, poles, mining timber, paper pulp, and other commercial applications. The advantage of planting a tree species, like pine, is it helps check infections the tree is prone to in its native country and climate, thus producing higher production. Pursuant to better growth and higher yields due to afforesting of these alien species, South Africa can produce and export close to two million tons of wood and wood products. In China, the government has earmarked a bulk amount equivalent to almost 300 billion US dollars that would be completely utilized for afforesting schemes the country is planning. To combat soil erosion in Central and West China, the government has already started the process of converting farmland back to woodland.

Conclusion
Afforesting is a positive effort in curbing the over-use and destruction of natural forests. If done with proper planning and at appropriate sites, it can become a commercially viable solution for many human needs without harming the balance of nature.

Reference
http://www.energy-enviro.fi/index.php?PAGE=3&NODE_ID=5&LANG=1&ID=3246 http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/fnr/htirc/pdf/publications/Afforestationinthecentralhardwoodf orestregionoftheUSA.pdf

http://www.bcb.uwc.ac.za/envfacts/facts/afforestation.htm Image Credit McD22 via cc/Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/smcdevitt/3091208756/ Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/environment/scienceenvironmental/articles/91133.aspx#ixzz1DuzRcFD8

Advantages:

It helps meet the world's increasing demands for timber and forest products Soil erosion is avoided as trees prevent rapid run off after heavy rainfall. Tourism is encouraged. Jobs are provided. Wildlife is preserved Trees provide oxygen The beauty of the landscape is preserved

Disadvantages:

Blanket planting spoils the natural look of the landscape It increases fire risks It is sometimes cheaper to import timber from other countries It limits access for hikers and recreational users. It may reduce tourism

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_advantages_and_disadvantages_of_afforestation#ixzz 1DuyskdrA

Afforestation
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where the preceding vegetation or land use was not forest.[1] Reforestation is the reestablishment of forest cover either naturally (by natural seeding, coppice, or root suckers) or artificially (by direct seeding or planting), usually maintaining a same or similar forest type, and done promptly after the previous stand or forest was removed.[2] Many governments and non-governmental organizations directly engage in programs of afforestation to restore forests, increase carbon capture and sequestration,

and assist in preservation of biodiversity. (In the UK afforestation may mean legally converting land into a royal forest.)

Afforestation in areas of degraded soil

In some places, forests need help to reestablish themselves because of environmental factors. For example, once forest cover is destroyed in arid zones, the land may dry and become inhospitable to new tree growth. Other factors include overgrazing by livestock, especially animals such as goats, and over-harvesting of forest resources. Together these may lead to desertification and the loss of topsoil; without soil, forests cannot grow until the long process of soil creation has been completed - if erosion allows this. In some tropical areas, forest cover removal may result in a duricrust or duripan that effectively seal off the soil to water penetration and root growth. In many areas, reforestation is impossible because people are using the land. In other areas, mechanical breaking up of duripans or duricrusts is necessary, careful and continued watering may be essential, and special protection, such as fencing, may be needed.

World regions
Brazil

Because of the extensive Amazon deforestation during the last decades and ongoing,[3] the small efforts of afforestation are insignificant on a national scale of the Amazon Rainforest.[4]
China

China has deforested most of its historically wooded areas. China reached the point where timber yields declined far below historic levels, due to over-harvesting of trees beyond sustainable yield.[5] Although it has set official goals for reforestation, these goals were set for an 80 year time horizon and are not significantly met by 2008. China is trying to correct these problems by projects as the Green Wall of China, which aims to replant a great deal of forests and halt the expansion of the Gobi desert. A law promulgated in 1981 requires that every citizen over the age of 11 plant at least one tree per year. As a result, China currently has the highest afforestation rate of any country or region in the world, with 47,000 square kilometers of afforestation in 2008.[6] However, the forest area per capita is still far lower than the international average.[7] An ambitious proposal for China is the Aerially Delivered Re-forestation and Erosion Control System
North Africa

In North Africa, the sahara forest project coupled with the Seawater Greenhouse has been proposed. Some projects have also been launched in countries as Senegal to revert desertification. At present (2010) African leaders are discussing the combining of national countries in their continent to increase effectiveness.[8] In addition, other projects as the Keita

project in Niger have been launched in the past, and have been able to locally revert damage done by desertification. See Development_aid#Effectiveness
Europe

Europe has deforested the majority of its historical forests. The European Union has paid farmers for afforestation since 1990, offering grants to turn farmland back into forest and payments for the management of forest. Between 1993 and 1997, EU afforestation policies made possible the re-forestation of over 5,000 square kilometres of land. A second program, running between 2000 and 2006, afforested in excess of 1000 square kilometres of land (precise statistics not yet available). A third such program began in 2007. In Poland, the National Program of Afforestation was introduced by the government after World War II, when total area of forests shrank to 20% of country's territory. Consequently, forested areas of Poland grew year by year, and on December 31, 2006, forests covered 29% of the country (see: Polish forests). It is planned that by 2050, forests will cover 33% of Poland. According to FAO statistics, Spain had the fastest afforestation rate in Europe in the 1990-2005 period. In those years, a total of 44,360 square kilometers were afforested, and the total forest cover rose from 13,5 to 17,9 million hectares. In 1990, forests covered 26,6% of the Spanish territory. As of 2005, that figure had risen to 35,4%. Spain today has the third largest forest area in the European Union, after Sweden and Finland.
Iran

Iran is considered a low forest cover region of the world with present cover approximating seven percent of the land area. This is a value reduced by an estimated six million hectares of virgin forest, which includes oak, almond and pistacio. Due to soil substrates, it is difficult to achieve afforestation on a large scale compared to other temperate areas endowed with more fertile and less rocky and arid soil conditions. Consequently, most of the afforestation is conducted with non-native species, leading to habitat destruction for native flora and fauna, and resulting in an accelerated loss of biodiversity