Kirschbaum et al. (2024): Is tree planting an effective strategy for climate change mitigation?
Miko U.F. Kirschbaum, Annette L. Cowie, Josep Peñuelas, Pete Smith, Richard T. Conant, Rowan F. Sage, Miguel Brandão, M. Francesca Cotrufo, Yiqi Luo, Danielle A. Way, Sharon A. Robinson IN: Science of The Total Environment 909, 168479, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168479
Tree plantings may be beneficial or detrimental for mitigating climate-change impacts, but the range of possibilities makes generalisations difficult. Their net benefit depends on many factors that differ between specific circumstances. One can, therefore, neither uncritically endorse tree planting everywhere, nor condemn it as counter-productive. The author´s aim is to provide key information to enable appropriate assessments to be made under specific circumstances. They conclude their discussion by providing a step-by-step guide for assessing the merit of tree plantings under specific circumstances.