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I read somewhere that birds and squirrels are better at planting trees because they do it at random, their forests grow faster, are more diverse, provide better
by agilob 3y ago
I read somewhere that birds and squirrels are better at planting trees because they do it at random, their forests grow faster, are more diverse, provide better shelter and are more resistant to fires and bugs.
Can't find the study or news anymore. Anyone help? Could they plant a border of tress for squirrels and birds, so they would do the rest of the job and fill the square?
- burnished 3y agoGod, I hope this is a genius plan. Something about bird and squirrel labor for reforestation pleases me
- jnmandal 3y agoIt's true, but also takes way too long for the mission at hand. Trees already grow slowly, and squirrels/birds were going to eat a lot of the seeds which -- as we can see here -- is counter to incentive when there is a dearth of seed. This is not even to mention the ungulates, which will eat most of the young trees. Simply put, a managed plantation will produce better outcomes than "hands-off" rewilding or even a hybrid model. It is better still if the wildlife are managed or contained. Healthy forests have predators to provide pressure on herbivore populations; predators were often intentionally removed in many of the places we are now considering for afforestation. But that said, theoretically: yes, absolutely, a tree planted as a seed by a squirrel, if it survived to old-age, will likely have grown faster and healthier than the equivalent nursery product tree, which would have endured lots of handling and some shocks at a young age. If I were to guess at the type of innovation we might see in this space, I would say GMO trees that grow at enhanced speed is more in the vein of what might be deployed. If land were more readily available, like in boreal regions, then you might see some sort of innovation in the form of novel rewilding techniques, like you are suggesting.
- wizofaus 3y agoWouldn't the big advantage of GMO trees be ones that grow in non-boreal regions? But I gather genetic engineering for most tree species is limited by the slow reproductive cycle (oak trees take 40 years to produce acorns, and they're not even close to the slowest to reach maturity).
- peteradio 3y agoI'd be willing to bet the loss from ungulates/rabbits is worse than the squirrels/birds. If we had a way to fence off the individual young trees it would be ideal. I've had to do this for my own young oaks as they will get eaten down to the ground if not fenced.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- justincormack 3y agoeg see https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/16/half-the-trees-in-two-new-english-woodlands-planted-by-jays-study-finds https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/16/half-the... about Jays planting oaks in UK.