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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

#71

Post by atoav »

My brothers MA thesis was about comparing the multiple model forests that have been planted throughout the EUs different climate zones (I didn't even know such a thing existed, bur it makes sense).

His focus was looking at resilience against weather, insects etc. and mixed forests fared significantly better throughout all climate zones.

As someone from the alps, a thing that should not be forgotten is how important a diverse tree structure can be for stabilizing soil, especially in mountain areas. And those areas can expect more extreme wheater conditions due to climate change, especially in the form of rain. Mudslides can become a real economic factor in such regions.

Mixed forests are also better at stabilizing the soil because the root structures are less uniform.

So the best moment to plant mixed forests is 20 years ago, the next best is now.

Edit: For non-wood people, the reason why there aren't more mixed woods is that harvesting is easier in non-mixed environments (although that also has changed with newer methods and tech).

Re: Replanting logged forests with diverse seedlings accelerates restoration

#73

Post by nerpderp82 »

swader999 wrote: post #31
atourgates wrote: post #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…

BC can have three our four species in play on the coast, interior and east typically has pine and spruce. You could argue for balsam but that is crap wood and it grows back on its own typically. I don't know about tropical reforestation, but in Canada the notion that we are replanting with only mono species isn't true. They leave seed trees standing and source cones directly from the logged blocks. It's very well don…

The sub-alpine line is rising in elevation due to increased warming.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7696691/

Re: Replanting logged forests with diverse seedlings accelerates restoration

#74

Post by swader999 »

nerpderp82 wrote: post #73
swader999 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BC can have three our four species in play on the coast, interior and east typically has pine and spruce. You could argue for balsam but that is crap wood and it grows back on its own typically. I don't know about tropical reforestation, but in Canada the notion that we are replanting with only mono species isn't true. They leave seed trees standing and source cones directly from the logged blocks. It's very well don…

The sub-alpine line is rising in elevation due to increased warming. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7696691/

Is it T or CO2?

Re: Replanting logged forests with diverse seedlings accelerates restoration

#75

Post by anon84873628 »

drone wrote: post #55
dudeofea wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

why not plant other species to out-compete the invasive ones? why do we need to perform chemotherapy on our forests?

Only one of the trees I listed was invasive, the others are opportunistic natives to their regions that will outgrow everything else. The nice "diverse" forest you're thinking of in your mind took a long time to become that way, the normal state of nature is to not create a perfect balance out of the gate, but for constant competition and regularly have to cycle through multiple iterations of configuration which are,…

To elaborate on this great answer, the technical term is "ecological succession", defined on Wikipedia as "the process of change in the species that make up an ecological community over time."

Plants do not just fill their niche, they alter the environment over time, which in aggregate alters the ecosystem as a whole. Animals and microbes also play a role in this process. E.g. the way rodents and birds disperse seeds, or how pests can destroy a species, or even how elephants can uproot whole trees.

Re: Replanting logged forests with diverse seedlings accelerates restoration

#76

Post by anon84873628 »

karaterobot wrote: post #35

I'm not an expert, but I had thought that observing that monocultures created a weak forest ecosystem was one of the foundational concepts behind modern forestry—a centuries old discipline. This seems like an obvious corollary to that. I would have assumed it yesterday, before reading this article, and I assume most people would have thought the same. Again, I'm not an expert, so I'm likely missing something. And som…

Just one of those situations where science needs to get the ducks in a row and ensure incontrovertible proof.

Re: Replanting logged forests with diverse seedlings accelerates restoration

#77

Post by myshpa »

mvdtnz wrote: post #68
myshpa wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

If you want to prioritise speedy regeneration then this is not the best approach. Nature is incredibly effective in the slow and steady mode of operation but to maximise efficiency you need to be more deliberate.

This method is known as "close planting" or "high-density planting". It's frequently employed in regeneration projects, such as the Green Great Wall in China. Syntropic agriculture, as seen in the video I've posted, and Miyawaki forests also use this approach.

Akira Miyawaki developed a variant of this method, which involves planting a variety of native species in close proximity. The idea is that the trees compete for sunlight, growing upwards more than outwards, leading to a fast-establishing and diverse forest.

https://www.sugiproject.com/blog/the-miyawaki-method-for-cre...

Another example would be Mark Shephard's farm where he's using his Sheer Utter Total Neglect (STUN) method. He describes in his video that the goal is to find a combination of plants that is so resilient, that you can't kill those trees even if you try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=RePJ3rJa1Wg

Sure, it's essential to ensure that the selected species are suitable for the specific soil, climate, and conditions of the site. Additionally, as the forest grows, some form of management, like thinning or selective removal of species, may be required to ensure the forest remains healthy and achieves the desired goals.

Re: Replanting logged forests with diverse seedlings accelerates restoration

#78

Post by chiefalchemist »

atoav wrote: post #71

My brothers MA thesis was about comparing the multiple model forests that have been planted throughout the EUs different climate zones (I didn't even know such a thing existed, bur it makes sense). His focus was looking at resilience against weather, insects etc. and mixed forests fared significantly better throughout all climate zones. As someone from the alps, a thing that should not be forgotten is how important a…

> His focus was looking at resilience against weather, insects etc. and mixed forests fared significantly better throughout all climate zones.

It makes sense. The diversity means that while one genera is suffering from some Hostility X or Y (e.g., insects) the others might not be, or at least as much so.

Diversity is a form of hedging your bet.

Re: Replanting logged forests with diverse seedlings accelerates restoration

#79

Post by hinkley »

voisin wrote: post #51
hinkley wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Suzanne Simard has a bunch of chemical analysis that says yes, and most of her testing was in the PNW and western Canada (BC and... Alberta?) A lot of the other literature on the complex relationship of soils and trees (and trees and trees via soil life) were instigated by her observations. She was trying to get NW foresters to stop bathing everything in herbicides before replanting clearcuts. They always struggled m…

Related: https://stopthespraybc.com/

I'm a little disappointed that's still an active cause.

Re: Replanting logged forests with diverse seedlings accelerates restoration

#80

Post by adasdasdas »

llbeansandrice wrote: post #39
ccooffee wrote: 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…

> Why did they plant only tree species that are frequently targeted for logging? Because the main purpose of replanting trees to is be able to harvest them again in the next few decades. Private land owners generally aren't interested in creating old-growth forests, they're trying to make money. It's not exactly ideal, but ending up with more biodiversity is likely a good thing even if it will be logged again later.…

Why do we want old growth forests over harvestable forests? Is there an ecological advantage
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