Would you have guessed there were as many as three trillion trees in the world? Read that again. Three trillion. That is about 400 trees for every living human being. And since trees first appeared more than 350 million years ago, during what was known as the Devonian epoch, long before the time of the dinosaurs, there have been more trees on Earth than there are stars in our galaxy.
But consider some further gargantuan quantities: modern humans have been around for almost no time at all, in geological terms, and yet in those few tens of thousands of years almost half of the world’s tree cover has gone. Famously – or, rather, infamously – an area of forest the size of Denmark is destroyed every year: felled for timber, or clearance for agriculture and human settlement.
Reforestation, the restoration or replanting of forests that have been lost, can protect and enhance biodiversity, and help in the struggle against global climate change by removing vast amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is one of the key greenhouse gases.
But as a recent study led by scientists from the UK’s Royal Botanic Gardens revealed, when people plant the wrong trees in the wrong place, it can make the situation worse.
Ten golden rules were proposed, set out below, and anyone reforesting their land should pay heed. Aside from the environmental damage, natural capital vendors – such as many aka.land members are, or aspire to be – will find the value of their ‘product’ greatly diminished if their tree planning schemes are mismanaged, however well-intentioned they may have been.
1. Protect existing forest first
Millions of hectares of forests are destroyed every year, leading to huge carbon dioxide emissions that are not easily offset by reforestation.
It can take over 100 years for these forests to recover, so it is crucial that we protect what we already have before planting more.
To conserve existing forests, governments and corporations should create and enforce more protected areas and legislate against deforestation. At the same time, local efforts could focus on tackling the drivers of deforestation, including fires and overgrazing by livestock.
2. Work with local people
It is crucial that local communities are at the heart of reforestation projects. Failing to include them is one of the most common causes of an unsuccessful reforestation project.
Not only does working with local people encourage successful, long-term outcomes for a project, but it also benefits the community by creating employment in land preparation, tree planting, and forest maintenance, and providing opportunities to develop sustainable forest-based enterprises.

3. Maximise biodiversity recovery to meet multiple goals
A reforestation project should aim to achieve multiple goals. These may be reducing carbon emissions, conserving species, providing economic benefits to local communities, or delivering ecosystem services like stable water systems. Restoring biodiversity will make it easier to achieve these goals.
Long-term restoration of native forests and re-establishing what was there before is far better for recovering biodiversity than just planting fast-growing, cultivated trees.
Restoring native forests also captures more carbon, boosts ecosystem services (such as flood prevention) and economically benefits the community by providing a range of livelihood opportunities, such as sustainably harvested forest products and ecotourism.
4. Select the right area for reforestation
The best place to plant trees is on land that was previously forested. Non-forested lands like grasslands or wetlands already contribute to capturing carbon, mostly in the soil, so should be avoided.
Be aware that selecting an area that is already in use for agriculture could result in further deforestation elsewhere.
Connecting or expanding reforested sites to an existing forest would help the new forest to regenerate naturally and expand the size of the existing forest, benefitting biodiversity.
A reforestation site could also be selected based on the ecosystem services it provides, such as recreational spaces, wildlife habitats, clean air, and shade.
5. Use natural forest restoration wherever possible
Natural regeneration – natural forest regrowth after land is abandoned, or within a degraded forest – can be cheaper and more effective than tree planting.
Carbon capture can be 40 times greater in naturally regenerated areas than in plantations.
This natural approach works best on lightly degraded sites or those close to existing forests that can serve as a source of seeds
6. Select tree species that maximise biodiversity
When natural regeneration is not possible and tree planting is needed to restore forests, picking the right tree is crucial.
Planting should be done using a mix of species, including as many natives as possible, as well as rare and endangered species where feasible.
A mixed-species forest will be better at conserving biodiversity, creating habitats for wildlife, attracting seed dispersers and pollinators, and will be more resilient to disease, fire and extreme weather events.
The best tree species to select are those that form beneficial relationships with other livings things, such as fungi, pollinators, and seed-dispersing animals.
Invasive species that take over natural habitats, compete with native species, reduce biodiversity, and often lower water availability, should be avoided.
7. Use resilient tree species that can adapt to a changing climate
It is important to use tree seeds or seedlings with appropriate levels of genetic diversity to match the region they are planted in and make them suitable for the local or projected climate.
This can increase the resilience of the restored forest to pests, diseases and long-term environmental change.
8. Plan ahead
From seed collection to tree planting, it is essential to use appropriate, preferably local infrastructure and seed supply chains.
Decisions on where seeds or trees will be sourced from and what facilities and protocols will be required for seed banking and propagation should be made well in advance of the start of the project.
It is important to provide training for seed collecting, cleaning and storage equipment and activities, and work with local people, as they are valuable sources of labour and expertise in identifying and locating target trees.
9. Learn by doing
Before starting a restoration project, existing sources of scientific and local knowledge should be consulted to aid decisions like species selection.
It is advisable to perform small-scale trials prior to applying techniques on a large scale, to ensure the right trees are used and to test their effectiveness.
Success indicators, like the recovery of an endangered species, should be monitored regularly, to see how well an ecosystem is recovering and allow project managers to adapt accordingly.
10. Make it pay
To ensure the sustainability of reforestation projects, diverse income streams must be generated that benefit different people.
These may include:
- Carbon credits: A permit that allows a country or organisation to produce a certain amount of carbon dioxide emissions, which can be traded if not used.
- Sustainably-produced forest products.
- Ecotourism: A lucrative source of local income that puts a direct value on and monetises biodiversity.
If you read down this far, congratulations, and whilst you are now much better prepared than before to spearhead your own reforestation schemes, you will have a far greater impact – for the environment as well as your wallet – if you partner with specialists. Join aka.land today, register your land and enjoy privileged access to expertise and resource to make your biodiversity restoration projects a reality, as well as guiding you through the process of monetising the resultant ‘public goods’.