Find out what’s happened this past week in the world of forestry!

In an area where tree canopy was already lower than normal, Hurricane Irma took away an expected 30% of tree cover in Miami-Dade County. FEMA will not cover the cost of replacing fallen trees, but we are working with Neat Streets Miami to help rebuild this city. To learn more about the relationship between hurricanes and trees, read our blog.

Over a thousand years ago, Vikings destroyed most of the forests in Iceland. As a result, windblown soil and erosion are taking a toll on farmers and locals alike, in addition to the ever-present threat of climate change. Despite many efforts to replant trees, the country is still struggling to combat the damage done in the past.

Skyscrapers covered in trees. It’s an idea that started in 2014 with two buildings in Milan, and now they’re being commissioned all over the globe. The structures are called the Bosco Verticale, or “vertical forest,” and they house a nursery of over a thousand trees, carefully arranged around the building, taking sunlight, heat and humidity into account. The architect that designed them is now working with his team on over a dozen other vertical forests all over the world.

A new company, BioCarbon Engineering, has a unique solution to reversing the trend of deforestation: algorithms and drones. Founded by a NASA engineer, the company uses surveillance drones to scope out landscapes in need of reforestation, taking into account tree species needed, temperature, soil type and other features. A second drone then flies along and fires seeds in biodegradable “pods” from 10 feet up, with enough force to embed them in the soil. The seedlings have a survival rate that is comparable to hand-planting, but advocates say this drone method is much cheaper and faster.

In order to counteract the desertification that is occurring across China, the country has planted over 66 billion trees in its northern parts since 1978. Photographer Ian Teh visited one such project being conducted by the Chinese State Forestry Association and documented the endeavor.

Researchers from Lancaster University conducted a study on the rate at which water runoff is absorbed in soil under forests. Previous studies had found that forested areas generate much high rates of water absorption compared to grazed pastures. However, this study found that if grazing by livestock occurred under the trees, then the amount of water absorbed by the soil dropped to almost zero. This corrects previous expectations, which assumed that water absorption remained constant under forested areas, regardless of grazing habits.

A comprehensive study analyzing 50 years of USAID data found that children in watersheds with higher tree cover were at a significantly lower risk of diarrheal disease, the number two killer for children under five.  “We are not saying trees are more important than toilets and indoor plumbing,” said Diego Herrera about the study. “But these findings clearly show that forests and other natural systems can complement traditional water sanitation systems, and help compensate for a lack of infrastructure.”

The UK’s Department of Infrastructure has decided to permanently close traffic along a section of Bregah Road in Northern Ireland to protect the historic trees from tourists. The road was featured on an episode of HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones during season two as a section of the “Kingsroad.” As a result of its newfound fame, the section of the road known as “Dark Hedges” became an instant tourist attraction, resulting in damage to the roots of some of the trees, planted in 1775.

A new study researching past avalanches, using “dendrogeomorphology,” or the study of the spacing between the annual growth rings of a tree, has found that past studies using similar methods overestimated the frequency of avalanches. Failure to take changes in climate, such as periods of extreme drought, and pests such as the grey larch budmoth caused previous studies to overestimate avalanches. The researchers hope to increase the accuracy and use of dendrogeomorphology to look at a variety of historical environment trends in the future.