The difference, or perhaps the similarities, between the meaning of afforestation or reforestation can be cause for some confusion.

Afforestation

Afforestation is a term for the planting of trees or seeds for the purpose of transforming open land into forest or woodland. Critical points to be noted are that this method is “artificial,” or in other words the forest is “man-made,” and this establishing of a forest occurs on land where trees have never grown. Websters 1913 definition: The act of converting into forest or woodland.

Reforestation

Reforestation is a process which uses native trees to restock already existing depleted forests.

Reversing Deforestation: Afforestation & Reforestation as solutions to climate change and resource depletion

Most countries have seen rapid deforestation, a decline in forest cover, since the start of the industrial revolution. Therefore governments and Non-governmental organizations have propagated afforestation & reforestation programs to reestablish sustainable resource production of food and forest products.  Sustainable forestry  practices have been developed in the wake of 1992 Earth Summit in Rio by organizations like the Forest Stewardship Council; FSC standards for forest management have now been applied in over 57 countries around the world.

Also critically important are the benefits of these practices to climate stabilization or the mitigation of anthropogenic climate change.  During the day, leaves from plants absorb sunlight in order to consume carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere in a process called photosynthesis. At the same time plants, animals, and soil microbes consume the carbon in organic matter and return CO2 to the atmosphere during respiration.  When there are less trees on the planet, or more precisely when there are less plant leaves performing photosynthesis to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, CO2 levels rise as first noted by climate science pioneer Dr. Charles David Keeling.  His Keeling Curve demonstrates that the while the natural cycle of “planetary respiration” results in a seasonal increase in atmospheric CO2 levels during winter  (since photosynthesis in the northern hemisphere ceases when many plants lose their leaves), monitored CO2 levels continue to climb indicating the contribution of carbon to the atmosphere as the result of human activities: land-use change (deforestation itself, resource extraction) and the burning of fossil fuels. Therefore, the replanting of trees, whichever term is technically appropriate, is a darn good thing! Plus, how great is it to be around a tree or just to look at them? We rest our case! 

Oh, and please let us note that Urban Forests are a great place for both afforestation and reforestation such as NewYork City’s Million Trees NYC Project .

Afforestation in History

Afforestation can also refer to a practice in England from the 11th through the 13th century of giving land the status of ‘royal forest’ which was an area of land where certain rights are reserved for a monarch or the aristocracy, usually set aside for hunting deer and other game. Therefore, royal forests often included environmental features from the greater ecosystem supportive of wildlife such as large areas of heath, grassland and wetland. William the Conqueror, a great lover of hunting, established the system of forest law in England (circa 1072) which operated outside of the common law, and served to protect game animals and their forest habitat from destruction.