Restoring forest cover at diverse sites across Canada can balance synergies and trade-offs
Tree planting can mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss, yet poorly planned efforts often fail. Canada’s commitment to plant 2 billion trees highlights the need for strategic, site‑specific restoration across 19.1 million available hectares. This study maps scenarios that balance habitat for at‑risk species, high‑growth areas, land costs and limited overlap with freshwater or recreation priorities. Results show that diverse program goals require targeted restoration planning to amplify synergies and navigate trade‑offs. Tailored investments and thoughtful site selection are essential for maximizing climate, nature and community benefits in large‑scale planting programs.
Subject Tags
- Climate mitigation
- Forest
- Biodiversity
Abstract
While tree planting is a cost-effective strategy to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss, many initiatives do not fully achieve their potential to deliver benefits for the climate, nature, or people. Poorly planned plantings have led to reduced biodiversity, lost local livelihoods, or short-lived success from inadequate maintenance, drought or subsequent land clearing. Canada committed to planting 2 billion trees, setting an important global example for large-scale forest restoration. 19.1 million hectares are available where the 2 Billion Trees program could be implemented, which is significantly more than the 1.2 million hectares necessary; thus, significant forethought must be given to select appropriate sites that achieve the program’s multiple objectives. Achieving the program's objectives requires balancing synergies between at-risk species' habitat needs and high-tree-growth areas while managing trade-offs like high land costs or limited overlap with areas supporting freshwater provision or nature-based recreation. We mapped restoration scenarios that prioritize different objectives to amplify synergies and characterize solutions to trade-offs. Planting programs with diverse goals need tailored and site-targeted investments to simultaneously and rapidly meet various outcomes.
Citation
Drever, C. R., Long, A. M., Cook-Patton, S. C., Celanowicz, E., Fargione, J., Fisher, K., ... & Xu, Z. (2025). Restoring forest cover at diverse sites across Canada can balance synergies and trade-offs. One Earth, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2025.101177
TNC Authors
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C. Ronnie Drever
Senior Conservation Scientist, Canada
The Nature Conservancy
Email: cdrever@tnc.org -
Alison M. Long
Conservation Scientist, Canada
The Nature Conservancy
Email: alison.long@tnc.org -
Susan C. Cook-Patton
Director, Strategic and Applied NCS Science
The Nature Conservancy
Email: susan.cook-patton@tnc.org -
Joe Fargione
Director of Science, North America Region
The Nature Conservancy
Email: jfargione@tnc.org
TNC Authors
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Nathaniel Robinson
The Nature Conservancy