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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/15/ill-judged-tree-planting-africa-threatens-ecosystems-scientists-warn>
"Misguided tree-planting projects are threatening crucial ecosystems across
Africa, scientists have warned.
Research has revealed that an area the size of France is threatened by forest
restoration initiatives that are taking place in inappropriate landscapes.
One project in particular, the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative,
aims to plant trees across 100m hectares (247m acres) of land by 2030.
Scientists have warned that the scheme plans to plant trees in non-forest
ecosystems such as savannahs and grasslands, potentially disrupting or
destroying intact ecosystems.
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.
The researchers say the misclassification of grassy ecosystems including
savannahs as “forests” could lead to misplaced reforestation and destruction of
these ancient grasslands.
The definition currently used by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization
defines forests as areas of land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees
higher than 5 metres, with tree canopy cover of at least 10%.
Under this definition, open-spaced ecosystems with trees, such as savannahs,
would be classified as forests and would meet the required standards for
reforestation – even if they were not appropriate.
The addition of more trees to these areas creates more canopy cover and
decreases the amount of light that can reach the ground below, which can change
the grassy environment of the savannah. This could be a risk to wildlife such
as rhinos and wildebeest, as well as people who depend on these ecosystems.
“We must act to avoid a situation where we cannot see the savannah for the
trees, and these precious grassy systems are lost irrevocably,” wrote the
authors."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
