Effective Ecological and Social Outcomes Require Attention to Local Context and Seed Sources When Planting Trees
Successful active restoration — restoration that involves active interventions by people — requires more than just planting trees or increasing tree cover. At best, active restoration can establish functional, climate-change resistant forests that improve local stakeholder’s livelihoods by providing relevant ecosystem goods and services. The difference between ‘just planting trees’ and successful restoration require attention to local context, since the connections and dependencies between each forest ecosystem and human community are unique.
Choosing species for active restoration requires thoughtful, context-specific attention to sources of seedlings and knowledge of local cultures and ecosystems to produce robust ecological and social outcomes. For example, using carefully selected tree exotic species can, in some contexts, promote native species recovery; in others, the use of ‘locally useful’ species can make tree planting more attractive while also contributing to local livelihoods and traditions. Species choice should also challenge the status quo; for example, exploring the potential of selected exotics to stimulate native species recovery, expanding the availability of locally available seedlings in nurseries, and asking local people about the species they use, know, and/or like.
SUPPORTING PAPERS
- New Frameworks Needed to Balance Costs and Ecological Benefits of Active and Passive Forest Restoration (Brancalion et al. 2016)
- Non-native Tree Species Can Help Restore Forests in Tropical Landscapes (Catterall 2016)
- Empowering Local Citizens to Make Forest Management and Restoration Decisions (Holder 2016)
- Rural Villager Association Shows Leadership, Empowerment and Inclusivity in Restoring Watersheds (Kramer & Vallarino 2016)
- Introducing Communally Owned and Managed Reserves Enabled Smallholders to Restore Cloud Forests (Wilson 2016)
- Four Key Opportunities for Regulating Markets to Promote Forest and Landscape Restoration (Brancalion et al. 2017)
- Guiding Principles to Align Reforestation with Forest and Landscape Restoration (Brancalion & Chazdon 2017)
- Participatory Restoration Planning and Strengthening Community Capacity are Key Strategies to Achieve Restoration Success
(Gregorio & Herbohn 2018) - The Critical Role of Agroforestry in Forest and Landscape Restoration (Harrison & Miccolis 2018)
- Reaping Greater Environmental Dividends from China’s Reforestation Programs (Hua 2018)
- Uneven Starting Points Complicate Comparisons of Outcomes Between Natural Regeneration and Active Forest Restoration (Reid et al. 2018)
- Restoring Rainforest Remnants: Experiences from the Anamalai Hills (Shankar et al. 2018)
- Underrepresentation of Large-seeded Species Compromises the Conservation Value of Restoration Plantations (Brancalion et al. 2018)
- The Forest Transformation: Tropical Planted Tree Cover Shows Inconsistent Regional Patterns of Gain and Loss (Sloan et al. 2019)