Rising interest in large-scale afforestation and reforestation as a strategy for climate change mitigation has recently motivated research
Simulations by the researchers show that AR could reduce peak and end-of-century temperatures and shorten the period during which global temperature exceeds the 1.5-degree target, as they report in the journal *Nature Communications*. The researchers employed an unprecedented number of more than 1,200 scenarios from Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs)—models that link climate policies with future energy, economic, and land use pathways—as well as restoration priority maps and biodiversity data to develop an ambitious AR scenario. Next, the scientists analyzed this AR scenario with the Earth System Model of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, which can simulate the effects of afforestation/reforestation on the climate. The simulations used an overshoot scenario—that is to say, a climate scenario where the emission trajectory is such that average global temperature goes beyond the 1.5°C target before falling back below this level around the end of the century. "These results show that global AR can in fact make an important contribution to mitigating climate change when applied at the large scale," says Moustakis.
Large-scale afforestation can improve the pathways and probability of tree migration. Urban trees can serve as stepping stones and population hubs for tree
Commercial afforestation can deliver effective GHG mitigation that is robust to future decarbonisation pathways and wood uses.
Reforestation is considered an effective tool for combatting climate change. But poorly planned projects could increase carbon emissions.
In this article, we explore how projects like the Chestnut Sustainable Restoration Project are driving afforestation, boosting carbon
# Reforestation: What Is Its Potential Impact In Mitigating the Climate Crisis. However, even conservative analyses of its potential place reforestation at the top of the list of climate solutions needed to achieve global net zero. Beyond its mitigation potential, reforestation is essential for climate adaptation – helping the world cope with global warming by reducing desertification, reducing urban temperatures and flood risks [3,2,4]. Most of all, as a mitigation method, restoring existing natural forests through reforestation is one of the best understood and most cost-effective forms of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere [2]. These risks have led to recent studies producing more conservative, but still significant, estimates of reforestation’s mitigation potential. In 2022, the IPCC estimated an annual mitigation potential of 7.3 GtCO2e from reforestation, peatland and grassland restoration, and improved forest management, of which reforestation specifically would make a “substantial contribution” [6]. Addressing critiques refines global estimates of reforestation potential for climate change mitigation.
Reforestation means restoring trees to the places where they historically existed and where they can grow into healthy forests. ## When reforestation is informed by the best science and done in partnership with local communities, it can restore balance to the ecosystem; support economic opportunities; and help tackle the combined challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. For example, TNC and partners have published peer-reviewed studies examining the maximum potential acres available for reforestation in the US; how albedo impacts the efficacy of reforestation as a climate solution; the cost-effectiveness of natural forest regrowth versus tree plantations; the importance of reducing forest pest stress in maintaining optimal carbon sequestration rates, the role biodiversity plays in successful reforestation projects; and more. A 2023 study published led by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and The Nature Conservancy shared the results of a decade of research from BiodiversiTREE, a large-scale reforestation project at SERC designed to run 100 years, testing the effects of different tree planting strategies on sapling survival and other ecosystem functions.