Reforestation

Reforestation is the re-establishment of forest on land that was previously forested, through natural regeneration, planting, or both. It restores tree cover and may also rebuild forest structure and ecological functions.

Natural regeneration: The recovery of vegetation through seeds, sprouts, and other biological processes without deliberate planting. Reforestation can rely on forest regrowth from nearby seed sources rather than planted trees.
Forest landscape restoration: A process for restoring ecological integrity and improving human well-being across deforested or degraded landscapes. It coordinates reforestation with other land uses across a wider landscape.
Carbon sequestration: The capture and long-term storage of carbon dioxide or other carbon compounds. Growing forests can remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it in biomass and soils.
Afforestation: The establishment of forest on land not recently forested. It differs from reforestation because the land’s prior forest cover is absent or remote in time.
Native species: Species that occur naturally in a region without human introduction. Choosing native trees can support local ecological relationships, though suitability depends on future conditions.
Tree planting: The deliberate placement of trees or seedlings in soil for establishment and growth. Planting can restore trees where natural seed dispersal or sprouting is insufficient.
Assisted natural regeneration: The protection and management of natural tree regrowth to accelerate forest recovery. It can make reforestation less dependent on planting by reducing barriers to regrowth.
Biodiversity: The variety of life across genes, species, and ecosystems. Species composition and habitat quality determine how much biodiversity reforestation supports.
Deforestation: The conversion of forest to another land use or the permanent reduction of forest cover. It is the loss of forest that reforestation may seek to reverse.
Climate change mitigation: Actions that reduce greenhouse-gas emissions or increase greenhouse-gas removals. The climate value of reforestation depends on carbon permanence, land-use effects, and forest type.

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