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Replanting logged forests with diverse seedlings accelerates restoration

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Re: Replanting logged forests with diverse seedlings accelerates restoration

#24
post #16
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you expand on the difference between climate change friendly and non climate change friendly trees, for the noobs like me?

The money is in growing saplings of white-pine, the ones commercial re-planters will buy - because they grow fast and can be turned into toilet paper in 25(?) years. Growing saplings of local 'slow' growing, non-harvestable species doesn't make you $$$. "In essence, forest nurseries tended to maintain a limited inventory of a select few species, electing to prioritize those valued for commercial timber production ove…

Maybe we should plant seeds, same as nature does. Dozens of different seeds per m2, nature would choose what'd survive and flourish.

An example of a forest farm planted with the same approach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ST9NyHf09M

Re: Replanting logged forests with diverse seedlings accelerates restoration

#25
I did a quick look to see if this only worked in tropical forests, or if this would be true in, say, Western North American forests.

I didn't really find an answer.

A study[1] in Virgina found that planting multiple varieties of trees was beneficial because it allowed the variety that was most suitable for that location to thrive, and survive problems that might affect other varieties.

A study[2] in Washington State tested a couple varities of common conifers planted in pairs, and found more conventional "trees are affected by competition" result.

This study[3] performed in the inter-mountain West found that some conifers _may_ benefit from being mixed with aspens, but didn't seem nearly as conclusive as the Borneo study.

If anyone can find a more conclusive study about temperate Western forests, I'd love to see it.

[1] https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/tree-species-diversity-...

[2] https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/X09-040

[3] https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111...

Re: Replanting logged forests with diverse seedlings accelerates restoration

#26

Eventually people will figure out that monoculture was a horrible and anti-nature idea.

I’ve heard monoculture forests are worse for forest fires too.

Having dead decaying logs on the forest floor probably helps because fungi are naturally fire resistant.

Re: Replanting logged forests with diverse seedlings accelerates restoration

#27
post #4

Someone logged a 500 hectare plot in Borneo. They split this into 125 sections and planted 0, 1, 4, or 16 "tree species that are frequently targeted for logging". After 20 years, satellite imagery shows that the more tree species you planted, the more recovered the land appears to be. I'm left wondering: 1. Why did they plant only tree species that are frequently targeted for logging? This makes the whole experiment…

This is an aside. This [0] is what an attempt at balancing logging, locals, and forest conservation ~150 years ago looked like. The checkerboard effect [1] is pretty striking. This strategy ended up being a disaster for some animals, famously the Northern Spotted Owl.

[0] https://www.google.com/maps/@43.4146826,-123.52657,129879m/d... [1] https://osupress.oregonstate.edu/blog/checkerboard-effect [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_spotted_owl

Re: Replanting logged forests with diverse seedlings accelerates restoration

#28

I did a quick look to see if this only worked in tropical forests, or if this would be true in, say, Western North American forests. I didn't really find an answer. A study[1] in Virgina found that planting multiple varieties of trees was beneficial because it allowed the variety that was most suitable for that location to thrive, and survive problems that might affect other varieties. A study[2] in Washington State…

> If anyone can find a more conclusive study about temperate Western forests, I'd love to see it.

I didn't. But there's no reason why it shouldn't work there.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/2167048/fore...

Forest study in China finds mix of trees can absorb twice as much carbon as areas with one species

More than 60 scientists from China, Switzerland and Germany were involved in the research, testing a hypothesis based on observations in the field.

“The study shows that forests are not all the same when it comes to climate protection – monocultures achieve not even half of the desired ecosystem service,” Schmid said. “The full level of mitigation of global warming can only be achieved with a mix of species. In addition, species-rich forests also contribute towards protecting the world’s threatened biodiversity.”

Such forests were also less vulnerable to disease and extreme weather events, which are becoming increasingly frequent as a result of climate change, Schmid said.

Re: Replanting logged forests with diverse seedlings accelerates restoration

#29
post #28

I did a quick look to see if this only worked in tropical forests, or if this would be true in, say, Western North American forests. I didn't really find an answer. A study[1] in Virgina found that planting multiple varieties of trees was beneficial because it allowed the variety that was most suitable for that location to thrive, and survive problems that might affect other varieties. A study[2] in Washington State…

> If anyone can find a more conclusive study about temperate Western forests, I'd love to see it. I didn't. But there's no reason why it shouldn't work there. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/2167048/fore... Forest study in China finds mix of trees can absorb twice as much carbon as areas with one species More than 60 scientists from China, Switzerland and Germany were involved in the research, testing…

there was a time when logging an area, and subsequent monospecific replanting had a name.

it was called a tree farm

there was a commercialized ignorance of what forest actually was.

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