Research Reveals Capacity of Reforestation Projects to Capture Carbon

A new research has revealed that reforestation projects go on to capture more carbon than the industrial plantations.

Australian scientists who have been conducting research on environmental restoration projects have discovered that damaged rainforests reforestation is much more efficient in capturing carbon than the plantations of softwood monoculture. This research has been published in the journal ‘Ecological Management & Restoration,’ and challenges the traditional views prevailing on the efficiency levels pertaining to industrial monoculture plantations.

Generally grown for industrial purposes, softwood monoculture plantations are utilized as an abundant and cheap resource for products such as rubber and timber. The research team studied extensively in the region of north-eastern Australia on three projects namely mixed species plantations, native conifers monoculture plantations and rainforest trees restoration. The findings have challenged the existing views on monoculture plantations while giving suggestions on the capacity of restoration plantings to store more carbon.