Riparian Reforestation Plantings: Natural Solutions to Climate Change

What are natural climate solutions (NCS)?

Natural climate solutions are actions which protect and restore ecosystems and improve land management to better avoid greenhouse gas emissions and enhance carbon storage.

Riparian reforestation - restoring trees to habitats along streams and rivers where they historically existed and have been degraded or lost - contributes to climate action by helping to remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the riparian plantings. Riparian plantings are a common practice in riparian restoration in Oregon, with other 22,000 acres planted between 1995 and 2020.

Planting the right trees in the right places and ensuring those trees survive in the long-term can restore habitat, biodiversity, and ecosystem function while contributing to climate change mitigation.