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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div id="composeWebView_previouse_content"><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #FC2C38 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 8.0pt;margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:7.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt'><div><div><div id="style_15936875820000003046_BODY"><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Native Plant Conservation Campaign News: Studies elevate concerns about trillion trees planting campaigns to fight climate change<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>July 2, 2020<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>New studies confirm the dangers of popular “<a href="https://www.trilliontreecampaign.org/donate-trees?gclid=Cj0KCQjwoub3BRC6ARIsABGhnyZLXvVcE-5iJ1uTNzkrKTRUq3umqNyGSCUalXrrSbL88qdHSZF1BDcaAgjJEALw_wcB" target="_blank">trillion trees” programs</a> to plant trees to fight climate change. <strong><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Scientists call instead for (i) most </span></strong><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f">
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</v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_s1027" type="#_x0000_t75" style='position:absolute;margin-left:286.3pt;margin-top:0;width:337.5pt;height:225pt;z-index:251658240;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square;mso-width-percent:0;mso-height-percent:0;mso-wrap-distance-left:0;mso-wrap-distance-top:0;mso-wrap-distance-right:0;mso-wrap-distance-bottom:0;mso-position-horizontal:right;mso-position-horizontal-relative:text;mso-position-vertical:absolute;mso-position-vertical-relative:line;mso-width-percent:0;mso-height-percent:0;mso-width-relative:page;mso-height-relative:page' o:allowoverlap="f">
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</v:shape><![endif]--><![if !vml]><img width=450 height=300 style='width:4.6875in;height:3.125in' src="https://ymlps4.com/imgz/09yp_plantationwikipediaPinustaeda450.jpg" align=right v:shapes="Picture_x0020_2"><![endif]><strong><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>important, massive reductions in fossil fuel consumption, </span></strong>and (ii) large scale conservation and restoration of native forests.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>What has been described as “<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/tree-planting-wont-stop-climate-crisis-1020500/" target="_blank">tree planting mania</a>” has been going on since the earliest attempts to confront climate change. It was proposed in the 1992 <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/14106" target="_blank">Kyoto Protocol</a> and the 2015 <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2016/01/forests-are-paris-agreement-now-what" target="_blank">Paris Agreement</a>. It accelerated sharply after an <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6448/76" target="_blank">article</a> published last year in the journal Science suggested that a trillion new trees could absorb two-thirds of the CO2 that humans have added to the atmosphere.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>The approach was widely challenged within the scientific community for the accuracy of the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01026-8#ref-CR2" target="_blank">estimates of CO2 absorption</a> and for the potential for trees to be planted in areas not naturally forested, such as <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2019-10-31-00-the-trouble-with-indiscriminate-tree-planting-in-africa/" target="_blank">African grasslands</a>, among <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/366/6463/eaay7976" target="_blank">other reasons</a>. In fact this article was so widely critized that the authors issued a <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6494/eabc8905" target="_blank">correction</a> in May, 2020. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Despite the criticisims, tree planting has continued to gain powerful support. The World Economic Forum <a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2020/sessions/trillion-trees" target="_blank">launched</a> a Trillion Tree Initiative at this year’s meeting. Conservation groups like the World Wildlife Federation have offered their own <a href="https://www.trilliontrees.org/" target="_blank">campaigns</a>. Further, <a href="https://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/new-energies/nature-based-solutions.html" target="_blank">The oil giant Shell</a> has asked UK drivers to pay a surcharge on their gasoline to pay for tree planting. The Bonn Challenge, an international agreement to add 1.35 million square miles of forests to by 2030, <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-green-pledges-will-not-create-the-natural-forests-we-need" target="_blank">is on track</a>. Marc Benioff has started his own <a href="https://twitter.com/benioff/status/1172588980266602496?lang=en" target="_blank">trillion-tree crusade</a>. Even <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/12/climate/trump-trees-climate-change.html" target="_blank">Donald Trump</a> is talking about planting trees!<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Sadly, this very attractive idea turns out to be dangerous. Recent studies have revealed some of the problems.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><strong><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>First, many international schemes involve commercial plantations of nonnative trees</span></strong>. An April <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01026-8" target="_blank">assessment in the journal Nature</a> reviewed tree planting proposals from 43 countries. Researchers found that 45% would create plantations of acacia, eucalyptus and other nonnatives. Such plantations are frequently harvested, making them net sources rather than sinks of CO2 over time. <strong><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The assessment estimated that on average, natural forests are 40 times better than plantations at storing carbon. They concluded that plantations should no longer be classified as “forest restoration”. </span></strong><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Lead author, University of Edinburgh professor Simon Lewis said in an <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190402081533.htm" target="_blank">interview</a>, "There is a scandal here… [P]olicy makers are calling vast monocultures 'forest restoration'. And worse, the advertised climate benefits are absent." Acclaimed author and botanist Diana Beresford-Kroeger <a href="https://thetyee.ca/News/2020/02/28/If-We-Plant-Trees-They-Must-Be-Native-Trees/" target="_blank">put it differently</a>: ““We need to know what we are doing, and you can’t go all asswise about stuff [like tree planting] .”<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_3" o:spid="_x0000_s1026" type="#_x0000_t75" style='position:absolute;margin-left:0;margin-top:0;width:277.5pt;height:356.25pt;z-index:251659264;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square;mso-width-percent:0;mso-height-percent:0;mso-wrap-distance-left:0;mso-wrap-distance-top:0;mso-wrap-distance-right:0;mso-wrap-distance-bottom:0;mso-position-horizontal:left;mso-position-horizontal-relative:text;mso-position-vertical:absolute;mso-position-vertical-relative:line;mso-width-percent:0;mso-height-percent:0;mso-width-relative:page;mso-height-relative:page' o:allowoverlap="f">
