To help revitalize millions of acres of burned and damaged forests across the American West, the U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to plant more than a billion trees over the next decade. Wildfires and other problems have devastated U.S. forests in recent years, but the country has reflowered only 6 percent of the land damaged by flames and other extreme weather events, which created a deficit of about 1.65 million acres, Smithsonian Magazine explains.

To do so, the federal agency will need to hire more people, search and collect more seeds, and expand its capacity to produce four times more seedlings. "Forests are a powerful tool in the fight against climate change," said Tom Vilsack, the U.S. secretary of agriculture, in a statement announcing the initiative this week. "Cultivating their natural regeneration and planting in areas most in need is critical to mitigating the worst effects of climate change while making these forests more resilient to the threats they face."

The U.S. federal government is focused on replanting trees on public land because forests filter and store water, sequester carbon, provide food and timber to indigenous communities, and contribute more than $11 billion to the economy through outdoor recreation, tourism, and other benefits. Without trees, areas destroyed by forest fires are also more susceptible to other potentially disastrous problems, such as landslides and floods.

The U.S. Forest Service promises to gradually increase its reforestation efforts. Last year, officials replanted about 24,000 hectares of trees. In the coming years, that number will increase to about 161,000 hectares per year, the agency says. Spending will also increase, from about $100 million spent on reforestation this year to up to $260 million.

"Achieving this vision of cultivating and nurturing resilient forests for tomorrow requires action today," points out the Forest Service's strategic reforestation plan.

Forest fires are the main factor in forest destruction. By the end of July, fires have burned 2.2 million hectares in the U.S. this year – double the same period in 2021 and three times more than 2020. Researchers warn that climate change will further increase the intensity and frequency of forest fires.

Source: Um só Planeta