Beyond 'plant trees!' Research finds tree plantations encroaching on essential ecosystems
Trees can supply a host of benefits for animals and people, but some trees planted in the tropics may be doing more harm than good. New research finds that 92 percent of new tree plantations planted in the tropics between 2000 and 2012 were in biodiversity hotspots, and 14 percent were in arid biomes, where trees are unlikely to thrive and likely to damage existing ecosystems. Tree plantations had also encroached into 9 percent of accessible protected areas in the humid tropics, such as national parks.