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Reforestation

Getting trees and shrubs back is the visible part, and the easiest to do badly. Survival in the first years, not the number planted, is what counts; careful handling, timing, and aftercare are where it is won or lost (planting trees the right way ✓, news). Over decades only a few species may survive a changing climate, so diversity and local provenance are insurance, not garnish (few species survive a century ✓, study).

Non-negotiables​

  • Native species only, matched to the site; a diverse mix, never one species — mixed stands outperform monocultures even under extreme weather (mixed-species forests outperform monocultures ✓, news).
  • Local provenance where possible.
  • Right plant, right spot — pioneers first on bare ground, shade-lovers under cover later.
  • Monitor survival and replant gaps.

Options & pathways​

  • Assisted natural regeneration — let it regrow where seed sources survive and soil isn't wrecked. Cheapest and toughest; slower, less controlled. Across the tropics it came out up to 96% cheaper than tree-planting programmes, needing mainly invasive-species control, seed sources and protection from fire and grazing (natural regrowth costs less ✓, news). Where forest structure survives a disturbance, carbon returns faster than on land cleared outright (disturbance and forest carbon recovery, study).
  • Direct seeding — for large areas with good seed; low cost, patchy results. With patience it can cost almost nothing: one landowner in the French Basque Country reforested five acres of cleared pasture over two decades by scattering native seed and rooting cuttings, without buying a single tree (a forest for free ✓, guide).
  • Dense planting (Miyawaki) — fast layered cover on a small prepared patch; seedling- and labour-heavy. Practitioners plant about three per square metre and say the result needs no maintenance after three years (Miyawaki forest in Mexico ✓, news).
  • Standard spaced planting — control over species and layout at moderate effort; slower to close canopy. A middle path is applied nucleation: plant small, protected patches of diverse species and let seed spread from them, rather than planting every square metre (thriving forest, not tree cover ✓, news).

Build the species list from the bioregion profile and source local stock early. Pairing roots with the right soil fungi at planting improves establishment (plant–mycorrhiza synergy).