<v:imagedata src="https://ymlps4.com/imgz/09yp_SeqNF475Roberson.jpg" />
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</v:shape><![endif]--><![if !vml]><img width=370 height=475 style='width:3.8541in;height:4.9479in' src="https://ymlps4.com/imgz/09yp_SeqNF475Roberson.jpg" align=left v:shapes="Picture_x0020_3"><![endif]><strong><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Second, overzealous plantation projects sometimes replace natural ecosystems.</span></strong> For example, a case study from Chile published <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-0547-0#:~:text=Chile's%20forest%20subsidies%20probably%20decreased,biodiversity%20outcomes%20of%20reforestation%20policies." target="_blank">in the June issue of Nature</a> found that biodiversity may have actually been reduced as government-subsidized plantations replaced native forests. Similar problems have occurred in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/07/the-wrong-kind-of-trees-irelands-afforestation-meets-resistance" target="_blank">Ireland</a>. Some have even called for <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-tree-planting-actually-damages-ecosystems-120786" target="_blank">planting trees in tropical grasslands</a> and wetlands, which would disrupt local wildlife and water supplies.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><strong><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Finally, carbon absorbtion estimates are <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6497/eaaz7005" target="_blank">uncertain because forests are increasingly vulnerable to diseases, pests and fire</a>, which accelerate with climate change and exotic species invasions.</span></strong> These natural destructive events, like timber harvest, turn forests from greenhouse gas sinks into sources. Moreover, <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab5f75#fnref-erlab5f75bib29" target="_blank">because of their homogeneity</a>, plantations have been found more likely to <a href="https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/jrnl/2012/nrs_2012_liebhold_002.pdf" target="_blank">succumb to these threats</a> than <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324786837_Severe_fire_weather_and_intensive_forest_management_increase_fire_severity_in_a_multi-ownership_landscape" target="_blank">more diverse natural forests</a>.<o:p></o:p></p></div><ul type=disc><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Read descriptions of the 43 country assessment of national tree plantation plans in <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190402081533.htm" target="_blank">Science Daily</a> and <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-green-pledges-will-not-create-the-natural-forests-we-need" target="_blank">Yale 360</a><o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Read more about the Chile study in the <a href="https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2020/019951/forgetting-forest-trees" target="_blank">UC Santa Barbara newsletter</a><o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Read the June Rolling Stone article “<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/tree-planting-wont-stop-climate-crisis-1020500/" target="_blank">Why Planting Trees Won’t Save Us</a>”.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Read “<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-tree-planting-actually-damages-ecosystems-120786" target="_blank">When Tree Planting Actually Damages Ecosystems</a>” in The Conversation<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Read the June 18 NPCC News <a href="https://tinyurl.com/ycaarpcx" target="_blank"> Native Forests Beat Plantation Forests in Greenhouse Gas Absorption and Storage</a><o:p></o:p></li></ul><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><strong><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Photos: Plantation, public domain. Actual forest, Sierra Nevada © Emily B. Roberson</span></strong><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>________________________________________<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Emily B. Roberson, Ph.D.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://plantsocieties.cnps.org/" target="_blank">Native Plant Conservation Campaign</a><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>415 531 4439<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><a href="mailto:emilyr@plantsocieties.org" target="_blank">emilyr@</a><a href="mailto:emilyr@plantsocieties.org" target="_blank">plantsocieties.org</a><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>#<span style='color:green'>SavePlantsSaveThePlanet</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><em><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The mission of the Native Plant Conservation Campaign is to promote the conservation of native plants and their habitats through collaboration, research, education, and advocacy.</span></em><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><b><a href="http://signup.ymlps4.com/xghwwhjjgmgb" target="_blank">Sign up for NPCC News</a>! </b> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/plantsocieties" target="_blank"><b>Like us on Facebook!</b></a> <b><a href="http://plantsocieties.cnps.org/index.php/action-main/donate-to-campaign" target="_blank">Donate</a>!</b><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Please forward this message to any interested individuals or organizations. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><hr size=0 width="50%" noshade style='color:black' align=center></span></div><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><a href="https://ymlps4.com/ughwwhjjgsgummguqusmggejmqu" target="_blank"><span style='color:black'>Unsubscribe / Change Profile</span></a> <br><a href="https://ymlps4.com/m/" target="_blank"><span style='color:black'>Powered by YMLP</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><img border=0 width=1 height=1 style='width:.0104in;height:.0104in' id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://ymlps4.com/1042bvummtchbejmdbqo/footer.gif"><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div></div></blockquote></div></div></body></html>