April 15, 2021
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These 10 golden rules for planting trees could help save the planet
(Credit: Unsplash)
This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum.
Author: Lynsey Grosfield, Communications Officer, Botanic Gardens Conservation International
Forests are not only complex ecosystems and habitats for wildlife, they are also central to the livelihoods of around 2 billion people.
The critical role they have in sequestering carbon from the atmosphere has led to many international reforestation projects.
To help this global effort we’ve listed 10 key ways to improve tree planting.
Thursday, 28 January, 2021 - 07:30 A river and a deforested plot of the Amazon in Brazil. Forests
covered about half the Earth’s land area 8,000 years ago but only 30
per cent is now forested. Photo: Reuters London - Asharq Al-Awsat
Scientists have set out 10 golden rules for reforestation which they say must be a top priority for all nations this decade.
Tree planting is a brilliant solution to tackle climate change and protect biodiversity, but the wrong tree in the wrong place can do more harm than good, said experts at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
According to BBC, the rules include protecting existing forests first and involving locals.
Sedum ‘Little Miss Sunshine’, while new plant expert Graham Rice tips compact pampas grass
Cortaderia selloana Tiny Pampa and the novel
Heuchera ‘Frilly’.
Trials at RHS Hyde Hall Floral Fantasia in Essex in 2020 produced a clutch of top performers such as the Sunbeckia series of half-hardy annual rudbeckias.
Garden designers are also driving the move away from bedding plants. Pollinator expert and influencer Professor Dave Goulson of the University of Sussex told the Society of Garden Designers’ winter conference that many annual bedding plants “have been intensively bred and have become unattractive to insects. Instead, focus on planting traditional cottage garden perennials and herbs.”