“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.”
-Franklin D. Roosevelt
https://reforestum.com/blog/how-to-choose-between-supporting-afforestation-and-forest-conservation
What is Afforestation? Why do we need it?
Afforestation is the process of planting trees on a particular land which was not a forested earlier, in order to create a forest.
Afforestation should not be termed as “reforestation”. These both have different meanings and are not similar. Reforestation means planting trees in an area which had forested trees earlier but now has decreased number of trees.
We need afforestation to tackle issues like global warming, pollution, soil erosion and to avoid desertification. Global warming issues keep rising day by day due to heavy industrialization and cutting of trees in a large number which keeps affecting the biodiversity of the area and around the globe too. For the past few years we keep hearing issues regarding this. We all keep seeing news related to global warming every day like melting of ice in Antarctica, water levels rising, the depletion of ozone layer. These are very serious issues and we can help to stop it by practising afforestation. So it’s important to know what how afforestation is important for us.
Importance of afforestation:
1) Reduce pressure on pre-existing forests
Afforestation helps reduce the pressure on forests that are pre-existing for resources. The growth rate for trees compared to the existing demand rate for resources might be a very low but the least it can do is reduce the pressure off the existing forests. It’s mostly done for commercial purposes.
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/forest-conservation-part-climate-conversation-too
2) Increased supply of trees that are in high demand
Some trees are in more demand in the supply market than the others. Due to which the people plant more of that tree to sell to the customer. This allows a stability in the supply market and introduction of new supply of trees. For example; There is high demand for cotton trees in the market due to which people grow more cotton stabilising the prices and the supply in the market.
3) Protects the natural forests.
Protecting natural forests is a very difficult job if you don’t have an alternative. This process may take some time but if we do afforestation at a large scale in a large land it may act as an alternative to save our natural forests. The pre-existing forests have already an ecosystem in it and we may destroy it due to our needs which could affect us later. Plus doing this can help us tackle climate change. Also commercial companies can then support the policies and initiatives to save the forests.
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Read Also : Indonesia’s Rainforests: Biodiversity and Endangered Species
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4) Helps creating an ecosystem.
Planting trees in an arid region or a barren land may sound weird to you at first. But it’s more beneficiary to plant trees on a barren land than planting or the depleted ones. When you think about it carefully you can build a long lost ecosystem of the whole region. When you plant on a depleted region you restore an ecosystem but when you plant on a barren land you help create a new ecosystem.
5) Increasing value to the land
Lands with more trees have a greater value than a barren land. People prefer to have lands with trees around their properties or lands since it is more attractive and valuable.
https://unsplash.com/s/photos/forest
Some of the advantages of afforestation are:
- Constant supply of forest products.
Planting trees in a barren region which was not productive earlier makes the land productive and ensures us of a constant supply of goods in the future. It reduces our dependence on natural forests for constant supply of resources, as the aim of afforestation is to reduce pressure on existing natural forests.
Afforestation allows local businesses or companies to get an alternative source for their resource supply. As it is usually common for government to put a ban on forest harvesting. This can affect the local businesses and companies.
For example, a company has its own land and trees for supply purposes. It won’t have to worry about the supply as they can rely on their own afforested trees for the constant supply.
- Prevents soil erosion
Soil erosion is a common problem for most of the barren land that we see. Since there is no interconnection of roots inside the soil the top layer of the soil does not hold which makes the land barren. Topsoil runs off due to various reasons like strong winds that that take away the topsoil particles with it. When it rains the barren land becomes flooded and the topsoil is then transported to the rivers or lakes. This makes the soil infertile and barren.
Afforestation helps in solving both the issues such as barren land and soil erosion. Plants and trees form deep roots in the soil forming an interconnecting network of roots which holds the soil together oreventing any soil erosion.
- Helps stabilize climate and global warming
Places with more trees and plants get more frequent rains and thus areas with more trees have a perfect climate. Thus planting trees helps stabilize climate. Trees help in reducing greenhouse gases which helps prevent global warming.
Trees convert carbon dioxide into oxygen through photosynthesis. This helps in reducing the carbon in the whole area and converting it into oxygen which decreases the greenhouse gases in the whole region. Later the afforested trees help reduce global warming and stabilize the climate.
- Better air quality
We all know trees play important in purifying the air. There are various toxic and harmful pollutants in the air which are more toxic and difficult to breathe in. Such environmental issues can be solved if we practise afforestation.
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Read Also : Climate Change: Causes & Effects | Everything You Need to Know
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- Improving the watershed
Places with trees have a better water shed as compared to those who don’t. This happens because the water from the soil is absorbed the roots and then evaporates into the atmosphere. This process is known as transpiration. The water the forms clouds up into the atmosphere and then then leads to rainfall over the whole terrestrial region. Due to this whole process the underground water table also becomes more stable as water keeps coming back into the soil.
- Protecting the wildlife
Most of the human made cities and architectures were once a grazing ground or a forest for the wildlife. And humans continue to expand their boundaries into the wildlife which can endanger the wildlife as they might not have any habitat later. Furthermore, if drastic measures are not taken some might even become extinct.
We need to build an afforestation forest to preserve the wildlife. This ensures that there will be another habitat for the wildlife to live in. The animals that lost their homes can be relocated to the new forests. This how afforestation is helpful in protecting the wildlife too.
- More job opportunities
In this industry, timber industry is a huge employer. Timber is the most basic and the essential part of the building. But before the final use it undergoes a lot of detailing process. This process requires a lot a skilled workers which increases the work opportunities for people.
It has different sectors which requires different skills sets from people. Also turning a barren land into a forest requires a lot of labour which also creates even more working opportunities for people. Digging the soil, watering it, planting about thousands of trees, adding manure, taking care of them is a huge task in itself. People earlier unemployed in the whole area can be employed.
https://www.sentinelassam.com/editorial/afforestation-and-conservation-of-forests-480904
Conclusion
As we have pointed out all the advantages we can see that afforestation is solution and a way to tackle most of the environmental issues we faced due to heavy deforestation. We see these issues rising daily and we need to control them. This process may take some but it assures the changes that we may see in our surroundings.
If we practise afforestation carefully it can provide us natural resources and we won’t have to harm our natural forests and the eco system in them. It is also beneficial for us by planting more and more trees and making empty barren lands into more valuable land.
Tags: #afforestation, #climate, #foresting, #forests, #getgreengetgrowing, #globalwarming, #gngagritech, #greenstories, #nature, #plant, #Pollution, #soil, #trees, #wildlife
