Photos: TOP: A failed tree-planting project in northern China. Copyright 2007 Delena Norris-Tull
BOTTOM: Natural re-growth of trees after a wildfire, Yellowstone National Park. Copyright 2006 Delena Norris-Tull
Commentary by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull, Professor Emerita of Science Education, University of Montana Western, March 2022.
Tree Planting: Pros and Cons
An article in the New York Times by Catrin Einhorn (March 14, 2022), Tree Planting is Booming, provides a detailed assessment of the benefits and problems with planting trees for the purposes of enhancing carbon sequestration. As with everything else, it is a complicated solution that does not always attain the hoped-for results.
The World Economic Forum developed a report, Transforming Food Systems with Farmers, to assist the European Union nations in developing sustainable agricultural practices, practices the WEF calls Climate-Smart Agriculture. Page 36 of the report describes tree intercropping as, "Agroforestry systems that grow trees together with annual crops in a given area at the same time." Tree intercropping could reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 1.7 million tonnes/ha/year.
The report states that, “if just an additional 20% of farmers adopted climate-smart agriculture, by 2030, the EU could reduce its annual agricultural GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions by 6% and improve soil health over an area equivalent to 14% of EU’s agricultural land while improving farmer livelihoods by between €1.9 and €9.3 billion annually” (WEF, 2022, page 4). The WEF recommends 28 climate-smart agricultural practices, which are listed on page 7 of the report. A number of those practices are also elaborated on in within this website.
References:
Einhorn, C. (March 14, 2022), Tree Planting is Booming, New York Times.
World Economic Forum. (April 2022). Transforming Food Systems with Farmers: A Pathway for the EU. World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Deloitte & NTT Data.
Return to Agricultural Best Practices:
Links to more Innovative Solutions:
BOTTOM: Natural re-growth of trees after a wildfire, Yellowstone National Park. Copyright 2006 Delena Norris-Tull
Commentary by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull, Professor Emerita of Science Education, University of Montana Western, March 2022.
Tree Planting: Pros and Cons
An article in the New York Times by Catrin Einhorn (March 14, 2022), Tree Planting is Booming, provides a detailed assessment of the benefits and problems with planting trees for the purposes of enhancing carbon sequestration. As with everything else, it is a complicated solution that does not always attain the hoped-for results.
The World Economic Forum developed a report, Transforming Food Systems with Farmers, to assist the European Union nations in developing sustainable agricultural practices, practices the WEF calls Climate-Smart Agriculture. Page 36 of the report describes tree intercropping as, "Agroforestry systems that grow trees together with annual crops in a given area at the same time." Tree intercropping could reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 1.7 million tonnes/ha/year.
The report states that, “if just an additional 20% of farmers adopted climate-smart agriculture, by 2030, the EU could reduce its annual agricultural GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions by 6% and improve soil health over an area equivalent to 14% of EU’s agricultural land while improving farmer livelihoods by between €1.9 and €9.3 billion annually” (WEF, 2022, page 4). The WEF recommends 28 climate-smart agricultural practices, which are listed on page 7 of the report. A number of those practices are also elaborated on in within this website.
References:
Einhorn, C. (March 14, 2022), Tree Planting is Booming, New York Times.
World Economic Forum. (April 2022). Transforming Food Systems with Farmers: A Pathway for the EU. World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Deloitte & NTT Data.
Return to Agricultural Best Practices:
- Ecologically based Successional Management
- Perennial Crops, Intercropping, beneficial insects
- Soil Solarization
- Natural Farming
- Permaculture
- Organic Farming
- Embedding Natural Habitats
- Conservation Tillage
- Crop Rotation
- Water Use Practices
Links to more Innovative Solutions: