Tree Huggers

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/2000908

The paper is here

Hello fellow tree huggers,

Question: if I have a plot of land in the Western Washington Cascades, should I plant redwoods and/or sequoias on it on not? I would do this in addition to the obvious douglas firs, western red cedars, western hemlocks and various appropriate ground shrubs/ferns.

I can see a lot of articles about "assisted migration", many of which reference redwoods, but also all of which state that the idea is controversial. The idea is that Northern California is becoming less habitable for these trees, and Washington and BC become more like how California used to be, so the redwood forest will naturally migrate northwards. However, climate change is happening too fast for a slow-moving forest to realistically keep up.

The proponents argue that it's a way to preserve an important species, especially one which is a great carbon sink.

The doubters argue that some species of plants wouldn't survive the process, or could bring pests, or at least be susceptible them.

I can't tell if those drawbacks really pertain to redwoods/sequoias in Washington though. There are hundreds of them around the Seattle area that are doing just fine, more than a hundred years after residents planted them.

What do y'all think? Do it or no?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/4020205

Neighborhoods with more trees and green space stay cooler, while those coated with layers of asphalt swelter. Lower-income neighborhoods tend to be hottest, a city report found, and they have the least tree canopy.

The same is true in cities across the country, where poor and minority neighborhoods disproportionately suffer the consequences of rising temperatures. Research shows the temperatures in a single city, from Portland, Oregon, to Baltimore, can vary by up to 20 degrees. For a resident in a leafy suburb, a steamy summer day may feel uncomfortable. But for their friend a few neighborhoods over, it’s more than uncomfortable — it’s dangerous.

cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/worldnews@lemmy.ml/t/395101

A few hundred people have turned out to protect historic century-old ginkgo trees that are likely to be chopped down under a controversial redevelopment for a beloved Tokyo park district.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/3986499

The benefits of urban greening initiatives are increasingly well documented: they can help mitigate the effects of urban heating, and improve physical health and mental wellbeing. And even small greening actions in cities can significantly improve local biodiversity, new research suggests.

Increasing the diversity of native plants in a single urban green space resulted in a sevenfold increase in the number of insect species after three years, Australian researchers have found.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/1528571

The paper is here

https://web.archive.org/web/20230816012031/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/15/science/redwood-trees-logging-california.html

cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/989240

cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/989239

With value measured in cows, we would struggle to make a living from Thiaki even though rainforest was among the most biologically valuable pieces of land in the country.

The nearest town is Malanda, 15km to the north by road. While it hadn't been easy to turn lush tropical rainforest into paddocks - some individual settlers worked at it for decades - how could you turn paddocks back into rainforest? Local efforts on the Atherton Tablelands to restore degraded land back to rainforest were heroic but ad hoc.

Work commenced apace to design the reforestation research plan for the foundations of a brand-new rainforest that uses different mixes and numbers of native species with different planting densities.

On 28 January 2011, a bunch of academics and a crack team of planters with dirt under their fingernails and dreadlocks like flowing lianas, assembled to build the foundations of a rainforest with 30,000 plants, and to create the conditions for a phoenix to rise once more from the ashes.

The clearing frenzy of the first 20 years of the 20th century brought about the near extinction of the upland rainforest on the Atherton Tablelands.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479723004334

• Reforestation success can be improved by enhancing tree planting methods
• Low sapling survival rates lead to high replacement costs and can hinder reforestation efforts
• Damage to fibrous roots during handling affects sapling survival
• Initial soil properties and conditions have a greater impact on sapling survival than adult traits
• Careful planting methods result in better sapling survival rates in the longer term
• Factors such as seedling survival, root growth, and seedling quality play a significant role in tree establishment
• Non-native grass removal and shade increase soil moisture and seedling performance during forest restoration

A bit of a local focus, but every community in the world should be doing this now so we can be properly prepared.

An eclectic mix of activists take a stand to protect an old growth forest from logging at Warner Creek in the Willamette National Forest of Oregon, blockading the logging road and repelling the State Police. Over months a community builds around the illegal blockade as it develops into the Cascadia Free State and similar actions spread across the region. Years after its release, Pickaxe has become a classic document of the potential for grassroots direct action to achieve victory against the forces of both government and big business. Lovingly crafted by the participants themselves, the film expertly presents every moment, from confrontation to celebration.

Alt link: https://archive.org/details/pickAxe_201810

This excellent documentary takes us into another world; the world of rogue loggers and firefighters turned eco-warriors. The story begins as an arsonist burns 9000 acres of protected old-growth public forest in Oregon that can not be logged unless it burns. To stop the proposed "salvage" logging of this incredible ancient forest, citizens are moved to blockade a road and keep the government out. After facing down a bulldozer and the State Police, the fort now known as the gateway to the Cascadia Free State becomes the focus for a developing community dedicated to protecting ancient forests throughout the mountains of Oregon.

The film shows confrontations with disgruntled loggers, mass arrests and a 75 day hunger strike. Back at Warner Creek activists build teepees and remain a living blockade on the logging road through the winter and ten feet of snow. Political pressure begins to shift and the White House promises a deal but not before Federal Agents come to bust the camp and destroy the fort. The story resolves with incredible footage of a mass jail break-in and unconditional victory for the forest. This inspiring documentary is two years in the making, and crafted from footage shot by more than two dozen people involved in the struggle to save Warner Creek. Principal photography and direction are by guerilla videographer Tim Lewis, award winner at WorldFest in 1998. Codirector/producer Tim Ream was involved in the action on and off the screen.

Too appropriate not to post! We need this competition in more places.

cross-posted from: https://infosec.pub/post/917806

New research shows how reforestation and afforestation projects can be more effective in cutting carbon, restoring ecosystems, creating jobs, and providing other environmental and social benefits.