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SavePlanetEarth's Tree Planting & Research

Writer's picture: BjursellBjursell

Tree planting is a cornerstone of Save Planet Earth's (SPE) mission to combat climate change and foster biodiversity. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, collaborating with local communities, and adhering to regenerative forestry techniques, SPE aims to create thriving ecosystems worldwide. This document outlines SPE's comprehensive approach to tree planting, species selection, monitoring, and innovative solutions for diverse landscapes, including deserts, mountains, and urban environments.



 

Table of Contents


 


Why Do We Plant These Trees?

  • Revenue generation provides more funds for our projects and helps the local community meet their household expenses.


  • Continued monitoring in person due to the symbiotic relationship between the community and tree life cycle.


  • Local growing expertise and cultural usage for non-consumable products from the biomass of the species, such as boatbuilding, woven mats, wood ornaments, and more.


  • We have developed an application that utilises satellite technology, AI, geospatial algorithms, and drones to monitor the green canopy cover (an indicator of tree health and carbon sequestered) where these projects occur.


Procurement for the technology and equipment has been completed. Once SPE’s ‘Invest in Climate Action projects’ open in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, we will plant a lot more and faster as each nursery will hold over 100,000 saplings in stock at any given time. Plans are in place to replicate this model in many other countries. We have finalised deals with more nation-states and NGOs that will be economically feasible and sustainable for SPE for years to come. The future is green.



 


Tree Catalogue

SPE will be providing a comprehensive catalogue of the native trees that would be used in the nurseries of their respective countries with digital representations for the following countries: Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the Maldives. As the catalogue is too lengthy to be included in this article, we have a brief amount listed. However, it will be available via SPE’s official website as a separate document.



 


Species Selection and Quantification

SPE is promoting regenerative forestry techniques all over the world such as Miyawaki, Urban Forestry, Paradoxical (bed-raised), Agroforestry, Holistic Land Management, Justdigit, and Swale. More or less the principle of all the techniques is the same but SPE land and forestry expert determine the best solution (forestry technique/plantation species) for the specific site through a physical inspection or survey of the prospective site by keeping in mind different parameters such as landscape, community type, soil texture, precipitation percentage, water availability, weather conditions.


SPE’s goal is to achieve multilayer dense plantation of native tree species to maximise Carbon Sequestration. The technique we use for Multilayer Forestry can save up to 70% on purchased inputs, and 80% water, 100 times denser, 10 times faster growth and 30 times greener, and 18% more bio-diverse when compared with traditional methods of the plantation. Bed-raised multilayer forestry is a natural algorithm of soil fertility and infinitely self-renewing that saves water, eliminates agrochemicals, saves cost, and restores biota.


Our team of experts have used nano clay particle treatment for desert plantation is under consideration. Mostly, the desert has vital issues such as difficulty in water movement, water shortage, nutrition deficiency, provision of water to each plant, availability of biota, and water retention for consistent supply to the plant. We address all these issues with SPE’s simple techniques. We would make clay/gypsum water solution and use a wheelbarrow or tractor-mounted bucket to the dispenser to evenly disperse the furrows in the Bed-Raised technique. These clay particles chock spaces between sand particles and stop underground seepage and make the water available for plants.


The first time, scattering of the long-rooted and nitrogen-fixing native ground cover vegetation. Once they are fully grown, they would maximise water retention for consistent supply to the plant through their roots and upper parts of plants, we would then press them on the land and the desert is ready for plantation. The plant residue is placed on raised beds as organic mulch to feed soil biota, that will keep soil temperature moderate, and stop water evaporation.


We would be using the same regenerative soil methods principles for plantation in mountains as mentioned above but in addition, swales in mountain areas too. We seek to solve problems in the landscape by working with nature and using techniques that are appropriate for the site.


A swale is a shallow trench dug along the land’s contour, with a berm on the downhill side created with soil from the trench. swale is a technique that captures water in the landscape for passive irrigation and slowing runoff as well as to provide nutrient uptake. This action reduces erosion and retains water where it is needed. Without swales, the water on this hillside would rush down and form gullies, taking precious topsoil and nutrients with it.

