MYSTERIES REVEALED IN EXPERIMENTAL FORESTS GIVE HOPE TO THE CLIMATE FIGHT

An experimental “super forest” is being planted in Oxfordshire, England to learn which tree species are best suited to combating climate change. Divided into nine sections situated along the Dorn River — a total area of about one square kilometre — the woodlands will be planted with some 270,000 trees, at a cost of about $1 million pounds. Many of the new trees have been grown into saplings from seeds harvested in the area, including species like oak, sycamore, and hornbeam, as first reported by the BBC. The planting will consist of a mix of hardwoods, shrubs and conifers for maximum carbon absorption. This focus on species diversity is important and also unique. “I am not aware of anything similar in Canada. In the provinces, there is normally reforestation after logging, but it is not done with [that] sort of species mix,” John Innes, professor of Forestry at the University of British Columbia, told The Weather Network. “The goal in Canada is to get a new crop of trees growing as quickly as possible, as this will mean the earliest opportunity to harvest again,” Professor Innes added. The Oxfordshire project has counterparts in older experimental forests which serve as laboratories for silviculture researchers, with a recent focus on the impacts of climate change. forest - (David Clapp/ Stone/ Getty Images) Forest pathway in early morning light in Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire, England. (David Clapp/ Stone/ Getty Images) In Canada, there are half a dozen research centres — including the National Tree Seed Centre, which houses more than 13,000 unique seed collections from 200 tree species — a research station in Valcartier, Quebec, and the Acadia and Petawawa research forests.