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In many temperate zones such as the eastern United States, reforestation occurs quite naturally as the native hardwood forests are so resilient that, given any opportunity, they quickly re-establish themselves. However urban sprawl, and agriculture required permanantly deforested lands which is leading to forest reduction in the area. From poor logging practices and/or if the soil quality is too poor and erosion prone for natural regeneration, artificial reforestation is required.
In various arid, tropical, or sensitive areas, forests cannot re-establish themselves without assistance due to a variety of environmental factors. One of these factors is that, once forest cover is destroyed in arid zones, the land quickly dries out and becomes inhospitable to new tree growth. Other critical factors include overgrazing by livestock, especially animals such as goats, and over-harvesting of forest resources by native populations or outside businesses. Together these may lead to desertification and the loss of topsoil; without soil, forests cannot grow until the very long process of soil creation has been completed - if erosion allows this. In some tropical areas, the removal of forest cover may result in a duricrustDuricrust refers to a thin hard layer on or near the surface of soil, Usually a few millimeters to a few centimeters thick. It is a general term (not to be confused with duripan) for a zone of chemical precipitation and hardening formed at or near the sur or duripan that effectively seal off the soil to water penetration and root growth. In many areas, reforestation is impossible above all because the land is in use by people.
In these areas, reforestation requires the planting of tree seedlings, treeplantingTreeplanting is an area of the silviculture, or reforestation industry. It involves planting seedlings into ground where the trees have been harvested or destroyed by fire. Treeplanting occurs in many regions around the world. If performed properly treepl. In other areas, mechanical breaking up of duripans or duricrusts is necessary, careful and continued watering may be essential, and special protection, such as fencing, may be required.
One debatable issue in artificial reforestation is whether or not the succeding forest will have the same biodiversityBiodiversity or biological diversity is a neologism and a portmanteau word, from bio and diversity. It is the diversity of and in living nature. Diversity, at its heart, implies the number of different kinds of objects, such as species. However, defining as the original forest. If the forest is replaced with only one species of tree and all other vegetation is prevented from growing back, a monocultureMonoculture means literally a single shared integrated pattern. It has several meaning is specific fields (which follow below). Agriculture In agriculture, the term monoculture is a term used to describe plantings of a single species. A major force in the forest similar to agricultural crops would be the result. However, most reforestation involves the planting of different seedlots of seedlings taken from the area. More frequently multiple species are planted as well. Another important factor is the natural regeneration of a wide variety of plant and animal species that can occur on a clearcut. In some areas the suppression of forest fires for hundreds of years has resulted in large single aged and single specied forest stands. The logging of small clearcuts and or prescribed burning, actually increases the biodiversity in these areas by creating a greater variety of treestand ages and species.
Reforestation need not be only used for recovery of accidentally destroyed forests. In some countries, such as FinlandSuomen TasavaltaRepubliken Finland ( In Detail) ( In Detail) National motto: None Official languages Finnish and Swedish Capital Helsinki President Tarja Halonen Prime minister Matti Vanhanen Area Total % water Ranked 64th 337,030 kmē 9. 4% Population Tot, the forests are managed by thewood products and pulp and paper industryThe global pulp and paper industry is dominated by North American ( United States, Canada), northern European ( Sweden, Finland) and southeast Asian countries (such as Japan). Australasia and Latin America also have significant pulp and paper industries.. In such an arrangement, like other crops, trees are replanted wherever they are cut. In such circumstances, the cutting of trees can be carefully done to allow easier reforestation. In CanadaCanada historically the Dominion of Canada is the second-largest, and northernmost, country in the world. It is a decentralized federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories, governed as a constitutional monarchy, and formed in 1867 through an act of Confe, the wood product and pulp and paper industry systematically replaces many of the trees it cuts, employing large numbers of summer workers for treeplanting work.
The sustainable management of forest resources is called forestry.
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