Plants

Swales could be helpful in,

  • Mitigating and managing stormwater runoff both at the source and at the surface.

  • Catching rain is easier than using a tank or barrel.

  • Increase efficiency of water storage as compared to tanks or barrels.

  • Building self-sustaining ecosystems.


Swales catch water and direct it to where it’s needed, which is in the soil. Instead of water running off or pooling above ground, swales direct it downward into an underground reservoir. Nature has its own built-in, self-watering system. When water is needed, it is naturally released. No work on our part will be done after the swale is built.


This underground reservoir attracts micro-organisms. Suddenly the soil is alive, and nature starts generating organic matter and fertiliser right in the place where we need it. This means fewer inputs, which saves money and time. The more organic matter builds, the more moisture it holds. With more organic matter, the system can better withstand both floods and droughts. This is a widely accepted stormwater strategy, simple to construct and has relatively low implementation cost.


Keynotes:

The tree species are picked with the utmost consideration of the environmental and situational factors played into each location. The SPE ‘Ground Truth Data’ team conducts thorough soil and rainwater tests to determine the optimal conditions of the vicinities. SPE is dedicated to converting atmospheric carbon into soil carbon through the plantation of natural forests by regenerative forestry techniques.


The plant and tree species selection for afforestation is made using several criteria such as:

  • Carbon sequestration capacity

  • The cost of plants

  • Reproducibility

  • Growth rate

  • Environmental compatibility (soil compatibility, temperature, rainfall requirement, moisture level, free hazard, diseases)

  • Environmental effects (transpiration rate, evergreen status, soil erosion control, beauty, wildlife attraction, soil stabiliser).

  • Practical uses (medical, constructional, edibles, or fodder).




 


How to Select Tree Species for Plantation

Step 1:

Make a database of all native species in your area

Below is a list of items that should be in the database (left) and a brief description of the aforementioned items (right), followed by a sample database with examples (further down).


Botanical Name

The scientific name of the tree. In some instances, you may find more than one scientific name for a particular tree. Use the latest and most commonly used scientific name in this case.

Common Name in Local Language

The name that the locals identify in their native language. It is preferable to write the name in local script, along with an English phonetic text to avoid language barriers. This will be most useful during procurement.

Common English Name

The commonly used English name of the plant.


Type

Classifying whether the tree is evergreen or deciduous. An evergreen plant is one whose foliage remains green and functional over several growing seasons; a deciduous plant's foliage would shed throughout the seasons.

Advantage

A tree can have various advantages, such as bearing fruits and herbs, attracting birds, flowering and wood, as well as for medicinal purposes. It is necessary to note down all the advantages of species residing in that specific area.

Height

The highest recorded height for each species in the region.

Layer

A multilayer forest can have many layers; however, we will categorise every listed tree into 4 layers.

Shrub Layer: The layer above grasses and small herb/flowering plants. The minimum height is usually 1-2 meters.

Sub Tree Layer: Trees that are taller than humans but are still small in comparison to more dominant trees found in the forest.

Tree Layer: More common trees based on the average height of trees in your geography.

Canopy Layer: Trees that grow into giants. These are the tallest trees in the local forest. Also known as the “emergent layer”.

Fix the layers based on the height range of trees. For example, in more humid/tropical parts of Pakistan, the tallest tree grows up to 50 meters. Therefore:

  • Shrub Layer = 2-6 meters

  • Sub Tree = 6-15 meters

  • Tree = 15-35 meters

  • Canopy = more than 35 meters

Mark each row with different colour based on the tree's layer.



 


Step 2:

Check the native species saplings’ availability in the nursery, based on the following criteria:


Criteria to be followed as per the species

Action

Bag Size

 

Age of Sapling

 

Height of Sapling

Check Quality Specifications



 


Step 3:

Assigning percentages to available species.

Criteria to be followed depending on area:


Major Species

Choose 4-5 different species to be the "major" forest species. These should be the species that you commonly find in your local forest/region.

Supporting Species

Assign 2-4% to other common species of the area; total will be 25-40%

Minor Species

Assign 0.2- 1% to other native species of the area. *

* We should try to plant as many species as possible for biodiversity. However, in smaller areas, species that have a percentage below 0.5 % may not be included in the final order.



