Tree Planting

A “treeplanter” in northern Ontario.

Tree planting is an aspect of habitat conservation. In each plastic tube a hardwood tree has been planted.

Tree-planting is the process of transplanting tree seedlings, generally for forestry, land reclamation, or landscaping purpose. It differs from the transplantation of larger trees in arboriculture, and from the lower cost but slower and less reliable distribution of tree seeds.

In silviculture the activity is known as reforestation, or afforestation, depending on whether the area being planted has or has not recently been forested. It involves planting seedlings over an area of land where the forest has been harvested or damaged by fire, disease or human activity. Tree planting is carried out in many different parts of the world, and strategies may differ widely across nations and regions and among individual reforestation companies. Tree planting is grounded in forest science, and if performed properly can result in the successful regeneration of a deforested area. Reforestation is the commercial logging industry’s answer to the large-scale destruction of old growth forests, but a planted forest rarely replicates the biodiversity and complexity of a natural forest.

Because trees remove carbon dioxide from the air as they grow, tree planting can be used as a geoengineering technique to remove CO2from the atmosphere. Desert greening projects are also motivated by improved biodiversity and reclamation of natural water systems, but also improved economy and social welfare.

Growing trees for Timber industries is a long-term project. It may take many years for a tree to mature to an age and size that is appropriate for the Timber to be used by industry. Some trees are many hundreds of years old.