 


Step 4:

Percentage Correction: Tweaking the percentage distribution based on categorical subtotals.


Based on Type

For example, if we are creating an evergreen forest, which will sequester more carbon than any other type of forest, then the total percentage of evergreen species should exceed 70%.

Layer-wise Distribution

The subtotal of each layer should vary between the following range (subject to change depending on local forest conditions):

Shrub Layer: 8-12 %

Sub Tree Layer: 25-30%

Tree Layer: 40-50%

Canopy Layer: 15-20 %

Advantage

Assign higher percentages to trees based on the advantage or quality of your choice. For example, if you are planting a fruit forest, 50% of the species should be fruit-bearing.



 


Here is a sample database, utilising the aforementioned items:


Sample Database Trees


 


Multilayer Forests

In creating a multilayer forest, SPE aims for the random and dense plantation of native tree species to maximise carbon sequestration. Following are steps to achieve the desired results:


  • Selection of the right native species.

  • Fixing the correct ratio for each species, carefully balancing the different forest layers, and ensuring that our forest has all the desired qualities of a natural forest.

  • Mix up the species and plant them "randomly" to create a dense multi-layered forest.


The random sapling arrangement is important to ensure that a "forest" gets created in the truest sense. This ensures natural competition, cooperation, and selection.


The forest is created in units of 100 square meters. Each 100 square meter patch is referred to as a mound. Every new mound has all the species selected, according to the ratios fixed. However, the arrangement needs to keep changing. Thus, if Mango (Mangifera indica) is one of the species, and 6 individual mango saplings are to be planted per mound, then the position of the mango on every new mound should be different.


Once the soil is prepared, the saplings are mixed and randomly arranged to ensure that all the forest layers get distributed throughout the mound. A good distribution of layers will look something like the one provided below:



Multilayer forest schematic
 In the image above, T refers to Tree, ST refers to Sub Tree, C refers to Canopy, and S refers to Shrub

 


As thumb rules:

  • We maintain a minimum distance of 60cm between saplings, it can be extended as required according to the perspective site for as long as possible. As the mound starts getting filled up, at many places the distance will be less.


  • The sapling arrangement should look more zigzag than linear.


  • We should try not to place two saplings of the same type next to each other; for example, Neem (Azadirachta indica) next to a Neem. However, sometimes such situations are not avoidable since the density is high. In such situations, one of the Neems will naturally dominate the other.


  • Fix the layers based on the height range of trees.


  • At many places on the mound, two saplings of the same layer might fall next to each other. Such clashes are natural since we are only working with 4 layers. Let’s not forget that the layers are not equal in proportion, for example, percentage wise in most places: Tree > Sub Tree > Canopy > Shrubs. Thus, when the forest grows, it looks as wild and dense as any natural forest.



Multilayered Forest
 Typical multilayered forest

Forests SPE
Photographs of some forests grown through certain planting techniques.


 

Tree Planting Instructions

A small step-to-step guide for planting your trees, illustrated with pictures.


Check that the root ball or root bag of your plant sits comfortably in the pit. Use the small garden hole to deepen or widen the pit if necessary.


Planting Hand Drawn

Dip the root ball or root bag in the bucket of water. Allow air bubbles to come out of the bag and wait until the air is completely drained out.


Root ball in water hand drawn

If the root ball is still wrapped, cut the cover and remove the wrapper but take care to not cut into the soil.


Cut open root ball hand drawn

Carefully place one hand under the root ball, while gently holding the stem with the other. Place the plant into the pit without removing your hand from the bottom. Fill the pit with the soil around it. The soil should be levelled gently around the stem of the plant. Steady the plant by holding on to the stem and slowly removing your hand from the bottom of the plant. Once levelled, do not press or compact the soil.


Plant a Tree Hand drawn

 Water your plant and take a photo!


Watering Plant Hand Drawn

To ensure minimal compaction of the soil, please refrain from stepping on the planting area unless necessary.


Dont step on plant hand drawn



 

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